Science fiction has always been a part of the movies. Indeed, the motion picture itself was revered as a technological wonder when first invented, and now-mundane images of workers leaving a factory or trains arriving at a station could elicit gasps of awe. Former stage magician Georges Méliès realized the medium’s capacity for the fantastic with early sci-fi classics like A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage.

Today, the genre has produced more than its share of masterpieces, spread across the whole of cinematic history. Breaking down the top 45 provides viewers with an apt collection of sci-fi’s best movies of all time. This list attempts to incorporate all aspects of the genre, from space opera to hard sci-fi. Anyone looking to build binge sessions can find plenty of options here.

Updated by Christopher Raley on October 4, 2024:Hollywood has given viewers a huge list of science fiction films to watch over the years. Some, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, are certified classics. Others, maybe not so much. Whether action-oriented or cerebral, the sci-fi genre has some great movies in store for audiences. The article has been updated to include five new entries, and the formatting has been adjusted to match current CBR guidelines.

45 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Was a Hit With Critics

This Sci-FI Odyssey Deserves a Re-Watch

Director George Miller returned, once again, to his post-apocalyptic vision of Australia for 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. While the movie was a hit with critics, it unfortunately bombed at the box office, which is a shame. In this case, the critics called it right on the money. Furiosa is an epic sci-fi film replete with practical effects, solid acting from Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Burke; and a sprawling character-driven saga.

To be fair to audiences, Furiosa trailers made the movie seem like another action-based, road warrior movie the likes of its predecessor, Mad Max: Fury Road. That, Furiosa is not. Rather, the 2024 prequel tells a years-long story of the intertwining fates of a young Furiosa (Taylor-Joy), who was kidnapped from the Green Place, and the demented Dr. Dementus (Hemsworth), who seeks to make a name for himself. Miller’s world-building, practical effects, and stylized direction elevate this saga of tragedy and revenge to make it one of the great movies in the post-apocalyptic sub-genre of sci-fi.

44 Avatar Is a Technological Wonder

Now a Successful Franchise, Avatar Broke Records Upon Release

Development for Avatar initially began in 1994, but filming was put off because the technology didn’t exist to do what the film’s creator and director, James Cameron, wanted to do. As a result, the director of the first two Terminator films (more on them below) didn’t begin working on the movie in earnest until 2006. With a jaw-dropping budget and an even more surprising run at the box office, Avatar became a legendary film almost instantly upon its release in 2009.

The story is set on Pandora, a habitable moon that humans from Earth are mining for its valuable mineral, unobtanium. The atmosphere is poisonous to humans, so they work on the planet’s surface through mental links with the native inhabitants, 10-foot-tall humanoids called Na’vi. These links are called Avatars. Unsurprisingly, the story has strong environmental themes, with the Na’vi becoming victims in an uncaring resource grab headed by Colonel Miles Quaritch. But when Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) defends the Na’vi and his love interest, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the fight for Pandora begins.

43 Minority Report Is an Underrated Spielberg Classic

It Transforms a Philip K. Dick Story Into Sci-Fi Action

In the early 2000s, legendary director, Stephen Spielberg, made two unrelated sci-fi films starring Tom Cruise that, perhaps, haven’t received enough attention over the years: 2002’s Minority Report, and 2005’s War of the Worlds. The former is not quite as epic as the latter, but Minority Report is probably the better of the two for all that. Based on the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, Minority Report is about the Precrime department in Washington D.C. that stops murder before it happens thanks to the help of the “precogs,” 3 clairvoyant humans,

Spielberg atypically presents Tom Cruise in his typical role as action-adventure god incarnate by making him something he hasn’t been in cinema for a long time: vulnerable. Cruise is Precrime Chief, John Anderton, who hides his grief over the loss of his son through addiction, and ends up going on the run in this “Wrong Man” mystery. Pursued by Danny Whitwer (Colin Farrell), who is determined to shutter the department, Anderton must prove his innocence while reconciling himself to his loss. Cruise and Farrell are dynamite on screen, both bringing splendid performances to this little gem of a murder mystery embedded in a sci-fi setting.

42 War for the Planet of the Apes Is High Cinema

Director Matt Reeves Transcends the Genre

Some movie critics and filmmakers posit that genre-bound films are self-limiting. Martin Scorsese, for example, famously decried Marvel Films as not worthy of even being called cinema. Yet, many genre films disprove that notion, and War for the Planet of the Apes is one of them. As the final installment of the trilogy that rebooted the Planet of the Apes franchise, War is director Matt Reeve’s crowning achievement in the series. Its special effects are flawless, and its story is a riveting look at what it means to be human.

War finds Ceasar (Andy Serkis) under attack by a group of elite soldiers headed by Colonel J. Wesely McCullough (Woody Harrelson) who kill Ceasar’s son. Consumed by revenge, Ceasar pursues them as the rest of his group search for a new place to live. At once a revenge story and a saga of survival, War is as heavy and hard-hitting as they come. Delving into the depths of human depravity while seeing the human spirit elevated in the life-like apes, War stands tall in the realm of high cinema for the themes it unearths and the characters it portrays.

41 Edge of Tomorrow Is Rollicking Sci-Fi Action

Cruise and Blunt Are Perfect on Screen Together

Coming at a time in Tom Cruise’s career when the actor might have had nothing left to prove, he nevertheless has proven canny in the roles he has taken. One of the smart moves he made was 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow. Ostensibly an action/adventure/sci-fi film, it proves to be just that. The brilliance is in the casting. Cruise plays Major William Cage, a PR man for the military which is fighting for the survival of humanity against an alien race called the Mimics. Cage shows up for the invasion of the European continent only to be put in a platoon and quickly killed.

But death is not the end for the hapless PR guy. Cage wakes up to discover that his day has started over. Eventually, he meets the action hero of the movie, Sergeant Rita Vrataski, and discovers that, when he died, he was tainted with alien blood that put him in a time loop. Determined to use this to their advantage Vrataski trains Cage into the Cruise-style action hero he should be as the two attempt to end the war. This fun sci-fi romp through war and death is girded by solid performances from Blunt and Cruise who manage the role reversals as if they were born into them.

40 The Iron Giant Has Gained a Cult Following

The Film Is Set During the Cold War

The Iron Giant, the directorial debut of Brad Bird, follows nine-year-old Hogarth as he stumbles upon a 50-foot robot in his small town in Maine. Set during the Cold War, Hogarth works to keep the robot a secret from government agents who are hot on the robot’s tail. The film features the voice talents of Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, and Vin Diesel.

A box office bomb upon release, The Iron Giant has since gained a cult following over the years. The Iron Giant character has popped up in other films such as Ready Player One and Space Jam: A New Legacy. The film was remastered in 2015 and released as The Signature Edition, which was extended by 2 minutes and included brief scenes that were storyboarded by Bird during the film’s production.

39 A.I. Artificial Intelligence Is Spielberg’s Contribution to the Sci-Fi Topic

AI Has Long Been Fertile Ground for Sci-Fi

Steven Spielberg released A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001, which was closely followed by The Minority Report in 2002 and War of the Worlds in 2005 (both movies featuring Tom Cruise). They echoed A.I. in their look, but A.I. was a vastly different film from them and from Spielberg’s other action-adventure films. A.I. chronicles the life of a child Mecha called David (Haley Joe Osment), given consciousness by a technological innovator, Professor Allen Hobby (William Hurt). David is given to a family who are losing their son to a rare disease, but when the son recovers, jealousy results in David being sent off to return to his creator.

What follows is an odyssey film that is very different from the journey in War of the Worlds and more akin to Empire of the Sun in structure and feel. David’s journey takes him through a troubled, divided, and nihilistic humanity that continues on its less-than-merry way, despite rising sea levels forecasting their imminent doom. This movie is one of Spielberg’s underrated masterpieces that culls dynamic performances from Osment, Hurt, Jude Law, and others.

38 Solaris Is a Mind-Bender in Outer Space

George Clooney Gives One of His Best Performances

All cards on the table, Solaris, both the 2002 version starring George Clooney and the 1972 version by Andrei Tarkovsky, demands a lot from its viewers and is not for everyone. That said, the 2002 version is the more accessible of the two and features a performance from him that stands outside his usual fare and forces the actor to reach farther than he has in other roles. Clooney plays Dr. Chris Kelvin, who is sent to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris in an attempt to diagnose hallucinations and disturbances experienced by the crew.

Steven Soderbergh (a frequent collaborator with Clooney who directed Ocean’s 11) brings his crisp and formal style to the movie, which offers a stabilizing contrast to the otherwise strange story. Solaris is best watched for what it provokes rather than what it resolves. The curious viewer will be left with a host of difficult issues, not the least of which is depression and suicide and the impact these things have on relationships.

37 Dune: Part Two Is an Instant Sci-Fi Classic

It Ramps Up What the First Movie Sets Up

Coming on the heels of the critically acclaimed first part, Dune: Part Two demands inclusion on any list of all-time great science fiction films for how it blends horror, suspense, action, romance, and hard sci-fi aesthetics into what is ultimately a tragedy. Despite its otherworldliness, Dune: Part Two hits home in deep and profound ways. Which is not to say that Dune: Part One is bad. The first movie is great, but it is a film that is mostly dedicated to setting up the second one for success.

A host of great actors such as Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Bulter, and Rebecca Ferguson, among others, give grade-A performances that set the characters free from the confines of Frank Herbert’s writing style and the limitations of what he was able to achieve in the book. Denis Villeneuve’s conception of the world of Arakis is stunningly delivered in a way that is true to Herbert’s ideas but, once again, lives and breathes in a way that Herbert was not able to achieve.

36 The Abyss Is a Sci-Fi Film That Never Leaves Earth

The Ocean Substitutes Space in This Classic 80s Film

Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio bring Virgil Bud Brigham and Lindsey Brigman to life with a chemistry that is at the heart of the film. The Brigmans are estranged with Bud as foreman on an underwater drilling platform that Lindsey designed. The two come into contact when the US government sends a Navy SEAL team down to the platform to recover a submarine that has sunk near the Cayman Trough after encountering an unidentified submerged object.

Part of the draw of this film is how it takes sci-fi tropes meant for outer space and plants them deep under the ocean. While trying to complete the mission, the team goes through all manner of difficulty which eventually results in the Brigmans reaching a crisis in the standoff. With its palpable tensions, its nail-biting suspense, and its strong character arcs, it’s possible this movie isn’t lauded enough.

35 Fantastic Planet Was the First PG-Rated Animated Movie

And It Is a French Sci-FI Classic

Fantastic Planet takes place on a faraway planet where blue giants rule the world. Humans are brought to the planet and the giants treat them like animals, even pets for some. The humans begin to rebel against the blue giants, which leads to a new era for humans armed with knowledge of the planet’s technology.

A French film, Fantastic Planet is considered one of the best animated science-fiction films ever made. It was the first animated film to be rated PG in the United States. The film was praised for its deeper message and surreal story that is still well-remembered by fans of the genre. It proved to be influential not only in animation but for the science-fiction genre as well.

34 Total Recall Blurs the Line Between Reality and Fantasy

It Also Gives Audiences Intense Action and Absurd Violence

Released in 1990, Total Recall stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who has memories of Mars implanted into his brain because of recurring dreams regarding himself and the planet. Apparently, before the implant is completed, Quaid finds that his memories are playing out in reality, and he travels to Mars to find out why. But what is real, and what is fantasy? This question weighs heavily on Quaid during his adventure.

Total Recall was one of the most successful films of 1990 and nabbed a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The film’s ambiguous ending has been pondered by viewers for years after its release, regarding what was real and what was fantasy. A sequel was planned but ended up becoming the Steven Spielberg classic Minority Report. A remake starring Colin Farrell was released in 2012 but was a critical and commercial failure.

33 Moon Features a Career-Best Performance From Sam Rockwell

This Underrated Gem Plumbs the Depths of Loneliness

Moon follows Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), an astronaut who is nearing the end of his three-year mission on the moon. His only companion is the computer, GERTY (Kevin Spacey), and Sam begins to suffer from hallucinations. His personal crisis proves to be deeper than he had ever imagined as he works to escape the moon and return to Earth.

Moon is often considered an underrated gem in the science-fiction genre. Rockwell’s nuanced performance was widely praised and is among his best performances to this day. The film had a spiritual sequel released in 2018 entitled Mute, with a third entry, Madi: Once Upon A Time in the Future, released in 2020. The three films together form an exposition of a shared universe that explores themes of parenting and responsibility.

32 The Martian Had a Controversial Awards Season Run

​​​​Mark Watney Survives Mars With Wit, Grace, and Science

The Martian stars Matt Damon as Dr. Mark Watney, an astronaut who is assumed dead after his team leaves him behind on Mars following a major dust storm. Left with very few resources, he must rely on his ingenuity and wit to survive and signal Earth to return home. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film costars Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, and Jeff Daniels. It also showcases quirky humor and a wholly unique take on a survival situation that makes this film one of a kind in the sci-fi genre.

Damon received universal praise for his performance and was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards in 2016, with the film receiving 6 additional nominations. The Martian is clearly a sci-fi film, but it caused controversy at the Golden Globes when it was released after it was nominated in the Musical or Comedy category. The film won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Damon won for his performance, making for one of the strangest wins in Golden Globes history.

31 RoboCop Is Timeless Social Satire

The Film Is Remembered for Over-The-Top Violence

Director Paul Verhoeven snuck up on everyone with 1987’s RoboCop, which looked at first glance to be another stupid post-Star Wars shoot-em-up from a decade riddled with them. He had something much different in mind, however: using the film’s near-future Detroit as a savage satire of American culture and human idiocy in general. That comes on top of extreme levels of violence that still raises eyebrows today, which gives it all the air of a blood-soaked Looney Tunes cartoon.

The only thing that isn’t a joke is Peter Weller’s Officer Murphy, killed in the line of duty only to be reborn as a literal corporate tool. The actor lends quiet heartbreak and disbelief to his character’s dilemma, and it may be the best performance of his career. Amid the mayhem and snark, his tragedy lends it all a very human soul, and turns RoboCop into more than just a nostalgic 80s throwback.

30 Interstellar Is a Scientifically Compelling Sci-Fi Film

Nolan Successfully Brought Hard Science Fiction to the Screen

Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, follows a group of astronauts as they undertake a daring mission to find a new home for humanity. Earth has fallen victim to a catastrophic famine that is slowly making the planet inhabitable, which leads the team to go through a wormhole near Saturn to find what is on the other side. Initially conceived as a grand rescue operation, the salvation of humanity, however, hinges on an unsolvable problem.

The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, and Michael Caine. Despite being a science-fiction film, it was lauded by astronomers and physicists for its scientific accuracy. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne served as an advisor on the film; Thorne’s research regards gravitational waves and black holes, an instrumental aspect of the film’s story. But what makes the film watchable is not the science but the drama. While all the actors give great performances, McConaughey dominates the film for the fallible humanity he brings to the role, which is like a breath of fresh air amid the “accuracy”-laden science.

29 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Is Memorable

It Follows a Relationship Through Unconventional Storytelling

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind follows Joel and Clementine (Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet) whose relationship is at its end. Clementine then undergoes a procedure to erase all of her memories of Joel. Heartbroken, Joel does the same. As the procedure unfolds, viewers see the memories of Joel and Clementine’s relationship as Joel experiences them once last time.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been hailed as one of the greatest scripts of the 21st century, and screenwriters Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2005. The film has since found a cult following for its unconventional narrative and non-linear storytelling approach to examining a relationship.

28 Arrival Has a Twist Ending That Changes Everything

Villeneuve Changed Sci-Fi In Film by Making It Human

Arrival stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist who is tasked by the United States Army to communicate with extraterrestrials who arrive on Earth. As twelve of the extraterrestrials’ aircraft are stationed around the planet, Louise works with the visitors in order to understand why they are there and, in the process, discovers a new form of communication. Helped by Physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), the two translate a problematic message that has Earth’s nations second-guessing the visitor’s intentions.

Arrival was well-received upon release and was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film also has a heartbreaking twist ending that encourages viewers to rewatch the film knowing the new information. Arrival perfectly blends science fiction and drama, making it one of the greatest genre-bending films ever made.

27 Ex Machina Explores the Dangers of A.I.

This Well-Worn Topic Is Rejuvenated in This Film

Ex Machina stars Domhall Gleeson as Caleb Smith, a programmer who is invited to spend one week at the isolated home of Nathan Bateman, the CEO of his company. When Caleb arrives, he finds that Nathan has built an A.I. humanoid robot, Ava, and wants Caleb to study her to see if she can exhibit thought and consciousness. He also wants to know if Caleb can relate to her knowing that she is, essentially, a robot.

The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects — beating Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens in the process — and was also nominated for Best Screenplay. Approaching its tenth anniversary, it remains relevant as it points to the dangers of A.I. and how humans can truly identify what A.I. is capable of. The haunting end of the film also leaves viewers pondering several questions about the characters long after it ends.

26 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Captures Universal Social Paranoia

The Remake Brings Paranoia to the Big City

The alien invasion movies of the 1950s reached their apex with director Don SIegel’s original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which posited a secret takeover by alien “pod people” who looked and acted exactly like the humans they replaced. As an exercise in Cold War paranoia, it had no peers, but it took Phillip Kaufman’s 1978 remake to transplant the original’s paranoia from the small town to the big city. While it’s debatable that it perfected the story, it certainly modernized it.

Under Kaufman, the body snatchers actively use human indifference to further their reach. It’s apparently normal San Francisco is being overrun quietly in the background, with panicked victims fleeing alien doppelgangers through indifferent crowds while the protagonists try to puzzle out what’s going on. Siegel’s masterpiece was very much of its time. Kaufman’s transcends the period it was made to become a chilling statement on who we are.