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If You Loved Catch Me If You Can, Watch These 8 Next

Posted November 6, 2026 • by movie guru

Friday, November 6, 2026

You loved the fake pilot, the charm and the chase. Here are eight real-life schemes with the same itch, counted down from fine to fight-worthy.

Number one is a Spielberg pick that will start a comment war.

  1. 8Blow poster
    Blow (2001)6.7
    Critics hated it. The Catch Me crowd will not.
    Same rise-and-fall charm, a true story, Johnny Depp grinning through decades of bad choices. Critics beat only 36% of movies, audiences 82%. That gap is the whole vibe.
  2. 7Roofman poster
    Roofman (2025)6.9
    Channing Tatum plays the politest criminal you'll ever root for.
    A charming true-story crook living a double life, just like Frank. Small swing at a reported $19M budget, and 87% on Rotten Tomatoes says it lands.
  3. 6American Gangster poster
    The Hanks-chases-DiCaprio setup, with Denzel making it scarier.
    A stubborn honest cop hunting a guy who's always one step ahead. Russell Crowe does the Carl Hanratty grind, and it made $269.8M worldwide.
  4. 5Donnie Brasco poster
    Donnie Brasco (1997)8.1
    Frank's fake IDs, except getting caught isn't an option.
    Johnny Depp living a lie undercover, and the lie starts eating the man. Same identity games, way higher stakes. 8.1 movie.guru score.
  5. 4Dog Day Afternoon poster
    The best true-story scheme that falls apart in real time.
    A 1970s plan, a charming guy improvising, and a crowd cheering for the wrong side. Made on a reported $3.8M and pulled $50M domestic.
  6. 3Spotlight poster
    Spotlight (2015)9.6
    The FBI half of Catch Me, stretched into a whole movie.
    Patient people chasing paper trails until the truth cracks open. If Hanks checking bank records was your favorite part, this is your 9.6.
  7. 2Goodfellas poster
    Goodfellas (1990)9.7
    The greatest rise-and-fall voiceover ever. Catch Me borrowed the energy.
    A young guy seduced by the fast life, a real story, period music, narration that winks at you. 9.7 movie.guru score on a reported $25M budget.
  8. 1Lincoln poster
    Lincoln (2012)8.5
    Spielberg's real con-man movie, and the con man is Abe.
    Period Spielberg, a guy bending every rule to win, and backroom deals to land votes. It's a political caper in a top hat. 8.5 score, $182.2M domestic.
Change my mind. Rank these from most to least Catch Me If You Can energy. Wrong answers only for #1.

$6.37 says someone types 'that is not a con movie' under #1 before they finish reading the why.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it