Top 50 Sci-Fi Movies of All Time

From a century of film, here are the top 50 science fiction movies of all time. We’ve excluded super-hero movies (Iron Man, etc), as they are a specific genre. Here we look at the most challenging and thought-provoking sci-fi movies, and if spaceships or other worlds come into play – so much the better! No fantasy movies were included. This list is for the best serious sci-fi movies of all time.

50 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

49 – Mission to Mars (2000)

48 – It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) the inspiration for Alien.

47 – Minority Report (2002)

46 – Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

45 – Starship Troopers (1997) based on Robert Heinlein’s novel.

44 – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

43 – The Matrix (1999)

42 – Dark Star (1974) John Carpenter’s first motion picture.

41 – Aliens (1986)

40 – Pitch Black (2000)

39 – Galaxy Quest (1999)

38 – La JetÃ?©e (1962) the inspiration for “12 Monkeys,” about time travel to save humanity.

37 – Gattaca (1997)

36 – Dark City (1998)

35 – Invaders from Mars (1953)

34 – Mad Max III: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

30 – Total Recall (1990) Not to be confused with its muddy remake, the original was a great sci-fi movie.

29 – Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) and again remade in 1978.

28 – The Fifth Element (1997)

27 – Metropolis (1927)

26 – Logan’s Run (1976) At age 30, you enter Carousel, which some find out means you die. Logan is approaching his age limit and decides to run.

25 – The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

24 – Primer (2004) four friends build a time machine in this low-budget sci-fi puzzle movie. Great viewing!

23 – The Terminator (1984)

22 – Planet of the Vampires (1965) The vampires are actually aliens, the spaceship is awesome, and the tight spacesuits are disturbing.

20 – Time Bandits (1981) Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam’s fantastic movie about time jumping.

19 – Serenity (2005) from Joss Whedan, creator of Firely

18 – Tron (1982) Life inside a video game.

17 – Heavy Metal (1981) Animated sci-fi movie with an incredible soundtrack.

16 – Donnie Darko (2001) Jake Gyllenhaal

15 – Forbidden Planet (1956) A ship lands on a planet and finds a beautiful girl, a robot, and an alien force.

14 – Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) With all the inspiration of POTA and some underground mutants added in!

13 – The Last Starfighter (1984) A video game winner is recruited by an alien to help his people fight off Xur and the Ko-dan Armada.

12 – Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) Well-crafted from the days before Lucas lost his mojo.

11 – The Thing (1982) John Carpenter’s masterpiece about an expedition to the Artic, where an alien is thawed out and begins to mutate and kill off the crew.

10 – The Black Hole (1979) Under-appreciated sci-fi movie about an expedition to a black hole.

9 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Yes, it’s long and boring, but it was ground-breaking.

8 – The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Classic and compelling. “she’s alive!”

7 – Stargate (1994) Earth is connected to other worlds by a stargate. The movie spawned 3 TV series.

6 – Alien (1979) The Original movie directed by Ridley Scott. A ship lands on a remote planet and picks up a hostile alien life form. Very spooky; a nail-biter.

5 – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982) The best revenge movie of all time.

4 – Planet of the Apes (1968) Very deep, inspired movie based on Pierre Boulle’s award-winning novel.

3 – Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The dark sequel to Star Wars never disappoints.

2 – (tie) – King Kong (1933) incredible effects and story
2 – War of the Worlds (1953) This movie has it all: great story, good effects, spaceships and death rays! The Spielberg remake with Tom cruise was not good at all. Don’t confuse the two.

1 – Blade Runner (1982) Harrison Ford. With better special effects than current movies, a strong story, and good acting, few movies can compare to Blade Runner.

You’re thinking we missed that one movie… but maybe it’s at #51?

Note: Battle of the Worlds (1961) the first Death Star makes its appearance. Great movie.

Worst big blockbusters: Phantom Menace, Battlefield Earth, and Avatar. All very predictable and boring, lacking style or substance.

Best wishes for more good sci-fi movies in the future.

See Also: The Top 10 Sci-Fi TV Series

Top 25 Post-Apocalyptic Movies of All Time

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