If you are looking to watch some of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix you are at the right place. Netflix has a huge repository of sci-fi movies and it’s often hard to choose what to watch. This selection should help you narrow down the list and speed up your searching process.
RELATED: Best Sci-Fi Movies on Prime Video
The selection includes both the older sci-fi movies that became classics as well as the new sci-fi movies. The list will be regularly updated as new titles come and go so you can check this page whenever you plan to watch a sci-fi movie on Netflix.
These are the 15 best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now:
1. Blade Runner (1982)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
Blade Runner is set in a dystopian future in which man has developed technology to create humanoid androids – replicants. They work as slaves in colonies outside of Earth and they are illegal on Earth because of a bloody mutiny. When a group of fugitive replicants comes to Earth, Rick Deckard (Ford), a burnt-out cop, is hired to hunt them down.
Even though Blade Runner initially underperformed in theaters, it later became a cult movie and one of the best science fiction movies. Later on, several big-budget films like Total Recall (1990) and Minority Report (2002) were influenced by Blade Runner. A sequel Blade Runner 2049 starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford was released in 2017 and, like the original, it was also rated high on IMDb.
2. The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Directors: The Wachowski Brothers
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
The Matrix film series features a story about a dystopian future in which humanity is imprisoned by machines in a simulated reality. Virtual reality called the Matrix is there to distract humans while they are being farmed as energy sources.
The series begins with The Matrix (1999) in which a hacker Neo (Keanu Reeves) learns the truth and meets the rebels, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), and others. He will have an opportunity to choose between the red or the blue pill. The red pill means knowing the unpleasant truth and being freed from the Matrix, and the blue pill means staying in the Matrix and being ignorant about the real world. Morpheus believes that Neo is “the one” to beat the machines.
This first movie in the series grossed over $460 million worldwide and won four Academy Awards.
The second installment in the film series is The Matrix Reloaded (2003). This one was an even bigger commercial success, grossing over $730 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film until 2016 (when it was surpassed by Deadpool). In this part, Neo and allies have three days until their last free enclave Zion falls under siege by the machines and is destroyed.
The Matrix Revolutions, which was released six months after The Matrix Reloaded, is the final movie in the original trilogy. It’s the final showdown between machines and Zion, but also between Neo and Agent Smith.
The Matrix became famous for the “bullet time” slow-motion effect.
It’s been officially confirmed that the fourth Matrix movie is scheduled for release in 2021.
3. Men in Black Series (1997-2012)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Comedy
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Rip Torn, Josh Brolin
In the first movie, we will learn that there is a top-secret agency called Men in Black (MiB) and their job is to monitor and police alien activity on Earth. New York police officer James Edwards (Will Smith) is chosen by Agent K to be a new recruit of the agency. The two must stop the intergalactic terrorists from obtaining an energy source called The Galaxy; otherwise, the Earth will be destroyed.
In Men in Black II, five years have passed after Agent K retired and now he is needed back. There is a new threat to the human race and Agent K is the only one who has the expertise to save the galaxy. The problem is that Agent K is neuralized and has no memory of the time he spent with the agency. Agent J must convince him to reunite before Earth is destroyed.
In the third installment of the franchise, an old enemy of Agent K, Boris the Animal, escapes from prison, travels back in time, and kills young K. This forces Agent J to also go back in time before his partner is killed and save him and the world.
4. I Am Legend (2007)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan
The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future after a virus has wiped out most of the people on Earth. It was originally created as a cure to cancer but mutated into a plague and what it didn’t kill, it transformed into creatures. A military scientist Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the sole survivor in New York City, trying to find a cure and find other survivors while fighting against zombies. His only companion is his dog.
5. Terminator Salvation (2009)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: McG
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin
Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment of the Terminator film series. It is also a standalone sequel to Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines from 2003. John Conor (Bale) is leading human resistance against Skynet in a world where most of humanity had already been destroyed. He must go to the Skynet headquarters to free the captured Kyle Reese.
The movie was intended to be the first installment of a second Terminator trilogy, but the direct sequels were canceled.
6. Inception (2010)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a special kind of thief who steals corporate secrets from people by entering their subconsciousness. This skill has made him an international fugitive and costs him everything that he loves. When offered a chance for redemption, a job that could give him his life back, he can’t refuse. The problem is that the task seems impossible. This time he doesn’t need to extract information; instead, he needs to plant an idea into someone’s mind. The process is called “inception”.
The movie was very successful winning four Academy Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects) and grossing over $820 million worldwide.
7. Total Recall (2012)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston
It is a remake of Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall from 1990. Compared to the original, one might say that this movie is not good, but if you watch it as a standalone movie, it’s actually not bad. Unlike the first movie, the setting is not on Mars but on a dystopian Earth.
After a nuclear war in the late 21st century, the planet is decimated and there are only two nations – the United Federation of Britain (Western Europe) and the Colony (Australia). A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, decides to visit a company called Rekall that provides virtual vacation by implanting memories. After the procedure goes wrong and Quaid discovers that his life is a lie, he needs to run from the authorities and find a resistance movement that fights tyranny in power.
8. Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi
There is a war between humankind and a giant sea monster called Kaiju, which has emerged from a portal beneath the ocean. In order to combat the monster, people have created Jaegers – gigantic robots controlled by pilots whose mind is linked with the robots. In a desperate plan to destroy the portal, a former Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket is reactivated. To help in the fight, a scientist discovers a way to learn more about Kaiju by connecting with them, but the downside is that information has been shared both ways, meaning the monster is also learning about humans.
A sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising was released in 2018, but it was not successful as the first movie.
9. World War Z (2013)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
Former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane and his family are stuck in a traffic jam when suddenly the whole city erupts in chaos. A mysterious infection is spreading fast, turning people into mindless zombies. Barely escaping the chaos, Gerry is now on a mission to find the source of the disease and stop the spreading.
Earning $540 million worldwide, it’s the highest-grossing zombie movie ever.
10. Elysium (2013)
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley
In 2154, the rich and powerful live on a technologically advanced space station called Elysium, while the rest of the population lives in poverty on Earth. Everyone wants to be on Elysium, but Defense Secretary Delacourt is doing everything he can to stop ships from reaching it. After an accident in the factory, Max (Matt Damon) is exposed to radiation. Since Elysium has Med-Bay that can cure any disease, his only chance for survival is to somehow get there.
11. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
The world is invaded by an unbeatable alien race. Major Cage, with no combat experience, is forced to join the fight against the aliens. After he is killed in combat, Cage finds himself in a time loop where the day is restarted and he keeps dying again and again. Every time he learns more from the previous experience. He becomes better and better in combat and gets closer to the alien leader.
12. Godzilla (2014)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston
Massive beasts that have been feeding on radiation at nuclear plants are threatening the whole of humanity. The only thing that can stop the beasts is Godzilla who is also awakened.
13. Interstellar (2014)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
In a dystopian future, there is a food shortage and life on Earth is coming to an end. Interstellar travel is believed to be the only way to save mankind. A mysterious wormhole is discovered and a team of astronauts is on a mission to try and find a new home for the human race. A retired NASA pilot Cooper is asked to pilot the spacecraft on this mission, which would mean risking never seeing his children again.
Interstellar is in the top 30 best-rated movies on IMDb. The film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and grossed over $670 million worldwide.
14. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen
The story is set in the twenty-eighth century. Two space cops, Valerian and Laureline, are on a mission to save their kidnapped commander and to protect the galaxy.
15. Venom (2018)
Genre: Action, Comics Adaptation
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Venom is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. After Venom appeared in Spider-Man 3 (2007), Sony wanted to develop a spin-off film based on the character. The film was primarily inspired by the comic book miniseries.
Life couldn’t be more miserable for Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), having lost his job and the woman he loved. Amid all this mayhem, an alien symbiote inhabits his body, enabling him with remarkable superpowers and making him Venom. Strangely enough, this creature will play an important role in protecting the world.
The film was a huge box office success, grossing over $856 million worldwide. A sequel, Venom 2, is set to be released on October 2, 2020.
15 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix According to IMDb
According to IMDb, these are the 15 best sci-fi movies on Netflix (from the list above):
- Inception (2010) – 8.8
- The Matrix (1999) – 8.7
- Interstellar (2014) – 8.6
- Blade Runner (1982) – 8.1
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – 7.9
- Men in Black (1997) – 7.3
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003) – 7.2
- I Am Legend (2007) – 7.2
- World War Z (2013) – 7.0
- Pacific Rim (2013) – 6.9
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003) – 6.8
- Men in Black 3 (2012) – 6.8
- Venom (2018) – 6.7
- Elysium (2013) – 6.6
- Terminator Salvation (2009) – 6.5
15 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix According to Box Office
- Venom (2018) – $856 million
- Inception (2010) – $830 million
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003) – $742 million
- Interstellar (2014) – $677 million
- Men in Black 3 (2012) – $624 million
- Men in Black (1997) – $589 million
- I Am Legend (2007) – $585 million
- World War Z (2013) – $540 million
- Godzilla (2014) – $529 million
- The Matrix (1999) – $463 million
- Men in Black II (2002) – $442 million
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003) – $427 million
- Pacific Rim (2013) – $411 million
- Terminator Salvation (2009) – $371 million
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – $370 million