Science fiction is one of cinema’s most consistently beloved genres. Just as audiences were dazzled by Georges Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon” at the dawn of motion pictures in 1902, modern filmgoers often flock to see the latest big budget sci-fi spectacle.

The recently released “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has already grossed nearly $600 million in the United States. Other science fiction franchises – while not reaching the popularity of Star Wars – also have amassed large fan bases.

24/7 Wall St. recently brought you the 50 best sci-fi movies of all time. We’ve now revisited the list, updating the titles for current popularity and doubling the number of films to 100.

To determine the best sci-fi movies, 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on user ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. The films range from 1931 to this year.

Click here to see the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

100. Until the End of the World (1991)
> Director: Wim Wenders
> Starring: William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Pietro Falcone
> Domestic box office: $0.75 million

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99. Son of Frankenstein (1939)
> Director: Rowland V. Lee
> Starring: Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi
> Domestic box office: N/A

98. Total Recall (1990)
> Director: Paul Verhoeven
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside
> Domestic box office: $119.39 million

 

97. The Time Machine (1960)
> Director: George Pal
> Starring: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux
> Domestic box office: N/A

96. Time After Time (1979)
> Director: Nicholas Meyer
> Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner
> Domestic box office: N/A

95. Men in Black (1997)
> Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
> Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino
> Domestic box office: $250.69 million

94. Robot & Frank (2012)
> Director: Jake Schreier
> Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon
> Domestic box office: $3.33 million

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93. Chronicle (2012)
> Director: Josh Trank
> Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan
> Domestic box office: $64.58 million

92. Dark City (1998)
> Director: Alex Proyas
> Starring: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly
> Domestic box office: $14.38 million

91. Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
> Director: Justin Lin
> Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban
> Domestic box office: $158.85 million

90. They Live (1988)
> Director: John Carpenter
> Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
> Domestic box office: $13.01 million

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89. Predator (1987)
> Director: John McTiernan
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall
> Domestic box office: $59.74 million

88. Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
> Director: George Roy Hill
> Starring: Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche
> Domestic box office: N/A

87. Gattaca (1997)
> Director: Andrew Niccol
> Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law
> Domestic box office: $12.34 million

86. The Abyss (1989)
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn
> Domestic box office: $54.46 million

85. RoboCop (1987)
> Director: Paul Verhoeven
> Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy
> Domestic box office: $53.42 million

84. The World’s End (2013)
> Director: Edgar Wright
> Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman
> Domestic box office: $26.00 million

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83. Super 8 (2011)
> Director: J.J. Abrams
> Starring: Elle Fanning, AJ Michalka, Kyle Chandler
> Domestic box office: $127.00 million

82. The Matrix (1999)
> Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
> Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
> Domestic box office: $171.48 million

81. Coherence (2013)
> Director: James Ward Byrkit
> Starring: Emily Baldoni, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon
> Domestic box office: $0.07 million

 

80. Frankenweenie (2012)
> Director: Tim Burton
> Starring: Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short
> Domestic box office: $35.29 million

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79. The Dead Zone (1983)
> Director: David Cronenberg
> Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt
> Domestic box office: $20.77 million

78. The Lobster (2015)
> Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
> Starring: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden
> Domestic box office: $8.70 million

77. Repo Man (1984)
> Director: Alex Cox
> Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter
> Domestic box office: $3.57 million

 

76. Upstream Color (2013)
> Director: Shane Carruth
> Starring: Amy Seimetz, Frank Mosley, Shane Carruth
> Domestic box office: $0.44 million

75. Mr. Nobody (2009)
> Director: Jaco Van Dormael
> Starring: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger
> Domestic box office: $0.00 million

74. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
> Director: Jonathan Frakes
> Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
> Domestic box office: $92.00 million

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73. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
> Director: Steve Box, Nick Park
> Starring: Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes
> Domestic box office: $56.11 million

72. The Thing from Another World (1951)
> Director: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks
> Starring: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, James Arness
> Domestic box office: N/A

71. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
> Director: Dan Trachtenberg
> Starring: John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr.
> Domestic box office: $71.90 million

70. V for Vendetta (2005)
> Director: James McTeigue
> Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves
> Domestic box office: $70.51 million

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69. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)
> Director: Rian Johnson
> Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill
> Domestic box office: $618.86 million

 

68. Re-Animator (1985)
> Director: Stuart Gordon
> Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton
> Domestic box office: $2.02 million

67. Them! (1954)
> Director: Gordon Douglas
> Starring: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon
> Domestic box office: N/A

66. District 9 (2009)
> Director: Neill Blomkamp
> Starring: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope
> Domestic box office: $115.65 million

65. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
> Director: Rupert Wyatt
> Starring: James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto
> Domestic box office: $176.76 million

64. The Hunger Games (2012)
> Director: Gary Ross
> Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
> Domestic box office: $408.01 million

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63. Okja (2017)
> Director: Joon-ho Bong
> Starring: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Seo-Hyun Ahn
> Domestic box office: N/A

62. Doctor Strange (2016)
> Director: Scott Derrickson
> Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams
> Domestic box office: $232.64 million

61. Serenity (2005)
> Director: Joss Whedon
> Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor
> Domestic box office: $25.51 million

60. Source Code (2011)
> Director: Duncan Jones
> Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
> Domestic box office: $54.71 million

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59. Planet of the Apes (1968)
> Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
> Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
> Domestic box office: $33.40 million

58. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
> Director: Terry Gilliam
> Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt
> Domestic box office: $57.14 million

57. Minority Report (2002)
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton
> Domestic box office: $132.07 million

56. Snowpiercer (2013)
> Director: Joon-ho Bong
> Starring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton
> Domestic box office: $4.56 million

55. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
> Director: Philip Kaufman
> Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum
> Domestic box office: $24.95 million

54. Sleeper (1973)
> Director: Woody Allen
> Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck
> Domestic box office: N/A

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53. The Iron Giant (1999)
> Director: Brad Bird
> Starring: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston
> Domestic box office: $23.16 million

52. Annihilation (2018)
> Director: Alex Garland
> Starring: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson
> Domestic box office: $14.99 million

51. The Fly (1986)
> Director: David Cronenberg
> Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz
> Domestic box office: $40.46 million

50. Big Hero 6 (2014)
> Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
> Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
> Domestic box office: $222.53 million

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49. The Thing (1982)
> Director: John Carpenter
> Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
> Domestic box office: $13.78 million

48. Children of Men (2006)
> Director: Alfonso Cuarón
> Starring: Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor
> Domestic box office: $35.55 million

 

47. Rogue One (2016)
> Director: Gareth Edwards
> Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk
> Domestic box office: $532.18 million

46. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
> Director: Richard Marquand
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Domestic box office: $309.13 million

45. Avatar (2009)
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
> Domestic box office: $760.51 million

44. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
> Director: Francis Lawrence
> Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
> Domestic box office: $424.67 million

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43. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
> Director: Nicholas Meyer
> Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
> Domestic box office: $78.91 million

 

42. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
> Director: Doug Liman
> Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
> Domestic box office: $100.21 million

41. The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
> Director: Jack Arnold
> Starring: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent
> Domestic box office: N/A

 

40. Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
> Director: J.J. Abrams
> Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana
> Domestic box office: $228.78 million

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39. Looper (2012)
> Director: Rian Johnson
> Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
> Domestic box office: $66.49 million

38. Jurassic Park (1993)
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
> Domestic box office: $402.45 million

37. Interstellar (2014)
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
> Domestic box office: $188.02 million

 

36. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
> Director: Rouben Mamoulian
> Starring: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
> Domestic box office: N/A

35. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote
> Domestic box office: $435.11 million

 

34. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
> Director: Matt Reeves
> Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn
> Domestic box office: $146.88 million

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33. Forbidden Planet (1956)
> Director: Fred M. Wilcox
> Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen
> Domestic box office: $3.00 million

32. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
> Director: Robert Aldrich
> Starring: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart
> Domestic box office: N/A

31. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
> Director: Matt Reeves
> Starring: Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis
> Domestic box office: $208.55 million

30. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
> Director: Robert Wise
> Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
> Domestic box office: N/A

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29. Iron Man (2008)
> Director: Jon Favreau
> Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard
> Domestic box office: $318.41 million

28. Seconds (1966)
> Director: John Frankenheimer
> Starring: Rock Hudson, Frank Campanella, John Randolph
> Domestic box office: N/A

27. The Martian (2015)
> Director: Ridley Scott
> Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig
> Domestic box office: $228.43 million

26. The Invisible Man (1933)
> Director: James Whale
> Starring: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan
> Domestic box office: N/A

 

25. The Terminator (1984)
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
> Domestic box office: $38.40 million

24. Star Trek (2009)
> Director: J.J. Abrams
> Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg
> Domestic box office: $257.73 million

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23. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr
> Domestic box office: $132.09 million

22. Arrival (2016)
> Director: Denis Villeneuve
> Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
> Domestic box office: $100.55 million

21. Frankenstein (1931)
> Director: James Whale
> Starring: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff
> Domestic box office: $12.00 million

 

20. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
> Director: J.J. Abrams
> Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac
> Domestic box office: $936.66 million

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19. Terminator 2 (1991)
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
> Domestic box office: $204.84 million

18. King Kong (1933)
> Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
> Starring: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
> Domestic box office: $10.00 million

17. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
> Director: Denis Villeneuve
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas
> Domestic box office: $92.05 million

16. Her (2013)
> Director: Spike Jonze
> Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson
> Domestic box office: $25.57 million

15. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
> Director: Don Siegel
> Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates
> Domestic box office: N/A

14. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
> Director: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
> Domestic box office: N/A

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13. Back to the Future (1985)
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
> Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
> Domestic box office: $210.61 million

12. Blade Runner (1982)
> Director: Ridley Scott,
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
> Domestic box office: $27.00 million

 

11. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
> Director: Michel Gondry
> Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson
> Domestic box office: $34.40 million

10. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
> Director: James Whale
> Starring: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
> Domestic box office: N/A

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9. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
> Director: George Miller
> Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
> Domestic box office: $153.64 million

8. Gravity (2013)
> Director: Alfonso Cuarón
> Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
> Domestic box office: $274.09 million

7. Inception (2010)
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page
> Domestic box office: $292.58 million

6. Aliens (1986)
> Director: James Cameron
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
> Domestic box office: $85.16 million

5. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
> Director: George Lucas
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Domestic box office: $322.74 million

4. WALL·E (2008)
> Director: Andrew Stanton
> Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
> Domestic box office: $223.81 million

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3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> Director: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
> Domestic box office: $56.95 million

2. Alien (1979)
> Director: Ridley Scott
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
> Domestic box office: $78.90 million

1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
> Director: Irvin Kershner
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Domestic box office: $290.48 million

Early science fiction stories mostly evolved from established scientific facts or theories. Works often explored the consequences of specific scientific or technological innovation, highlighting society’s relationship with progress and change.

Many of the earliest sci-fi works are now classified as “hard” science fiction, a class of science fiction rooted in scientific accuracy. In works of “soft” science fiction, by contrast, creators often take artistic liberties with their subject matter and may have little concern for scientific rigor. A soft sci-fi approach may be better suited for the visual spectacle of a Hollywood blockbuster. Even so, plenty of hard sci-fi movies make the 24/7 list.

For example, a scientifically accurate film set in outer space would have no visible laser beams or engine noises as both are impossible in the vacuum of space. While many of the best sci-fi movies of all time often ignore such laws, providing audiences with plenty of space flight and explosion sounds, others, such as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” generally depict the laws of science accurately.

Some of the most popular science fiction films are based on the earliest literature in the genre. Based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 book by the same name, 1931’s “Frankenstein” ranks as the 23rd most popular science fiction film of all time. While “Frankenstein” is largely remembered for the monster that its eponymous main character creates, the work endures largely because of its exploration of the pursuit of knowledge and nature of man.

Science fiction pioneer H.G. Wells also makes the list with the 1933 adaptation of his 1897 book “The Invisible Man.” This story, about a scientist who as a result of a flawed experiment becomes invisible and segregated from society, is one of the first works of sci-fi to explore the theme of isolation.

Science fiction often deals with the prevailing concerns of society at the time of their writing. A recent example is the 2013 film “Her,” which explores the romantic relationship between a man and his artificial intelligence-powered operating system. While set in a future Los Angeles where computer technology is far more advanced than it is today, “Her” reflects on the current relationship users have with their smartphones.

To determine the best science fiction movies of all time, 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film had to have at least 10,000 Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb user ratings, 10 approved tomatometer critic reviews, and be classified as a sci-fi film by IMDb. Although many superhero films are considered to be sci-fi by IMDb, they were excluded as were other films that were deemed to be too far outside of the genre.

We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating.

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