Brace for Impact: These Are the Best Disaster Movies of All Time
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Have you ever driven past a car accident and found yourself struggling to look away? Yeah, that's the same feeling we get when we watch disaster movies. Whether it's a tsunami, tornado, disease, or even a giant asteroid headed straight toward Earth, there's something about watching the worst scenarios unfold on screen from the safety of your comfy couch.
There's a reason disaster movies are their own genre—they manage to combine everything we love about adventure movies, thrillers, and horror all into one. If you're anything like us and have a guilty pleasure for witnessing complete catastrophes unfold on screen, you've come to the right place: we rounded up the best disaster movies of all time for your next nail-biting movie marathon. Some have hopeful endings, while others show that it's realistically kinda hard to outrun an apocalypse. A handful of these movies even sprinkle in some romance, but don't be surprised if some also make you ugly cry.
Regardless, it's true that nothing can grab your attention quite like watching the world literally end in 2012, living through the worst blizzard of all time like in The Day After Tomorrow, or watching a mysterious pandemic spread across the globe (oh, wait...). Without further ado, I present: all the must-watch disaster movies to press play on next.
2012 (2009)
If you were one of the people who *lowkey* believed the conspiracy that the world would end in 2012, this movie is for you! When the Earth's prophesied expiration date comes, world leaders begin secret preparations for the survival of select members of the world, and it's up to failed writer Jackson Curtis to lead his family to safety.
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The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Starring Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal, a climatologist does his best to warn U.N. officials about environmental concerns. When his prediction of an enormous superstorm proves to be true, a string of catastrophic natural disasters happens worldwide. He risks his life while braving the extreme elements to get to his son, who is trapped in New York, before it's too late.
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The Impossible (2012)
Based on true events, in December 2004, a family enjoys their winter vacation in Thailand, but the day after Christmas turns the holiday into an incomprehensible nightmare when a tsunami hits the coast. (Psst, the movie stars a young Tom Holland, btw).
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San Andreas (2015)
A seemingly normal day in sunny California quickly turns tragic when the notorious San Andreas fault triggers a magnitude 9 earthquake (yeah, that would technically be the largest recorded, like, ever). As the Earth cracks open and buildings begin to crumble, Ray Gaines, an LAFD search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, must navigate the destruction from L.A. to San Francisco to save his estranged wife and only daughter.
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Titanic (1997)
Could you get more tragic than this? You probably already know the premise of the story, but here it goes one more time: based off the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S Titanic, Rose and Jack must navigate societal differences and a sinking ship in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic.
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Contagion (2011)
When Beth Emhoff returns home from a Hong Kong business trip, she dies from a mysterious illness two days later that doctors have never seen before. Soon, others start to exhibit the same symptoms as a global pandemic spreads. Healthcare professionals and government officials race against time to find a cure while an emboldened blogger spreads paranoia. Sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it?
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Greenland (2020)
John, his estranged wife, and their young son embark on a journey in search of sanctuary as a planet-killing comet flies toward Earth. As the countdown to the end of the world approaches zero, their trek turns into a desperate and last-minute fight for any possible safe haven they can reach.
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Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Based on the true events of April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing several crew members and setting the surrounding sea on fire. Banding together to survive the heat and flames, chief electronics technician Mike Williams and co-workers must use their wits to make it out alive amid the chaos.
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Pompeii (2014)
How old were you when you went had a random obsession with the doomed city of Pompeii? We all went through it, right? Based loosely on the true events of 79 A.D., a gladiator who has caught the eye of a wealthy merchant's daughter races against time when Mount Vesuvius rains lava and ash down on the city to save her before it's too late.
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World War Z (2013)
When a former U.N. investigator and his family get stuck in an urban gridlock, they quickly learn this isn't just an ordinary traffic jam. The city (and the rest of the world) erupts into chaos as a lethal virus spreads with one single bite, turning healthy people into vicious and feral zombies. With the pandemic spreading, it's up to the investigator to find the source of the infection in hopes of halting the spread.
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Don't Look Up (2021)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, two low-level astronomers embark on an ambitious media tour to warn mankind of the approaching comet that will destroy the planet. The only problem? No one really takes their warning seriously.
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Armageddon (1998)
When an astroid the size of Texas is on a collision course with Earth, NASA recruits a misfit team of drillers to help save the planet. The mission? Drill into the astroid's surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. No pressure.
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The Happening (2008)
Starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, ordinary life turns deadly when an apocalyptic threat to humanity arrives out of thin air with a string of inexplicable deaths spreading across the country. The cause? No one knows! And after trading the city for Pennsylvania farmland, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe.
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Moonfall (2022)
When a mysterious force knocks the moon out of orbit and sends it straight at Earth, the planet is on the brink of annihilation (obvi). With just a few weeks before the moon is expected to collide with the planet, a NASA exec teams up with a man from her past and a conspiracy theorist for an unthinkable mission to save humanity.
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Dante's Peak (1997)
A volcanologist arrives in a picturesque countryside town and soon discovers that a dormant volcano, Dante's Peak, may activate quickly. When the mayor finally convinces the residents to leave immediately, she must race against the clock to save her kids, who went up the mountain to retrieve their grandmother.
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Volcano (1997)
Earthquakes in California aren't surprising, but when one hits the city of Los Angeles, it proves to be more dangerous than expected. The Emergency Management Department head, Mike Roark, returns from his vacation to help the city's response, but things take a turn for the worse when a geologist warns that a volcano may be forming in the sewer tunnels, threatening to destroy the City of Angels.
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Leave the World Behind (2023)
When a NYC family takes a vacay to Long Island, they're interrupted by a father and daughter bearing news of a blackout. As an unknown threat grows and technology continues to be disrupted, both families must decide how best to survive the crisis.
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Twister (1996)
A university professor and a team of students prepare Dorothy, a ground-breaking tornado data-gathering device, for the most powerful storm in decades. But when a privately funded rival steals the same idea, it's a race to see who can put themselves in the crosshairs of the extremely violent tornado first.
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The Birds (1963)
If you saw this Alfred Hitchcock film when you were young, you know the irrational fear of birds that comes from watching it. TBH, watching birds attack an entire town of people is pretty disturbing, but this classic is still absolutely worth a watch if you ask us.
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The 5th Wave (2016)
Adapted from the novel of the same name, the human race is facing extinction when a series of alien attacks cause natural disasters and disease. After being separated from her family, a teen will do whatever it takes to see her brother again, but she has to survive the fifth assault from the invaders first.
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Geostorm (2017)
After an unprecedented number of natural disasters give the planet a run for its money, world leaders implement a network of satellites to control the climate and hopefully lessen the impacts of these natural disasters. But alas, something has gone wrong—the system created to protect the planet is attacking it. Now, it's a race against the clock to avoid a worldwide geostorm that threatens to destroy everything.
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Outbreak (1995)
After a monkey carrying a lethal virus is smuggled into the U.S., an outbreak begins in a California town. In order to control the spread of the disease that threatens civilization, a team of doctors must find a way to save the town before it's too late.
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The Midnight Sky (2020)
Starring George Clooney, a lone scientist in the Arctic must find a way to contact a crew of astronauts returning home of the catastrophic state of the planet before they make the devastating trip back.
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The Wandering Earth (2019)
Ever wonder what would happen if the sun dies (plz say no)? In this disaster flick, people around the globe build giant thrusters to move Earth out of orbit and into a new star system. Even 2,500 years after the tragic event, young people continue the fight for survival.
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White Noise (2022)
Starring Adam Driver, a college professor and his family's normal suburban life is upended when a nearby chemical leak from a derailed train causes "The Airborne Toxic Event." The toxic black cloud of fumes spreads over the region, forcing families to evacuate. Let's just say that this movie manages to thoroughly creep us out simply because the disastrous events of the storyline happened around the same time as the movie's release (IYKYK)!
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The Core (2003)
The planet's magnetic field is rapidly deteriorating after it's discovered that an unknown force has caused Earth's inner core to stop rotating. With the atmosphere literally crumbling, a geophysicist along with a team of scientist make a trek into the planet's core with the hopes to detonate a device that will reactivate it.
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Melancholia (2011)
Two sisters are trying to recover from a heavy cycle of depression and a failed marriage when it's discovered that a planet is on a direct collision course with Earth. As you can imagine, this news is the last thing the sisters need in their lives, but they cope with their fate in very different ways.
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I Am Legend (2007)
Robert Neville is seemingly the sole survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into violent mutants. He wanders the city of New York looking for other survivors and uses his science background to attempt to develop a cure using his own immune blood. Btw, can truly say that these zombies are some of the scariest kinds: f-a-s-t!
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Poseidon (2006)
On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner Poseidon becomes the modern-day Titanic when a large wave capsizes the ship. The survivors of the initial impact are left to fight for their lives as they attempt to make it out of the sinking vessel alive.
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Deep Impact (1998)
Similar to many of the movies on this list, a comet is hurtling towards Earth, posing a threat to humanity's existence. The government keeps the crisis under wraps, but when a reporter uncovers the truth, President Beck (played by Morgan Freeman) finally announces his plan: to send astronauts to land on the comet and deploy explosives in hopes of diverting it from Earth. Fingers crossed!
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The Perfect Storm (2000)
Inspired by real events, this disaster movie follows courageous fishermen whose worst nightmares are realized when they are confronted by three raging weather fronts that create the fiercest storm in modern history—"The Perfect Storm."
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Disaster Movie (2008)
Although satirical and making fun of virtually the entire disaster movie genre, it just wouldn't be a round up without a movie that shares the same name. This tongue-and-cheek flick follows a group of 20-somethings (oh, by the way, one is Kim K) who must dodge a series of disasters. We're talking earthquakes, asteroids, tornadoes; you name it.
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