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Bad Genius poster

Movies that feel likeBad Genius (2017)

Lynn, a brilliant student, after helping her friends to get the grades they need, develops the idea of starting a much bigger exam-cheating business.

If you loved Bad Genius, the closest films we have are Cocaine Bear (2023), One Battle After Another (2025) and Andhadhun (2018). All three share Bad Genius' gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Elize: Shadows of a Woman (2026).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Nattawut Poonpiriyacontemplativegrittytensewittyplayful
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Bad Genius hit the spot, these will too

Cocaine Bear poster
Cocaine Bear
2023 · dir. Elizabeth Banks
🍅 65%★ 5.9thriller · comedy · crimeNetflix

Both land grit and tension at once

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Inspired by a true story, an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converge in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine.

One Battle After Another poster
One Battle After Another
2025 · dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
🍅 94%★ 7.6thriller · crime · comedyPrime VideoMax

Witty and playful in the same breath

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Bad Genius

Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

Andhadhun poster
Andhadhun
2018 · dir. Sriram Raghavan
🍅 100%★ 8.2crime · mystery · thrillerRent or buy

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Bad Genius does

A series of mysterious events changes the life of a blind pianist who now must report a crime that was actually never witnessed by him.

The Italian Job poster
The Italian Job
1969 · dir. Peter Collinson
🍅 82%★ 7.2crime · comedy · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

Hera Pheri poster
Hera Pheri
2000 · dir. Priyadarshan
★ 8.2comedy · crime

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

Holy Spider poster
Holy Spider
2022 · dir. Ali Abbasi
🍅 82%★ 7.3thriller · drama · crime

Contemplative drama in both cases

A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.

Happy New Year poster
Happy New Year
2014 · dir. Farah Khan
🍅 40%★ 5.1crime · comedyNetflix

Crime built on play, twice over

Six would-be thieves enter a prestigious dance competition as a cover for their larger goal of pulling off a major heist.

The Wild Goose Lake poster
The Wild Goose Lake
2019 · dir. Diao Yinan
🍅 91%★ 6.7crime · drama · thriller

From the 2010s, and it lands the same way

A gangster ends up making a mistake that causes every gun on both sides of the law to point at him. While on the run, he comes across a mysterious woman who might get him out of trouble or make things worse.

Neighboring Sounds poster
Neighboring Sounds
2012 · dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
🍅 91%★ 7.1thriller · drama · crime

Thriller built on stillness, twice over

An independent private security firm arrives at a middle-class neighborhood in Recife, Brazil.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 · dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
★ 6.5crime · thrillerNetflix

Comedy with a pulse of grit, in both cases

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 · dir. Na Hong-jin
🍅 88%★ 7.3drama · thriller · crime

Drama built on tension, twice over

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

Elize: Shadows of a Woman poster
Elize: Shadows of a Woman
2026 · dir. Vellas
★ 7.4thriller · crime · dramaNetflix

The same crime instincts

In this retelling of a real case, a former escort discovers her wealthy husband's infidelity and struggles to cope as betrayal poisons their marriage.

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The best-reviewed films that share Bad Genius’ defining feeling.