Loved 'One Battle After Another'? Watch these 5 similar movies next

Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film, One Battle After Another, is capturing hearts in theaters with the performances of iconic names including Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, and more. The film was released recently, on September 26, 2025, but already had its premiere at California's TCL Chinese Theatre.

Following the premiere, the film received a near-perfect rating on the review aggregator platform Rotten Tomatoes. As of this writing, it sits with a strong 96% score there.

The film's synopsis, according to Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"Bob is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts."

It puts family at the core, though it's a broken one, given that our characters don't come from a normal background or do normal jobs.

That said, we will look into movies like One Battle After Another, where a missing girl and family are at the core. Some are a mix of these factors, while others focus on just one of these concepts. But if you liked this film, you will enjoy watching the ones listed below too.

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Movies like One Battle After Another

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

The 2022 sequel to James Cameron's Avatar is the third highest-grossing film of all time. It shifts focus from the war on Pandora sparked by the fictional organization Resources Development Administration (RDA) and instead puts Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family at the center. Stephen Lang returns as a resurrected Colonel Miles Quaritch, now inhabiting the body of his very enemies, and seeks revenge on the Sullies.

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Mystic River (2003)

While Sean Penn is an antagonist in One Battle After Another, he was the main protagonist of this 2003 critically acclaimed classic. Sadly, his daughter doesn't go missing but is killed in the very beginning of the film. The entire movie revolves around this mystery, with powerful performances from Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins.

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Searching (2018)

Aneesh Chaganty's feature film debut is a modern thriller where a 16-year-old's father (John Cho) searches for her using social media and everything the internet has to offer. It became a major blockbuster, earning $75 million on a mere $880,000 budget.

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Gone Girl (2018)

This one differs slightly from the theme of One Battle After Another and other similar films. Here, the missing person is not a daughter but the wife of professor Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck). As of this writing, it is considered David Fincher's best work to date. That may change when he releases The Adventures of Cliff Booth, whose release date is yet to be announced.

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Taken (2008)

If any movie on this list comes closest to One Battle After Another theme-wise, it's the 2008 Liam Neeson thriller Taken. At the heart of both films are fathers doing whatever they can to bring their daughters back. The only difference is that one has a particular set of skills he can use, and the other has those too, but paranoia has taken over.

Now which father is whom? You've got to see the films to know for thyself.

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