What To Watch
23 Sci-Fi Movies to Stream in Any Universe
Whether you want an alternate reality or something more down to Earth, there’s a film for you.
By Jen A. Miller
April 23, 2024
23 Best Sci-Fi Movies That Are Out of This World - Netflix Tudum
Looking to escape into another world? Whether you’re searching for a space adventure, a psychological thriller, a time-bending epic, something that will make you laugh, or an adventure suitable for the entire family, the sci-fi genre has you covered.
No matter what kind of experience you’re looking for, there are all kinds of science-fiction options from across the movie universe that will help you slip into another reality, or timeline, or even a new dimension — all by just settling in on your couch and hitting play.
Here are 23 such films you can pull into your orbit right now. Grab some popcorn, start the countdown clock, and prepare for liftoff.
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If you want to watch a sci-fi movie…
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a normal middle-aged woman living a normal (if strained) middle-aged life when an interdimensional rupture throws her into a new, superpowered reality. There, she must enter the multiverse to save — well — the whole world. Yeoh won an Academy Award for her performance, as did Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis for their supporting roles — and the film also picked up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It’s an action-packed, mind-bending, romantic delight, worthy of all the kudos bestowed on it in every universe.
Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire
Director Zack Snyder launches his work into space with this epic sci-fi fantasy, where a peaceful, distant moon settlement finds itself threatened by a tyrannical army. In Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire, the moon colony sends Kora (Sofia Boutella), a young woman with a mysterious past, to find warriors from across the galaxy to help. In Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver, the saga continues — and concludes — in spectacular space opera fashion, with an A-list cast that also includes Djimon Hounsou, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam, Anthony Hopkins, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, and more.
Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver
Spaceman
When Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) sets off on a six-month space mission, his goal is to investigate a mysterious dust and particle cloud on the far side of Jupiter. But at the same time, he’s also running away from his personal life, which includes a wife (Carey Mulligan) and unborn daughter, and their marriage continues to fray while he’s away. Is the mysterious spider-like creature who emerges from his ship and offers to help real? Or a figment of Jakub’s imagination as he tries to fix his marriage? It’s a sci-fi space odyssey, but also a mystery and a love story with a lot of heart.
The Adam Project
It’s not every day you can team up with your younger self, but you’re also not fighter pilot Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), who goes back in time from 2050 to try to save his wife (Zoe Saldaña) and ends up in the wrong place and, well, time. Despite being a movie about grief, it’s also a funny and heartwarming film with assists from Mark Ruffalo and Catherine Keener, along with Walker Scobell, who plays the younger Adam Reed (and holds his own, going toe to toe with Reynolds).
Spiderhead
Would you turn yourself into a test subject in order to shorten a prison sentence? In the psychological thriller Spiderhead, that’s exactly what inmates, including those played by Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett, have agreed to do. They volunteer themselves for chemical experimentation, as part of a program overseen by an eccentric scientist (Chris Hemsworth), because they think the trade-off of getting out of prison early will be worth it. But will that be the case — if they survive at all? They might not be getting what they bargained for.
JUNG_E
After Earth is made just about uninhabitable due to climate change in the 22nd century, humans are forced to live in space-based shelters in this South Korean sci-fi film. It’s not all harmony, as many of the same problems that plagued Earth are transported into space, including violence and war; plus plenty of thorny questions about the ethics of robots and AI. That’s the focus of the movie: After a series of bad breaks, the brain of Captain Yun Jung-yi (Kang Soo-yeon) is cloned. She and her family are told it’s for good. As you can imagine, that’s not entirely the case.
Bird Box
At the opening of the thriller Bird Box, Marloie Hayes (Sandra Bullock) puts two children into a boat, with blindfolds covering their eyes, and gives them stern instructions to not take them off, trying to stress without terrifying them that it’s a matter of life or death. But why? That’s what you’ll find out as this sci-fi horror-thriller jumps back in time to show how they got to this point, and the grave threat to their lives if they remove the cloth and take a peek at the world beyond the shield. Watch (or rewatch) it now, and then let follow-up film Bird Box: Barcelona unleash a wrath of its own.
The Midnight Sky
After surviving the end of the world, scientist Augustine Lofthouse (George Clooney) has one primary mission from his remote Arctic outpost: Despite his own failing health, he sets out to save the crew of a space mission that doesn’t know most of the world’s population has been wiped out. If he can’t make contact and convince them to go back to the Jupiter moon that was their original mission target, he knows that they could be wiped out too. Lofthouse is helped along by a little girl (Caoilinn Springall) — or is he?
See You Yesterday
Soon after science prodigy C.J. Walker (Eden Duncan-Smith) invents a way to travel through time, her older brother Calvin (Astro) is shot and killed by police. Why not go back in time to save him? Well, for a lot of reasons. The fact that high school teacher Mr. Lockhart is played by Back to the Future’s Michael J. Fox might be a clue as to the implications of time travel, and how going back can affect the future in ways you’d never expect.
If you want to watch a sci-fi comedy…
Blasted
A lot can go wrong at a bachelor party — a missed dinner reservation, a groomsman imbibing one too many, or the groom wandering off with someone who’s not his betrothed can derail everything. But what about an alien invasion? That’s the case in this sci-fi comedy, where the obvious solution to save the world is for childhood friends Sebastian (Axel Bøyum) and Mikkel (Fredrik Skogsrud) to do what they did best as kids: laser tag. It’s an out-of-this-world premise, but that’s the fun of this Norwegian romp.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Can AI get revenge? That’s what happens in this animated film about the Mitchell family, who are driving cross-country together when a rogue AI assistant named PAL decides to use robots to start launching humans into space. After evading capture, the Mitchells band together to stop the robots’ rampage. This isn’t a dour movie; it’s sci-fi, but family friendly. You’ll laugh, maybe cry — and absolutely never think of Furbys the same way again.
We Can Be Heroes
We can’t always leave the job of saving the world up to adults. Kids can be heroes too, as is the case in this film, which is a sequel to the 2005 movie The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D. But if you haven’t seen that one, don’t worry. We Can Be Heroes also works as a standalone flick. In it, Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin) is called into action along with the other Heroics’ children to battle — of course — aliens. Learning the kids’ powers, like super-strength, altering time and, in a nod to the first film, shark strength, is fun, as are their training montages, courtesy of Moreon’s grandmother (Adriana Barraza). It’s a kids’ movie with real action chops thanks to writer-director Robert Rodriguez.
Don't Look Up
A comet is set to destroy the planet in six months. The world should unite to stop it and save humanity, right? Not necessarily, as happens in this star-packed satire. Between a president (Meryl Streep) who can’t seem to care, a greedy billionaire (Mark Rylance) who wants to harvest the comet’s materials, competing public relations campaigns (Just Look Up vs. Don’t Look Up) and an accompanying media spectacle, it’s a darkly funny film that’s both a spoof and reflection of our current world.
If you want to watch some action sci-fi…
The Old Guard
A group of century-old warriors use their skills and regenerative ability to do good, working as mercenaries to save people from the worst of humanity. But because of their skills, they’re also a target. They’re set up by a former client (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who wants to figure out the underpinnings of their superhuman ability to heal themselves after what would, for everyone else, be deadly attacks. It’s a standout role for Charlize Theron, who stars as Andy, leader of the warrior group that also includes KiKi Lane, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli. And if you just can’t get enough of these immortal mercenaries, you’re in luck — there’s a sequel coming.
Army of the Dead
If you’re a fan of zombie and heist movies, Army of the Dead combines both in a thrilling adventure. Directed by Zack Snyder, the film follows a ragtag team led by mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) that sets out to recover $200 million from a vault in a Las Vegas casino overrun by zombies. Of course, nothing goes to plan, but it’s a wild ride to get to the final battle. (Go all in on all things Dead by also streaming the prequel, Army of Thieves.)
Outside the Wire
Can a drone pilot (Damson Idris) and an android posing as a person (Anthony Mackie) stop a nuclear attack? That’s the question posed in this action movie set in the not-too-distant future of 2036. It’s perfect if you’re looking for something in the sci-fi realm that takes place in another reality, but one not too completely removed — in years, at least — from our own. It’s a serious topic, but given Mackie’s comedic chops, you can also expect a few laughs along the way.
If you want to watch some space sci-fi…
Warriors of Future
When a meteor crashes into Earth, it doesn’t just bring metals and minerals with it. In this sci-fi epic from Hong Kong, the meteor crashing into Earth in 2055 is also carrying a predatory alien plant called Pandora that can take down entire communities, and also clean up pollutants that have already ruined the planet. It’s up to an elite fighter squad to stop the plant’s path of destruction to save what’s left of the Earth, and possibly reverse the climate change damage already inflicted on it.
Captain Nova
In an effort to stop an environmental disaster before it started, fighter pilot Nova (Anniek Pheifer) goes back in time to prevent the drilling of the North Pole, which accelerated climate change. She didn’t realize that going back in time would turn herself back too. She lands as herself at 12 years old (Kika van de Vijver). She knew her mission would be hard enough, but the only person who takes her seriously is another kid (Marouane Meftah). Find out if they succeed in their mission by checking out this family-friendly film from the Netherlands.
Stowaway
Any trip to Mars will have to be meticulously planned, down to how much oxygen will be needed to support whatever crew is onboard. That plan is ruined on this fictional trip to the Red Planet when a support engineer (Shamier Anderson) accidentally ends up on board, and also accidentally destroys the carbon dioxide scrubbers –– which clean the air for humans to breathe –– in the process. The race is on to try and figure out a solution that will enable all four people on the ship (including roles played by Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim and Toni Collette) to survive in this high-wire space thriller.
Space Sweepers
Space might seem endless to us in this world, but in Space Sweepers, set in an alternate 2092 when the world’s elite have fled a climate-changed Earth to homes orbiting it, space debris can be a problem. Someone has to take care of it, which falls on a space sweeping crew that collects this trash and sells it to the mega corporation that created the Earth-orbiting abodes. In the process, they find a child robot named Dorothy that holds a weapon of mass destruction. What do they do now? That’s what you’ll find out in this Korean sci-fi adventure.
I Am Mother
After a mass extinction event on earth, life can still go on, because of a robot named Mother (voiced by Rose Byrne) located in a bunker that can grow a human embryo she names Daughter (Clara Rugaard). Mother tells Daughter that the world outside is not safe, but Daughter realizes this might not be true when she hears a voice outside calling for help (Hilary Swank). Meeting this stranger upends Daughter’s life, and the world Mother has tried to cultivate, with a twist you may not be expecting.
Oxygen
A woman (Mélanie Laurent) wakes up in a cryogenic chamber, without remembering who she is, where she is or how she got there. What she does know is that she’s about to run out of oxygen, and that an advanced AI assistant M.I.L.O. (which stands for Medical Interface Liaison Officer) doesn’t want to help her. Her attempt to get the air she needs, and figure out why she’s in the chamber in the first place, makes for a thrilling ride in this French sci-fi film.
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