Anything based on a futuristic imagination that explores technological advancements, ecological shifts, social movements, and other topics is considered science fiction. A lot of science fiction films are set in outer space or on other worlds. Sci-fi categories on this list include time travel, robotics, alien invasion, environmental disasters, and other speculative themes.

1. Dune (2021)

Denis Villeneuve, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, is the director and co-producer of the 2021 American epic science fiction film Dune (also known as Dune: Part One). It is the first of two parts that adapt Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name from 1965. The movie, which takes place in the far future, follows Paul Atreides as his family—the honorable House Atreides—becomes embroiled in a conflict over the hostile and lethal desert planet Arrakis. Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, Jason Momoa, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Rebecca Ferguson are among the ensemble cast members.

This film is the third adaptation of Dune, following the David Lynch-directed picture from 1984 and the John Harrison-starring television miniseries from 2000. In 2016, Legendary Entertainment acquired the film and television rights to Dune after Paramount Pictures’ unsuccessful attempt to produce a new version. In February 2017, Villeneuve became a member of the team as director. Only the production contracts for the first film were secured; whether or not a sequel was produced depended on the first film’s box office performance. Principal photography was carried out in Budapest, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, and Norway between March and July 2019.

2. Inception (2010)

The 2010 science fiction action movie Inception was written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also co-produced it with his wife, Emma Thomas. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a professional burglar in the movie who collects information by breaking into his victims’ minds. In exchange for implanting someone else’s notion into a target’s brain, he is given the opportunity to have his criminal history removed from record. Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, and Michael Caine are among the ensemble cast members.

The film Inception debuted on July 8, 2010, in London, and on July 16, 2010, it was distributed in regular and IMAX theaters. With a global box office total of approximately $837 million, Inception ranked fourth among all movies released in 2010. One of the greatest movies of the decade, Inception was nominated for four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Score) and took home four Oscars (Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects).

3. Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan is the writer and director of the science fiction action thriller Tenet, which he and his wife Emma Thomas also produced. Starring in a co-production between the US and the UK are Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson, and John David Washington. In the movie, a former CIA agent is enlisted in a covert organization and given the mission of determining the origin of time-traveling devices and how they relate to an attack that occurs in the future and affects the present. For the film’s production and distribution, Nolan maintained his partnership with Warner Bros. and his production business Syncopy.

Despite failing to break even, it became the first Hollywood tentpole to premiere in theaters during the pandemic and went on to gross $365 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, ranking it as the sixth highest-grossing movie of 2020. Critics gave the movie favorable reviews, and it was nominated for two awards at the 93rd Academy Awards, where it won Best Visual Effects. Tenet won further awards as well, such as the 74th British Academy Film Awards’ Best Special Visual Effects. Since then, the movie has developed a cult following among fans of Christopher Nolan and science fiction enthusiasts.

4. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

In 2014, Doug Liman directed the science fiction action movie Edge of Tomorrow, which was written by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. The film is partially inspired on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s novel All You Need Is Kill, which was published in Japan. The movie, which stars Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise, is set in a future in which an extraterrestrial species has taken over most of Europe. After being coerced by his superiors to participate in a landing operation against the aliens, Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with little military experience, finds himself stuck in a time loop while attempting to stop the invaders. Brendan Gleeson and Bill Paxton were also chosen for supporting parts.

Warner Bros. invested more than $100 million in Edge of Tomorrow advertising. On the weekend of May 30, 2014, it was released in theaters in 28 countries, and a week later, in 36 more. Critics gave the movie favorable reviews, praising the acting, action scenes, direction, and story. Over $370.5 million was made globally during its theatrical run.

5. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Denis Villeneuve helmed the 2017 American epic neo-noir science fiction picture Blade Runner 2049, which was based on a tale by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford lead the picture, which is a follow-up to Blade Runner (1982). Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Dave Bautista, and Jared Leto play supporting parts. Ford and Edward James Olmos, who played Rick Deckard and Gaff in the last movie, respectively, return to their respective roles. In the film, Gosling portrays K, a “blade runner” who discovers a secret that has the potential to upend civilization and society.

The development of a Blade Runner sequel was put on hold in the 1990s due to licensing concerns. The film rights were acquired by Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson from Bud Yorkin. Villeneuve was eventually chosen to helm the movie after Ridley Scott resigned as director and served as executive producer. Alcon Entertainment and Sony Pictures partnered to finance Blade Runner 2049, and the Hungarian government provided a tax refund. The movie was released in North America by Warner Bros., the same company that had distributed its predecessor, on behalf of Alcon, with Sony handling foreign distribution. From July to November 2016, two soundstages in Budapest served as the primary shooting locations for four months of principal photography.

6. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

The absurdist comedy-drama film Everything Everywhere All at Once, released in 2022, was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Jonathan Wang, Anthony and Joe Russo, and Daniel Kwan produced the picture. A variety of genres and film mediums are incorporated into the movie, such as animation, science fiction, fantasy, martial arts movies, surreal comedy, and immigrant stories. Starring with Michelle Yeoh is Evelyn Quan Wang, a Chinese-American immigrant who learns she needs to communicate with alternate versions of herself in order to stop a strong force from destroying the multiverse during an IRS investigation. In supporting parts in the movie are Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., and James Hong.

In 2010, Kwan and Scheinert started working on the idea. 2018 saw the announcement of the production, with principal photography taking place in January–March 2020. Jackie Chan was first considered by the filmmakers for the main role, but the script was then changed to include a female protagonist who would play a husband and wife team. Several moments were inspired by the works of Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai, the children’s book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, and the computer game Everything. Along with exploring philosophical subjects like neurodivergence, depression, generational trauma, and Asian American identity, the movie also looks at themes like nihilism, absurdism, surrealism, and existentialism. Son Lux composed the music, working with Mitski, Randy Newman, André 3000, John Hampson, and David Byrne, among others.

7. Predator (1987)

John McTiernan directed the 1987 American science fiction action movie Predator, which was written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. It is the first Predator movie ever released. In a mission to free hostages in guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Dutch Schaefer, the leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team. Along the way, they come across the deadly Predator (Kevin Peter Hall), a skilled and technologically advanced alien who stalks and hunts them down. Supporting cast members include Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, and Shane Black.

Hunter was the working title of Predator when it was written in 1984. With a budget of about $15 million and creature effects designed by Stan Winston, the filming took place between March and June of 1986. On June 12, 1987, 20th Century Fox distributed the movie in the US. It made $98 million worldwide. Despite receiving a mixed bag of reviews at first, the action and science fiction classic is now regarded as one of the greatest movies of the 1980s and was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

8. Code 8 (2019)

Jeff Chan is the writer and director of the 2019 Canadian science fiction action movie Code 8, which stars Stephen and Robbie Amell as cousins. The film is a full-length adaptation of the 2016 short film of the same name, which tells the story of a superhuman guy who teams up with several crooks to gather money for his sick mother.

In December 2019, Code 8 made its theatrical debut, and in April 2020, Netflix made it available for streaming.

Code 8: Part II, the movie’s sequel, was made available on Netflix on February 28, 2024.

9. Avatar (2009)

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver feature in the epic science fiction picture Avatar (marketed as James Cameron’s Avatar), which was directed, written, produced, and edited by James Cameron in 2009. This movie is the first in the Avatar movie series. Setting: Humans are populating Pandora, a lush, habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in the middle of the 22nd century in order to mine the lucrative mineral unobtainium. The native Na’vi tribe, an indigenous humanoid species of Pandora, is in danger of disappearing due to the mining colony’s growth.

The movie’s title alludes to a genetically altered Na’vi body that communicates with the locals of Pandora through the brain of a distant human operator.

10. Gravity (2013)

Alfonso Cuarón, the director of Gravity, a science fiction thriller from 2013, also co-wrote, co-edited, and produced the movie. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are American astronauts who, after their Space Shuttle is destroyed in orbit, try to return to Earth.

Along with his son Jonás, Cuarón created the screenplay and tried to get Universal Pictures to produce the movie. Warner Bros. Pictures later purchased the distribution rights. Producing the movie alongside Cuarón was David Heyman, who collaborated with him on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). The entire 91 minutes of Gravity were made in the United Kingdom, where the British visual effects company Framestore spent more than three years producing the majority of the visual effects.

Special Mention

The Creator (2023)

Gareth Edwards, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz, is the director and co-producer of the 2023 American science fiction action film The Creator. Starring are Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Gemma Chan, and John David Washington. The story takes place in 2070, fifteen years after artificial intelligence (AI) triggered a nuclear explosion in Los Angeles, sparking a conflict between humans and AI. An ex-special forces agent is sent to track down and eliminate the “Creator,” who has created an enigmatic weapon that could put an end to the conflict.

The science fiction project, which Edwards signed on to write and direct for New Regency, started to take shape in November 2019 and was formally revealed in February 2020. After hiring Washington in May 2021, the remaining actors joined during the course of the following year. With a production budget of $80 million, filming in Thailand started in January 2022 and ended in May of the same year.

On September 29, 2023, 20th Century Studios published The Creator in the United States. On a $80 million budget, the movie brought in $104 million and was well-received by reviewers. It was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film and Best Film Visual / Special Effects at the 51st Saturn Awards, and it garnered two nods for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the 96th Academy Awards.