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Movies Like Mayday for Action Comedy Fans
By Jordan A. · · 4 min read
Mayday lands on Apple TV on September 4, 2026, and its whole pitch is the pairing: Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, one all fast-talking chaos and the other all buttoned-up menace, thrown into an action comedy together. That contrast is the engine of the genre, the mix of real stakes and constant jokes that keeps you grinning through the gunfire. When Mayday leaves you wanting more of exactly that, these are the movies to load next.
Each one balances the same two ingredients Mayday runs on: a plot with actual danger and a script that refuses to take itself too seriously.
The Nice Guys for the mismatched duo
If the Reynolds and Branagh odd-couple dynamic is the draw, start with The Nice Guys. Shane Black's 2016 film pairs Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as two bumbling private eyes in 1970s Los Angeles, one a nervous wreck and the other a blunt enforcer, stumbling through a case that keeps getting bigger. It is the sharpest buddy action comedy of the last decade, and Gosling's willingness to look ridiculous is a big part of why. Black basically wrote the modern rulebook for this kind of movie, and it shows.
Game Night for the escalating chaos
Game Night, from 2018, takes an ordinary premise and lets it spiral. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams play a competitive couple whose weekly game night turns into a real kidnapping they mistake for part of the game. The joy is in how far it pushes the confusion, and McAdams in particular is a revelation as a suburban wife who turns out to love the mayhem. It has genuine thriller mechanics under the comedy, which is the same trick Mayday is pulling.
Central Intelligence for the star wattage
Mayday sells itself on two big names having fun, and Central Intelligence does the same. Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart headline the 2016 comedy as former high school classmates, one now a hulking CIA agent and the other an accountant dragged into a spy plot he wants no part of. Johnson playing a sweet oddball against Hart's panic is the whole movie, and it moves fast enough that you never mind the plot holes. If you want something you can put on without thinking, this is the easy call.
Spy for the action that actually delivers
Paul Feig's Spy, from 2015, is the rare comedy where the action is as good as the jokes. Melissa McCarthy plays a desk-bound CIA analyst pushed into the field for the first time, and the film treats her as a real action lead while still mining every scene for laughs. Jason Statham shows up to spoof his own tough-guy image, and he is hilarious. For proof that an action comedy can have both halves working at full strength, Spy is the model, and you will find it near the top of our best comedy movies of 2025 favorites.
The Lost City for the adventure swing
If Mayday's globe-trotting side is what you liked, The Lost City scratches it. The 2022 film sends Sandra Bullock, a burned-out romance novelist, into a real jungle adventure alongside Channing Tatum's himbo cover model. It is broad and silly on purpose, a throwback to the treasure-hunt comedies of the eighties, and the two leads clearly had a blast making it. When you want the action comedy to feel like a vacation, this is the one.
How to choose
Pick by what pulled you into Mayday. If it was the two stars bouncing off each other, The Nice Guys or Central Intelligence. If it was the plot spinning out of control, Game Night. If you want the action to hit as hard as the jokes, Spy. All five keep the balance Mayday depends on, where the danger is real enough to matter and the movie is loose enough to keep laughing. For the harder-edged cousins of this genre, our list of movies like John Wick covers the action side, and the roundup of the best action movies of 2025 is stacked with fresh options when you want the stunts turned all the way up.
The action comedy is one of the most rewatchable genres there is, and a good one earns a permanent spot in the rotation. Mayday is aiming for that, and every movie here already got there.
Why the action comedy is so hard to pull off
It looks easy and it almost never is. Lean too hard on the jokes and the stakes evaporate, so you stop caring who lives. Lean too hard on the action and the comedy turns into forced quips between explosions, which is worse. The films that work, the ones on this list, keep both plates spinning by making the danger real and letting the characters be funny about surviving it, not funny instead of surviving it. Mayday is betting it can hit that balance, and the Reynolds and Branagh pairing is a smart way to try, since both actors know how to sell a joke and a threat in the same breath. When the mix is right, the result is the most rewatchable kind of movie there is, the one you throw on for the fourth time and still grin at. When it is wrong, it is a long two hours. The good news is that the genre has a deep bench of the former, and every title here clears the bar with room to spare.
Want the pick matched to your exact taste, from buddy banter to spy spectacle? BingeNext sorts the action comedies by what makes you laugh and lines up the right one. Get movie recommendations for your next big night in.
Topics covered: mayday, ryan reynolds, action comedy, the nice guys, game night
About the author
Jordan A., Founder, BingeNext
Jordan A. is the founder of BingeNext and writes every guide on this site. He built the recommendation engine after one too many nights lost to the streaming menu, and he still tests every pick the hard way: by watching it.