Science fiction movies challenge the viewer to think beyond what we know about life on Earth, about the potential for space travel, and encountering other forms of life.
The best science fiction movies fill us with wonder and possibility. But when sci-fi flicks fail in this regard, they can generate some of the most cringeworthy movies ever made.
To acknowledge this side of the genre, 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the worst science fiction movies of all time.
Click here to see the worst science fiction movies of all time.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
100. G-Force (2009)
> Director: Hoyt Yeatman
> Starring: Will Arnett, Penélope Cruz, Zach Galifianakis
> Domestic box office: $119.44 million
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99. Hollow Man (2000)
> Director: Paul Verhoeven
> Starring: Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin
> Domestic box office: $73.21 million
98. Lost in Space (1998)
> Director: Stephen Hopkins
> Starring: Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc
> Domestic box office: $69.12 million
97. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
> Director: William Shatner
> Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
> Domestic box office: $52.21 million
96. Coneheads (1993)
> Director: Steve Barron
> Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Robert Knott
> Domestic box office: $21.27 million
95. Soldier (1998)
> Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
> Starring: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Jason Isaacs
> Domestic box office: $14.57 million
94. C.H.U.D. (1984)
> Director: Douglas Cheek
> Starring: John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry
> Domestic box office: $4.65 million
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93. Honey I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
> Director: Randal Kleiser
> Starring: Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman, Robert Oliveri
> Domestic box office: $58.66 million
92. Village of the Damned (1995)
> Director: John Carpenter
> Starring: Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, Linda Kozlowski
> Domestic box office: $9.42 million
91. Geostorm (2017)
> Director: Dean Devlin
> Starring: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish
> Domestic box office: $33.70 million
90. Stealth (2005)
> Director: Rob Cohen
> Starring: Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx
> Domestic box office: $32.12 million
89. Aliens in the Attic (2009)
> Director: John Schultz
> Starring: Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Carter Jenkins
> Domestic box office: $25.20 million
88. Red Planet (2000)
> Director: Antony Hoffman
> Starring: Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore
> Domestic box office: $17.48 million
87. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
> Director: Kevin Yagher
> Starring: Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley
> Domestic box office: $16.68 million
86. Freejack (1992)
> Director: Geoff Murphy
> Starring: Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo
> Domestic box office: $17.13 million
85. Stay Alive (2006)
> Director: William Brent Bell
> Starring: Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz
> Domestic box office: $23.09 million
84. Land of the Lost (2009)
> Director: Brad Silberling
> Starring: Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Anna Friel
> Domestic box office: $49.44 million
83. Phantoms (1998)
> Director: Joe Chappelle
> Starring: Peter O’Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going
> Domestic box office: $5.66 million
82. Bubble Boy (2001)
> Director: Blair Hayes
> Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoosie Kurtz, Marley Shelton
> Domestic box office: $5.00 million
81. Wild Wild West (1999)
> Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
> Starring: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh
> Domestic box office: $113.81 million
80. Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
> Director: Peter Segal
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Janet Jackson, Larry Miller
> Domestic box office: $123.31 million
> Director: Paul McGuigan
> Starring: Camilla Belle, Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans
> Domestic box office: $31.81 million
> Director: Les Mayfield
> Starring: Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald
> Domestic box office: $92.98 million
> Director: Jay Lee
> Starring: Jenna Jameson, Robert Englund, Roxy Saint
> Domestic box office: N/A
> Director: Chris Walas
> Starring: Eric Stoltz, Daphne Zuniga, Lee Richardson
> Domestic box office: $20.02 million
> Director: M. Night Shyamalan
> Starring: Jaden Smith, David Denman, Will Smith
> Domestic box office: $60.52 million
74. The Tuxedo (2002)
> Director: Kevin Donovan
> Starring: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jason Isaacs
> Domestic box office: $50.55 million
73. Junior (1994)
> Director: Ivan Reitman
> Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Emma Thompson
> Domestic box office: $36.76 million
72. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
> Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
> Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O’Herlihy
> Domestic box office: $14.40 million
71. Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)
> Director: Danny Leiner
> Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott, Jennifer Garner
> Domestic box office: $46.73 million
70. Doom (2005)
> Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
> Starring: Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Dwayne Johnson
> Domestic box office: $28.03 million
69. Æon Flux (2005)
> Director: Karyn Kusama,
> Starring: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sophie Okonedo
> Domestic box office: $25.86 million
68. The Lazarus Effect (2015)
> Director: David Gelb
> Starring: Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass, Evan Peters
> Domestic box office: $25.80 million
67. Flatliners (2017)
> Director: Niels Arden Oplev
> Starring: Ellen Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev
> Domestic box office: $16.87 million
66. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
> Director: Michael Bay
> Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel
> Domestic box office: $130.17 million
65. The Happening (2008)
> Director: M. Night Shyamalan
> Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
> Domestic box office: $64.51 million
64. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
> Director: Stuart Gillard
> Starring: Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson
> Domestic box office: $42.66 million
63. The Animal (2001)
> Director: Luke Greenfield
> Starring: Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley
> Domestic box office: $57.74 million
62. Godzilla (1998)
> Director: Roland Emmerich
> Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo
> Domestic box office: $136.31 million
61. Return of the Living Dead II (1988)
> Director: Ken Wiederhorn
> Starring: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy
> Domestic box office: $9.21 million
60. Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
> Director: Robert Longo
> Starring: Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Dina Meyer
> Domestic box office: $19.08 million
59. Judge Dredd (1995)
> Director: Danny Cannon
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Rob Schneider
> Domestic box office: $34.69 million
58. Apollo 18 (2011)
> Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
> Starring: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins
> Domestic box office: $17.69 million
57. Thunderbirds (2004)
> Director: Jonathan Frakes
> Starring: Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Ben Kingsley
> Domestic box office: $6.77 million
56. My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
> Director: Richard Benjamin
> Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz
> Domestic box office: $13.85 million
55. Incarnate (2016)
> Director: Brad Peyton
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno
> Domestic box office: $4.79 million
54. The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)
> Director: John Frankenheimer, Richard Stanley
> Starring: David Thewlis, Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer
> Domestic box office: $27.66 million
53. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978)
> Director: John De Bello
> Starring: David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor
> Domestic box office: N/A
52. The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
> Director: Katt Shea, Robert Mandel
> Starring: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Dylan Bruno
> Domestic box office: $17.76 million
51. Maximum Overdrive (1986)
> Director: Stephen King
> Starring: Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington
> Domestic box office: $7.43 million
50. Congo (1995)
> Director: Frank Marshall
> Starring: Laura Linney, Tim Curry, Dylan Walsh
> Domestic box office: $81.02 million
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49. Pulse (2006)
> Director: Jim Sonzero
> Starring: Kristen Bell, Rick Gonzalez, Christina Milian
> Domestic box office: $20.26 million
48. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (2011)
> Director: Robert Rodriguez
> Starring: Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven, Joel McHale
> Domestic box office: $38.54 million
47. I, Frankenstein (2014)
> Director: Stuart Beattie
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto
> Domestic box office: $19.08 million
46. Bride of the Monster (1955)
> Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
> Starring: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Tony McCoy
> Domestic box office: N/A
45. Jem and the Holograms (2015)
> Director: Jon M. Chu
> Starring: Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau
> Domestic box office: $2.18 million
44. Primeval (2007)
> Director: Michael Katleman
> Starring: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton
> Domestic box office: $10.60 million
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43. Mutant Chronicles (2008)
> Director: Simon Hunter
> Starring: Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki
> Domestic box office: $0.01 million
42. Space Truckers (1996)
> Director: Stuart Gordon
> Starring: Tim Loane, Ian Beattie, Olwen Fouere
> Domestic box office: N/A
41. Ghosts of Mars (2001)
> Director: John Carpenter
> Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Pam Grier
> Domestic box office: $8.43 million
40. Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)
> Director: Shuki Levy, David Winning
> Starring: Jason David Frank, Catherine Sutherland, Hilary Shepard
> Domestic box office: $8.11 million
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39. Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)
> Director: Steve Pink
> Starring: Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke
> Domestic box office: $12.28 million
38. Masters of the Universe (1987)
> Director: Gary Goddard
> Starring: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster
> Domestic box office: $17.34 million
37. Cell (2016)
> Director: Tod Williams
> Starring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman
> Domestic box office: N/A
36. Jason X (2001)
> Director: James Isaac
> Starring: Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Jeff Geddis
> Domestic box office: $13.12 million
35. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
> Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
> Starring: Reiko Aylesworth, Steven Pasquale, Shareeka Epps
> Domestic box office: $41.80 million
34. The Darkest Hour (2011)
> Director: Chris Gorak
> Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella
> Domestic box office: $21.43 million
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33. My Favorite Martian (1999)
> Director: Donald Petrie
> Starring: Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Daniels, Elizabeth Hurley
> Domestic box office: $36.83 million
32. Godsend (2004)
> Director: Nick Hamm
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn
> Domestic box office: $14.38 million
31. Double Team (1997)
> Director: Hark Tsui
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, Mickey Rourke
> Domestic box office: $11.44 million
30. Inspector Gadget (1999)
> Director: David Kellogg
> Starring: Matthew Broderick, Rupert Everett, Joely Fisher
> Domestic box office: $97.40 million
29. Supernova (2000)
> Director: Walter Hill
> Starring: James Spader, Peter Facinelli, Robin Tunney
> Domestic box office: $14.22 million
28. Super Mario Bros. (1993)
> Director: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton
> Starring: Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper
> Domestic box office: $20.92 million
27. Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004)
> Director: Kevin Allen
> Starring: Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, Hannah Spearritt
> Domestic box office: $23.22 million
26. Virus (1999)
> Director: John Bruno
> Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Sutherland, William Baldwin
> Domestic box office: $14.01 million
25. Suburban Commando (1991)
> Director: Burt Kennedy
> Starring: Hulk Hogan, Christopher Lloyd, Shelley Duvall
> Domestic box office: $6.95 million
24. Cyborg (1989)
> Director: Albert Pyun
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Richter, Vincent Klyn
> Domestic box office: $10.17 million
23. Skyline (2010)
> Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
> Starring: Eric Balfour, Donald Faison, Scottie Thompson
> Domestic box office: $21.37 million
22. Ultraviolet (2006)
> Director: Kurt Wimmer
> Starring: Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, Nick Chinlund
> Domestic box office: $18.50 million
21. Zapped! (1982)
> Director: Robert J. Rosenthal
> Starring: Scott Baio, Willie Aames, Robert Mandan
> Domestic box office: $16.90 million
20. The Human Race (2013)
> Director: Paul Hough
> Starring: Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Eddie McGee, Trista Robinson
> Domestic box office: N/A
19. Dragonball: Evolution (2009)
> Director: James Wong
> Starring: Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Yun-Fat Chow
> Domestic box office: $9.35 million
18. Howard the Duck (1986)
> Director: Willard Huyck
> Starring: Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins
> Domestic box office: $16.30 million
17. Species II (1998)
> Director: Peter Medak
> Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger
> Domestic box office: $19.17 million
16. RoboCop 3 (1993)
> Director: Fred Dekker
> Starring: Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Mario Machado
> Domestic box office: $10.70 million
15. Mac and Me (1988)
> Director: Stewart Raffill
> Starring: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary
> Domestic box office: $6.42 million
14. A Sound of Thunder (2005)
> Director: Peter Hyams
> Starring: Edward Burns, Ben Kingsley, Catherine McCormack
> Domestic box office: $1.89 million
13. Bats (1999)
> Director: Louis Morneau
> Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton
> Domestic box office: $10.16 million
12. Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
> Director: Mic Rodgers
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bill Goldberg, Heidi Schanz
> Domestic box office: $10.43 million
11. Vice (2015)
> Director: Brian A. Miller
> Starring: Thomas Jane, Bruce Willis, Ambyr Childers
> Domestic box office: N/A
10. Wing Commander (1999)
> Director: Chris Roberts
> Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows
> Domestic box office: $11.58 million
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9. The Avengers (1998)
> Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
> Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery
> Domestic box office: $23.32 million
8. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
> Director: Ron Underwood
> Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jay Mohr, Randy Quaid
> Domestic box office: $4.42 million
7. Baby Geniuses (1999)
> Director: Bob Clark
> Starring: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall
> Domestic box office: $27.14 million
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6. Rollerball (2002)
> Director: John McTiernan
> Starring: Chris Klein, Jean Reno, LL Cool J
> Domestic box office: $18.99 million
5. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
> Director: Nicholas Webster
> Starring: John Call, Leonard Hicks, Vincent Beck
> Domestic box office: N/A
4. Battlefield Earth (2000)
> Director: Roger Christian
> Starring: John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Barry Pepper
> Domestic box office: $21.47 million
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3. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
> Director: Bob Clark
> Starring: Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel
> Domestic box office: $9.11 million
2. Alone in the Dark (2005)
> Director: Uwe Boll
> Starring: Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff
> Domestic box office: $5.18 million
1. Leonard Part 6 (1987)
> Director: Paul Weiland
> Starring: Bill Cosby, Tom Courtenay, Joe Don Baker
> Domestic box office: $4.92 million
Detailed Findings & Methodology
Even as we celebrate such cinematic icons as “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the various Star Wars films, we also must turn our attention to the worst and campiest sci-fi films of all time. Movies such as “ Bride of the Monster,” directed by Ed D. Wood Jr. and starring Bela Lugosi, have generated a cult following because of their awfulness. In fact, bad sci-fi was behind the 90s’ cable television program, “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” whose premise — a captive in space forced to watch bad movies — was intended to chide the genre.
Because of the nature of the material and reliance on special effects and makeup, science fiction films are particularly vulnerable to failure. But sometimes, even the title can be a giveaway, like the 1964 film “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” in 1978, and “Hot Tub Time Machine” from 2015.
None of these movies gets the nod at the worst of the lot. That distinction goes to “Leonard Part 6.” The movie starred Bill Cosby as a retired CIA agent trying to thwart a vegetarian from seeking world domination.
To determine the worst 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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