8 Great Disaster Movies To Watch After ‘Greenland 2’

The new movie, Greenland 2: Migration, is hitting theaters with a lot of action and devastation. The first Greenland followed Gerard Butler and his family as they raced to find a safe bunker before a comet struck. This sequel shows them dealing with the aftermath and searching for safety once again. Like the first film, Greenland 2 is packed with exciting disaster sequences that audiences will enjoy.

Disaster movies offer a thrilling escape, putting ordinary people in extraordinary, life-or-death situations. They explore huge questions – how would we cope with a volcanic eruption or a comet heading for Earth? – and audiences love to watch. If you enjoyed Greenland 2 and are looking for more, there’s a wealth of disaster films available, packed with incredible visuals, dramatic scenarios, and heartwarming stories about families facing impossible odds.

‘Geostorm’ (2017)


Warner Bros. Pictures 

If you enjoy disaster movies with Gerard Butler, Geostorm is worth checking out. Though Greenland proved more popular, Geostorm offers a similar experience with a variety of large-scale natural disasters. The story centers around a weather-controlling satellite system that malfunctions, triggering events like tsunamis, earthquakes, and extreme temperature changes. Butler plays the engineer who created the system and is now tasked with saving the world.

Dean Devlin, known for co-writing Independence Day, wrote and directed Geostorm, which features strong performances from Ed Harris and Eugenio Derbez. The film offers plenty of exciting disaster sequences and benefits from Gerard Butler’s screen presence, but its storyline is confusing and doesn’t quite make sense. If you’re looking for a visually impressive disaster movie, Geostorm delivers, but those hoping for a compelling narrative might be disappointed.

‘The Day After Tomorrow’ (2004)


20th Century Studios

The movie The Day After Tomorrow depicts a world facing a sudden and drastic new ice age. The film showcases spectacular disasters, including huge waves crashing over cities and tornadoes tearing through major metropolitan areas, alongside dangerous animal encounters. At its heart, it’s a story about a family trying to reunite during the chaos. Dennis Quaid plays a father who bravely travels across a frozen landscape to reach New York City and rescue his son, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. The film shares similar themes with Greenland 2 and features Emmy Rossum before her breakout role in Shameless.

Roland Emmerich, known for directing Independence Day, brings his disaster-movie expertise to The Day After Tomorrow. While the special effects aren’t perfect by today’s standards, the film boasts impressive visuals. The story leans heavily into family drama and doesn’t always get the science right, but most viewers aren’t expecting scientific accuracy from a disaster movie. Ultimately, The Day After Tomorrow delivers an entertaining experience.

‘2012’ (2009)


Sony Pictures Releasing

Roland Emmerich, known for disaster films like The Day After Tomorrow, raises the stakes even higher in 2012, depicting the complete annihilation of the planet. He’s become skilled at crafting world-ending catastrophes, and 2012 is his most ambitious yet, showing the deaths of billions in a shockingly realistic way. The film portrays a world literally falling apart, with massive earthquakes, giant sinkholes, and devastating tsunamis. When the laws of nature break down, anything imaginable – no matter how terrifying – can happen.

Like Greenland, this film centers on a family fighting for survival, delivering plenty of suspense and emotional scenes. What makes 2012 special is its strong cast – including John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, and Chiwetel Ejiofor – who bring depth and excitement to this disaster epic, making it a truly thrilling ride.

‘Deep Impact’ (1998)


Paramount Pictures

I remember 1998 being the year of comet movies! While Armageddon definitely grabbed everyone’s attention, I always felt Deep Impact was more powerful. It didn’t just focus on the heroes trying to save the world, but really showed how ordinary people would react to such a disaster. What really stuck with me about Deep Impact was that it didn’t shy away from showing the impact of the comet actually hitting Earth – the tough choices families had to make, the sheer devastation. Seeing a movie like Greenland brings those same feelings back – it’s all about survival when facing something that could wipe out the world.

The movie Deep Impact boasts a strong cast, including Jon Favreau, Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, James Cromwell, and Morgan Freeman in a memorable role as the President. While its special effects show its age and it was overshadowed by the success of Armageddon, many viewers who watch Deep Impact actually find they prefer it to Michael Bay’s film.

‘The Core’ (2001)


Paramount Pictures

The Core is a thrilling disaster film built around a crazy idea: what if the Earth’s core suddenly stopped spinning? The movie depicts a series of catastrophic events, including massive electrical storms and deadly solar radiation, that threaten all life. Luckily, a team has a daring plan to reach the core and restart it using a nuclear explosion. They build a special ship using a fictional material called ‘Unobtanium’ – years before the movie Avatar popularized the term – allowing them to withstand the extreme heat and journey through the Earth.

Despite some far-fetched plot points, The Core delivers classic, over-the-top disaster movie excitement. The film boasts a strong cast, with performances from Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Bruce Greenwood, Alfre Woodard, and Stanley Tucci. Unlike typical disaster films that focus on external dangers or space travel, The Core offers a unique premise that fans of movies like Greenland might enjoy.

‘Volcano’ (1997)


20th Century Studios

Similar to the comet craze of 1998, 1997 featured two competing disaster films about volcanoes. Pierce Brosnan starred in the enjoyable Dante’s Peak, while Volcano attempted a bolder storyline. Volcano dramatically portrays a volcanic eruption in Los Angeles, with lava flowing through city streets and destroying iconic landmarks. Despite the local setting, the film maintains high stakes as characters struggle to survive and prevent further devastation.

Big-budget disaster films often draw in skilled actors to enhance the dramatic tension, and Volcano is no exception, boasting a strong cast led by Tommy Lee Jones. Don Cheadle, Gaby Hoffmann, Anne Heche, and Keith David also star. While opinions differ on which 1997 volcano movie is better, Volcano offers a refreshing change of scenery for viewers who found Greenland 2‘s post-apocalyptic setting too bleak.

‘Knowing’ (2009)


Summit Entertainment

The movie Knowing is filled with dramatic disasters, including a subway crash and what many consider to be one of the most realistic plane crashes ever filmed, thanks to director Alex Proyas’ impressive use of a single, unbroken shot. The film centers around a father, played by Nicolas Cage, who tries to unravel the mystery of an old piece of paper that seems to have accurately predicted past disasters and may even foretell future ones.

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As a disaster movie fan, I have to say the climax of this film is something else – a huge spectacle that people will either love or really dislike! The story in this movie might not appeal to everyone, but it’s definitely packed with one disaster after another. It starts with things going wrong because of people, but trust me, it ramps up to a full-blown global threat, delivering on the same scale as a movie like Greenland.

‘San Andreas’ (2015)


Warner Bros. Pictures

San Andreas is a thrilling disaster film starring Dwayne Johnson, who battles earthquakes, tsunamis, and personal struggles. If you enjoyed watching Gerard Butler race against time to save his family in Greenland, you’ll likely love Johnson’s dangerous mission to rescue his daughter. The movie delivers spectacular visuals, including boats riding massive tsunamis, daring skydives into disaster zones, and incredible scenes of California being torn apart by the San Andreas Fault.

As a big fan of these kinds of movies, I was really pleased with the cast led by Dwayne Johnson – Alexandra Daddario, Carla Gugino, and Paul Giamatti are all fantastic too. Like Gerard Butler in so many of these, Johnson has that undeniable charisma that just keeps you hooked even when things get incredibly intense, one disaster after another. While San Andreas isn’t necessarily an ‘end of the world’ scenario, trust me, there’s more than enough destruction to keep any disaster movie enthusiast happy.

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2026-01-10 23:05