35 Best Sci-Fi Movies Streaming [April 2024]

When humanity discovers a mysterious black monolith on the moon that may be linked to the evolution of the species, they send out a deep space expedition to find the origin of the artifact. What gets discovered is beyond anyone's imagination. Based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a timeless sci-fi classic and one of the crowning achievements of director Stanley Kubrick's career. With its incredible practical effects, the film is a feast for the eyes that stands up to, and often exceeds, modern CGI. The story is a slow burn — spanning millions of years — but it's guaranteed to keep you thinking days after credits roll.

• Starring: Keir Dullea, Douglas Rain, Gary Lockwood
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Year: 1968
• Runtime: 145 minutes
• Rating: G
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

From stunning visuals to emotional performances to a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end, there's plenty to love about 2016's "Arrival." When large alien ships enter the Earth's atmosphere all over the planet, humanity is prepared for the worst. As a result, linguist Louise Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly are brought in to figure out how to communicate with the aliens, and their discovery goes much further than simply learning a new language. Adapted from Ted Chiang's 1998 "Story of Your Life," this is one of the most unique and beautiful sci-fi movies out there.

• Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Year: 2016
• Runtime: 116 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

It's rare for a film to get a sequel more than three decades after its original release and even rarer for that legacy sequel to be well-received. Director Denis Villeneuve pulled off the next-to-impossible with "Blade Runner 2049," delivering a gorgeous film that expands the world of its predecessor, deepens the themes first explored in 1982, and manages to stand on its own as an original story. The story follows Officer K, a replicant working as a blade runner, who goes in search of Rick Deckard when he begins to believe that his own personal history might have dramatic implications for humans, replicants, and all of society.

• Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Year: 2017
• Runtime: 163 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Published in 1965, Frank Herbert's "Dune" is a sci-fi landmark, one that tells a story of powerful families, religious wars, and the legacy of imperialism in an expansive galaxy. There have been multiple attempts to adapt the book for the screen, including a David Lynch version released in 1984, but no attempt has come close to the success of Denis Villeneuve's 2021 adaptation. The film perfectly captures the essence of Herbert's novel, effortlessly conveying the scope and scale of the space age epic. The first film in a two-part series, "Dune" only tells half a story, but with its pitch-perfect casting, mind-blowing effects and camerawork, and Oscar-winning score from Hans Zimmer, it perfectly sets up Frank Herbert's incredible world.

• Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Year: 2021
• Runtime: 155 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%

This mind-bending comedy made a huge splash when it debuted in March 2022, and it's been raking in awards ever since. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" takes disillusioned laundromat owner Evelyn Wang and her family on an interdimensional journey unlike any adventure through the multiverse you've ever seen before. Along the way, there's hot dog fingers, everything bagels, and Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan giving all-time performances. Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert created a masterpiece that is equal parts hilarious and heartwarming and manages to pack in some incredible martial arts set pieces to boot.

• Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu
• Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 139 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Cult-classic "Galaxy Quest" is one of the best sci-fi comedies ever made. The film follows a group of down-and-out actors who were once part of the biggest sci-fi series on television. The cast then gets abducted by real aliens who believe the actors are actually the heroes they once portrayed. The aliens desperately need help saving their home world, and the actors find themselves living out an episode of their old show. The astounding performances and pitch-perfect comedy in "Galaxy Quest" made it an instant classic, and fans have wondered for years why it never got a sequel.

• Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman
• Director: Dean Parisot
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

James Gunn returns to close out the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy with a final installment that's just as hilarious as fans have come to expect, but also more heartfelt than anything they've gotten before. The Guardians are in a rocky place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," but their situation becomes dire when Rocket receives a near-fatal injury. Saving their friend means digging into Rocket's past and encountering some dark secrets, alongside the most dangerous enemy the Guardians have come up against.

• Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Bradley Cooper
• Director: James Gunn
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 149 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Just four years after "Inception," Christopher Nolan released another sci-fi epic, this time focusing on climate change, space travel, and the future of humanity. With Earth increasingly rocked by climate disasters, former NASA pilot Joseph Cooper is tapped to lead an expedition into deep space to find a new home for humans. The movie is powered by real scientific concepts and filled with the kind of epic space visuals that harken back to "2001: A Space Odyssey." While the film's final act received heavy criticism, as a whole, "Interstellar" is phenomenal and an absolute must for fans of space-centered sci-fi.

• Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
• Director: Christopher Nolan
• Year: 2014
• Runtime: 169 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

Before Rian Johnson created the most divisive "Star Wars" movie of all time, he wrote and directed one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s. "Looper" takes place in a world where time-travel technology is readily available to black market buyers with deep pockets. The mob now handles its executions by sending targets into the past to be killed where the evidence will never be discovered. Joe makes his living as mob hitman, but when his target turns out to be a future version of himself, his entire livelihood is upended. "Looper" executes its exciting premise masterfully and is a must-watch for sci-fi fans.

• Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
• Director: Rian Johnson
• Year: 2012
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Computer hacker Neo believes that there's a deep secret in the world, and his search for the truth puts him in contact with underground figures Trinity and Morpheus. With their help, Neo steps through the looking glass, so to speak, and enters a world unlike anything that he could have possibly imagined, becoming involved in a war for the fate of humanity itself. Revolutionary filming techniques were developed to capture the film's unique action sequences, and the influence of "The Matrix" can still be felt in movies today. While the sequels are divisive, "The Matrix" is nothing short of a masterpiece.

• Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne
• Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Based on the tale from Philip K. Dick, "Minority Report" envisions a future where access to precognitive abilities has made it possible for police to capture criminals before they ever commit a crime. John Anderton doesn't question the morality of his work in the Precrime program –- that is, until his name comes up as a future murderer. John goes on the run, desperately trying to find a way to prove that he's innocent of a crime that hasn't yet occurred. With the legendary Steven Spielberg behind the camera, "Minority Report" is a fantastic exploration of a tantalizing premise.

• Starring: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell
• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 145 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Arnold Schwarzenegger was already a sci-fi action star by the time "Predator" released in 1987. But here, instead of being an indestructible machine hellbent on killing, he's on the run from a relentless pursuer that's dead set on taking his skull as a trophy. Schwarzenegger stars as a mercenary named Dutch who's hired by the US government to rescue a group of politicians from Guatemala. When Dutch and his team arrive on the ground, they realize this is a mission like no other. Instead of simply fighting their way through armed baddies, they find themselves mercilessly hunted by an alien armed with dangerous abilities. Brutal and action-packed, "Predator" spawned an entire franchise, but no entry yet holds a candle to the original.

• Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall
• Director: John McTiernan
• Year: 1987
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

2008's "Quarantine" is a remake of the 2007 Spanish film "Rec," and though it doesn't quite live up to its source material, it's still a great example of just how terrifying found footage films can be. The film follows a reporter and her cameraman, who are working on a project about firefighters. They follow a call that leads them into an apartment building where a virus has broken out, transforming its victims into violent monsters. By the time they realize what's going on, the building has been quarantined by the CDC, and they're left to survive the night by themselves.

• Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Steve Harris
• Director: John Erick Dowdle
• Year: 2008
• Runtime: 89 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

Many of the best sci-fi stories ever told use advanced technology to highlight humanity's enduring traits. "Source Code" puts special emphasis on empathy, as its characters use reality-bending tech to investigate a terrorist attack. Colter Stevens is trying to find the man who bombed a passenger train by having his consciousness transferred into one of the terrorist's victims. This way, Colter can experience the last eight minutes of the deceased's life. But he'll need to loop the experience over and over again to crack the case. "Source Code" is everything you want out of a speculative sci-fi adventure.

• Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
• Director: Duncan Jones
• Year: 2011
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

J.J. Abrams kicked off a rebooted "Star Trek" timeline with this thrilling 2009 adventure. The story follows James T. Kirk through the early days of his career aboard the USS Enterprise. The ship crosses paths with a Romulan named Neo, a ferocious military leader determined to take his rage out on humans and Vulcans alike. Kirk needs to work with his crew and grow into a proper leader to have any hope of defeating Neo before he rains destruction down on everyone Kirk cares about, resulting in one of the best "Star Trek" movies ever made.

• Starring: Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, Zachary Quinto
• Director: J.J. Abrams
• Year: 2009
• Runtime: 127 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% 

Before he was famous for mega-disaster movies like "Independence Day" and "2012," Roland Emmerich directed this sci-fi flick about ancient aliens, portals, and interstellar travel that inspired a plethora of TV shows. When a mysterious alien gateway is discovered in an Egyptian pyramid, professor Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neil step through it and enter an alien world that's modeled itself on ancient Egypt. If they want to return home through the stargate, they'll need to take advantage of alien technology and help overthrow the planet's all-powerful dictator.

• Starring: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson
• Director: Roland Emmerich
• Year: 1994
• Runtime: 116 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%

Kevin Flynn owns a video game arcade after leaving behind his job as a software engineer for the somewhat sketchy tech company ENCOM. Kevin tries to hack into ENCOM's mainframe, but when he gets caught by the company's Master Control Program, he gets transported into a virtual world where programs have all the power. Back in 1982, "TRON" was a breathtaking visual experience, and though the effects don't quite hold up in the 21st century, the film still holds interest because of its compelling story and important place in the history of sci-fi cinema.

• Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan
• Director: Steven Lisberger
• Year: 1982
• Runtime: 96 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

Matthew Broderick stars in this Cold War era sci-fi classic about computer games, artificial intelligence, and thermonuclear warfare. Broderick's David Lightman is a high school student and amateur computer hacker who uses his skills to alter his grades and explore the early internet. When David accidentally makes contact with a U.S. military-developed artificial intelligence, his love for games might just cause World War III, and soon, it's up to David and his friends to find a way to save the world from a nuclear apocalypse.

• Starring: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
• Director: John Badham
• Year: 1983
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%