The 20 best sci-fi movies of all time, according to fans

• There are thousands of movies on Netflix, and finding the right one to watch can be difficult.

• Here, we've listed the best sci-fi movies to watch, according to fans.

• Fan-favorite movies include "Blade Runner" and "Inception."

Sometimes, it's nice to escape the day-to-day and get immersed in the futuristic worlds of science fiction. But what films do sci-fi fans consider to be the greatest in the genre?

We examined the movie-based social network Letterboxd's list of the highest-rated films of all time (according to average weighted ratings from its 1.5 million users) to find the science fiction stories that audiences consider the most worthwhile.

The results included a range of titles, from classics like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Alien" to newer favorites like "Inception" and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."

Here are the 20 best sci-fi movies of all time, according to fans.

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"

This Oscar-winning animated film follows Miles Morales, an African-American/Puerto Rican Brooklyn teenager who is bitten by a radioactive spider and gets web-slinging abilities just before a portal to other dimensions opens.

With the help of other versions of Spider-Man, he uses his newfound skills to save New York City from the villainous crime lord Kingpin.

"Alien"

Description: Director Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi horror movie kicked off a huge franchise, with several sequels. But 1979's "Alien" opens as a team of astronauts returning to Earth encounter a mysterious alien in deep space. As it begins killing them off one by one, it's up to Sigourney Weaver's tough Ellen Ripley to outsmart the killer.

"Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope"

It's hard to talk about science fiction without mentioning the massively popular "Star Wars" franchise, and the 1977 film is where it all began.

Combining elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and westerns, "A New Hope" follows farmboy Luke Skywalker, who joins a mission to free the captive Princess Leia from the cruel Empire, and begins learning the ways of a mysterious power called The Force.

"Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back"

In this 1980 follow-up to the original "Star Wars," Luke Skywalker trains with the powerful Yoda in preparation for his next confrontation with the evil Darth Vader, while Han Solo and Princess Leia evade capture by the totalitarian Empire.

With its ambitious world-building and surprising character arcs, "The Empire Strikes Back" is widely regarded as one of the best and most influential movie sequels ever.

"Back to the Future"

When teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent 30 years into the past and interferes with his parents getting together, he must rush to set them up before his own existence is erased.

With wacky, lovable characters, time travel adventures, and a great soundtrack, "Back to the Future" is one of the most enduring '80s blockbusters.

"Inception"

Leonardo DiCaprio leads the ensemble cast of the sci-fi thriller "Inception," in which members of an espionage business enter their targets' dreams and steal secrets from their subconscious.

When the group's leader (DiCaprio) is recruited to plant an idea in someone's mind instead, a shadowy enemy begins following his every move.

"The Thing"

In classic horror director John Carpenter's spine-tingling sci-fi movie "The Thing," researchers at a remote research station in Antarctica unearth an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years.

Once the creature awakes, it reveals its ability to shape-shift into its victims and begins picking off the nearby humans.

"Children of Men"

Based on P.D. James' 1992 novel, "Children of Men" takes place in a dystopian future where the human race has become mysteriously sterile and a dictatorship has arisen.

When a group of revolutionaries discover the only pregnant woman in the world, they fight to transport her to safety.

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Everyone has painful memories of other people that they sometimes wish they could forget, but what if science progressed to the point where that was actually possible?

That's the premise of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," in which Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play an estranged couple who undergo a procedure to erase their memories of each other.

"Aliens"

In director James Cameron's action-packed sequel to "Alien," Ripley once again faces off against the franchise's titular murderous aliens. This time, she finds herself up against a female creature protecting her young, as she attempts to save a young girl who is the sole survivor of a space colony.

"2001: A Space Odyssey"

In Stanley Kubrick's heady sci-fi classic, things go awry when astronauts travel to investigate a mysterious signal coming from the planet Jupiter and an AI begins to sew chaos.

Often referred to as the greatest science fiction film of all time, "2001: A Space Odyssey" is ranked by the American Film Institute as the 15th best American movie ever.

"Terminator 2: Judgment Day"

Set 10 years after the original 1984 "Terminator" film, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" sees Arnold Schwarzenegger reprise his role as the franchise's titular cyborg.

In the movie, two Terminators from the future arrive in search of young John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against machines — one looking to kill him, and the other fighting to protect him.

"A Clockwork Orange"

Three years after Kubrick made "2001: A Space Odyssey," he directed another enduring sci-fi story with 1971's "A Clockwork Orange," based on the 1962 novel.

In the sci-fi crime drama, sadistic gangs roam a dystopian London and terrorize its residents. When gang leader Alex is caught and jailed, he submits to a procedure that makes him sick at the thought of violence in order to gain his freedom.

"The Iron Giant"

Years before he directed the Pixar hit "The Incredibles," Brad Bird got his start with the heartfelt animated movie "The Iron Giant."

The story takes place during the Cold War, as a young boy befriends an intergalactic robot that a government agent seeks to destroy.

"Metropolis"

The influential 1927 film "Metropolis" imagines a futuristic city divided between the wealthy and the mistreated workers who live below them.

When a privileged young man bonds with a rebellious, working-class teacher, he comes into conflict with his father (the mastermind behind the city).

"Stalker"

The Russian film "Stalker" takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, where an alien wasteland known as The Zone is rumored to contain "The Room" — a space in which a person's innermost desires are immediately fulfilled.

Three men enter The Zone in search of the mystical area, facing unforeseen dangers and contemplating why they want to visit The Room in the first place.

"Solaris"

Before directing "Stalker," acclaimed filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky directed the equally compelling "Solaris."

In the psychological sci-fi drama, a psychologist is sent to a space station whose inhabitants are suffering from mysterious mental distress. He soon finds out that the water from the nearby planet of Solaris brings forth repressed obsessions and memories in people's minds, and starts to unravel himself.

"Arrival"

Linguistics expert Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is recruited by the US Army to try and communicate with aliens after 24 UFOs land across the entire planet.

As various governments around the planet try to figure out a plan of action, Louise discovers that there is a poignant reason behind the aliens' arrival.

"Blade Runner"

1982's "Blade Runner" pictures a dystopian, cyberpunk vision of Los Angeles in which humanity has started colonizing the galaxy, and companies use robots to work in colonies.

Some of these synthetic beings have become sentient, and LA cop Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is tasked with hunting them down. But in doing so, he's forced to reckon with his own ideas about humanity and life.

"Dune"

Based on Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel of the same name, 2021's "Dune" sees the House Atreides given control over the desert world, Arrakis. The planet's natural resource is vital for space travel, making it a key asset to the universe.

But the transition of power sees House Harkonnen usurp the Atreides family, leaving Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) in the desert to seek help from the planet's indigenous population, the Fremen.

This article was originally published on May 4, 2020, and was last updated on November 17, 2023.

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