20 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2024

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The past year has been a fantastic year for the science fiction genre, taking it to new heights with the best sci-fi movies of 2024. Once upon a time, science fiction movies were considered to be a niche genre lacking mass appeal. Now, science fiction TV shows, video games, and especially movies have become more popular than ever before. From massive blockbuster franchises to smaller meditative indie movies, all sorts of flavors of sci-fi have cropped up in theaters in 2024.

There are two fronts a science fiction movie can succeed on. For one, the ability to quickly establish and sell a core concept or futuristic sci-fi technology through world-building, set design, and special effects is more important in science fiction than almost any other genre. Making a vision of the future believable, whether it's thousands of years from the modern age or not too far off from the present, is a critical endeavor all the year's best sci-fi films accomplish. Beyond this, the quality of the filmmaking necessary for any movie to succeed is just as important.

20 Parallel

A Multiversal Mystery That Doesn't Pull Its Punches

The multiverse has been an incredibly popular concept in science fiction media in recent years, from the timeline-hopping antics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the bizarre alternate realities of TV shows like Rick and Morty. It's rare that a film can examine the idea of parallel realities in a serious light, and Parallel works to do just that. The film follows a grieving young woman who is attacked by another version of herself from a parallel dimension.

Taking shades of influence from Jordan Peele's Us, the film's spooky sequences of doppelgänger violence within the isolated confines of a darkly-lit lake house present some striking imagery that's hard to forget. As events progress, the headier exploration of the nature of reality and how humans process grief solidifies Parallel as a thoughtful science fiction endeavor. If the performances and cinematography were just a tad stronger, the disturbing consequences of Parallel's tangled plot could be more than a match for most of 2024's sci-fi offerings.

19 I.S.S.

A Character-driven Thriller In The Confines Of Space

Admittedly, tense disaster movies set in the dark expanse of space are nothing new, with films like Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian all being familiar tales of astronaut survival. I.S.S.' contribution to the genre is a healthy dose of political tension and claustrophobic human struggles to make survival in space all the more challenging. When a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth, the multinational crew of the International Space Station are all given secret directives from their governments -- take control by any means necessary.

I.S.S. has a fascinating, eerily-possible premise that shockingly has never been done before, and lives up to expectations with some claustrophobic action sequences and intense character drama that makes the halls of the International Space Station feel like a floating coffin. The film wouldn't work without its fantastic performances, not leaving the concept to do the heavy lifting as interpersonal drama forms the foundation of the conflict. I.S.S. might not re-invent the wheel, bearing some predictable plot beats, but it is an enjoyable ride that accomplishes what it sets out to do.

18 Y2K

A Horror-Comedy About The New Millenium

It's rare that a movie can be both a period story and have elements of sci-fi, but Y2K achieves this by focusing on a specific moment in recent history. The film is set on New Year's 1999, following a group of young party people celebrating the new millennium. However, the movie imagines an alternate reality in which all the fears about society crumbling due to the Y2K bug end up coming true as technology quickly turns against humanity.

There are other film that have dealt with the technological uprising more effectively and even with a more humorous take, but there is still a lot of fun and charm to Y2K. Directed by SNL alum Kyle Mooney, the movie is filled with genre-mashing humor while also being a fun throwback to the 90s. It also features a solid cast of young stars, including Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison.

17 Venom: The Last Dance

The Final Adventure Of Eddie Brock And Venom

The Venom movies have always embraced the sci-fi genre with its main character being an alien entity bonding with a human. However, Venom: The Last Dance is the most sci-fi of the franchise thus far, which is fitting as it is also the final chapter in this Marvel trilogy. Tom Hardy returns to the dual roles of Eddie Brock and Venom as they continue their dysfunctional yet symbiotic relationship, only for it to be disrupted when the creator of the symbiote race sends his minions to Earth to destroy Venom.

The Venom movies have never been hits with critics, but unlike the other villain movies in Sony's Spider-Man cinematic universe, the audience has totally embraced them. This movie continues the trend of a fun and wild sci-fi adventure that wisely doesn't take itself too seriously. Once again, the highlight of it all is Hardy's performance and his ability to create this genuinely effective relationship between Eddie and Venom.

16 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Thus Begins A Box Office Reign Of Kaiju

Ever since the premiere of Legendary's Monsterverse in 2014, the city-stomping creatures of Hollow Earth have been the only cinematic universe to begin giving Marvel a run for their money. The fifth entry in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has fully leaned in to the goofiness of Showa era Godzilla films to roaring success. The film once again prompts Kong and Godzilla to join forces against a new threat from deep within the Hollow Earth, the tyrannical gigantic ape known as Skar King.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire knows exactly what it is and aspires to nothing more, satisfying giant monster fans with some bombastic action. The humans have no delusions of grandeur this time around, accepting their fate as a B-plot for the largely Kong-focused main story to bounce off of. The stunning CGI makes the titular ape protagonist more expressive than ever, and the outlandish worldbuilding of Hollow Earth's mythos is endlessly entertaining. Certainly not a cerebral sci-fi film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delivers precisely what it promises.

15 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Proved The Ghostbusters Universe Is Still Worth Exploring

The Ghostbusters franchise has had a fraught history, with each sequel struggling to re-capture the magic of the original for various reasons. However, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire proved that the new cast was capable of coming into their own as the face of the paranormal exterminator team, proving the series still has room to grow. The Spengler family returns, taking up residence in the iconic New York City firehouse only to come face to face with a chilling new spectral threat.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire introduces a lot of elements to juggle, from personal tales of overcoming teenage insecurities to cameos from the original Ghostbusters to some engaging new ghostly chase scenes showing off the latest in Ghostbuster technology. While the film risks falling apart at the seams from so many directions being explored at once, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is able to keep all its plates spinning miraculously well, thanks to some great performances from the returning cast. With one foot in nostalgia and the other in the new generation, the film is ultimately balanced, if tenuously so.

14 Code 8: Part II

Gets Its Hands Dirty With The Exploration Of Corruption

2019's Code 8 crafted a striking science fiction world that turns the ideas of the superhero genre on its head, establishing a cyberpunk world in which powered individuals turn to crime to get by while avoiding the custody of a robotic police force. After 5 years in-universe and in real-time, director Jeff Chan returned to Lincoln City for a new installment. This time around, Connor and Garrett must protect a teenager with a rare ability from the clutches of the corrupt police state.

Code 8: Part II builds satisfying embellishments on the world introduced in the previous film, upgrading the LCPD's forces with new K9 robots and an even deeper well of corruption than ever thought possible. Improving on the first film's action scenes and visuals, the second installment is flashier, more thought-provoking, and better characterized, making some thoughtful critiques on the dangers of police state "safety." That being said, Code 8: Part II still can't quite capture the level of narrative depth it seems to strive for, hydroplaning along the surface of true sci-fi greatness with CW-series-level drama.

13 Badland Hunters

Presents One Of The Most Gruesome Tales Of Post-Apocalyptic

From the intrepid imaginations of films like Alienoid to the strange confines of Snowpiercer, Korean cinema has always been one of the strongest contenders in the science fiction space. 2024 proved this once more with Badland Hunters, a post-apocalyptic tale that blurs the lines between science fiction and snuff film. The movie is a haunting follow-up to 2023's Concrete Utopia, which turned the city of Seoul into an apocalyptic wasteland after a titanic earthquake.

The sequel follows the efforts of a lone huntsman to rescue a teen girl from the clutches of a deranged mad scientist, carving his way across the broken former city. The brutality of Badland Hunters presents its straightforward, fast-paced story through a mystifying lens, spelunking in the darkest depths of human cruelty. Reveling in to-the-point action, Badland Hunters is a no-holds-barred nail-biter that doesn't provoke much higher-level thinking but doesn't need to.

12 The Kitchen

A Haunting Glimpse Future Of The Gulf Between The Haves And Have-Nots

Written, directed, and produced by Daniel Kaluuya of Get Out fame, The Kitchen is a grim science fiction exploration of late-stage capitalism that presents some of the most scathing social commentary of 2024. Taking place in London in the year 2040, The Kitchen takes place in its eponymous building, the last bastion of social housing after increased financial stratification in the city. The Kitchen resident and activist Izi befriends a young boy while working at a funeral service with a unique burial option.

What makes The Kitchen so striking isn't its vastly-defined world or vision of the future. The subtle character-driven narrative allows Kane Robinson and Jedaiah Bannerman's incredible performances room to breathe, making them feel like real people against the backdrop of their financial struggles. The film's bleak postulations on the future of commerce and living conditions for the poor raise some pressing questions worth discussion, making The Kitchen a weighty, if long-winded, story.

11 It's What's Inside

A Wild Body-Swap Concept

Sci-fi movies don't necessarily have to be big-budget blockbusters with special effects as there are some projects that have a more intimate and even grounded feel with a sci-fi element thrown into the middle. Such is the case with the underrated and inventive Netflix movie It's What's Inside. The story follows a group of friends gathering for a celebration before one of them gets married. One of the friends brings along a device developed at his company that allows people to switch consciousness with the friends trading bodies as a party game.

The fun sci-fi idea opens up the story to explore the tensions, unresolved feelings, and betrayals behind these friendships. However, when things spiral out of control, the body-swap idea takes on an even more outrageous dynamic with some wild and clever twists along the way. It is a funny, thrilling, and completely unique genre mash-up.

10 Sonic The Hedgehog 3

Sonic And His Friends Face A New Enemy

The Sonic the Hedgehog movies have gradually become the most successful video game adaptation franchise over the years and that is solidified with the third movie marking the high-point in the series thus far. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 brings in fan-favorite character Shadow with the brilliant voice casting of Keanu Reeves in the role. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles take on this powerful new enemy, only to realize they are outmatched and need help from their old nemesis, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) to save the day.

With the third outing in the franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 clearly understands what works about these movies and doesn't try to change too much. Even still, all those proven elements are just working on a higher level this time around, from the fun sci-fi set pieces to the lovable characters to the hilarious performance from Carrey.

9 The Wild Robot

A Robot Attempts To Serve In The Wilderness

The Wild Robot, the latest DreamWorks animated movie, is a wonderful sci-fi film with a robot protagonist yet tells a very relatable story. Lupita Nyong'o provides the voice of Roz, a service robot who crash lands in the wildness on the way to her new customer. As Roz makes sense of her new surroundings and fails to provide assistance to the frightened animals of the area, she stumbles upon a newborn baby goose and unwittingly becomes its mother.

The premise of a futuristic robot designed to improve modern life being out in the wild is a fun sci-fi premise itself, but the movie goes deeper in its themes of family and the struggles of being a parent. Roz is constantly torn between the idea that she does not belong in this place and the feeling that she could really help the animals. The idea of a robot questioning its programming has been explored in many sci-fi movies, but rarely in such a touching way.

8 Transformers One

The Origin Story Of Optimus Prime And Megatron

The latest Transformers movie is already being hailed as one of the best in the franchise, as well as offering a fun animated approach. Transformers One takes the series back to the planet of Cybertron and acts as a prequel of sorts. Before Optimus Prime and Megatron were enemies constantly at war with one another, this movie explores their past as friends and brothers as they set out on their journey to become true Transformers.

The Transformers movies have been exclusively live-action for more than a decade now, but Transformers One is a reminder that this world is perhaps best explored in animated form. The take on the home planet of Cybertron and the society of the Transformers makes for some fascinating and fun sci-fi concepts that have never been explored in the other movies. However, it is also an action-packed ride with some surprisingly moving relationships at its center.

7 A Quiet Place: Day One

A Prequel Explore The Beginning Of The Alien Invasion

While Lupita Nyong'o provided her voice for The Wild Robot, she also had a live-action role in one of the best sci-fi movies of 2024. A Quiet Place: Day One is the latest installment in the A Quiet Place franchise. Instead of following the Abbott family in their rural fight for survival, this prequel movie explores a new set of characters in New York City on the first day of the alien invasion. Nyong'o stars as Sam, a terminally ill cancer patient who finds herself on her own journey amid the chaos while accompanied by a stranger, Eric (Joseph Quinn).

With the sci-fi rules of the A Quiet Place universe already established, the big city setting is immediately exciting and terrifying. However, like the other movies in the series, a big part of what makes the movie work is the human characters. It is impressive how much the film is able to make the audience care about the relationship between Sam and Eric despite the fact that they just met and share very little dialogue. However, it makes for a gripping ride that has been called the best of the franchise so far.

6 Alien: Romulus

Space Scavengers Encounter A Deadly Alien

Another classic sci-fi franchise with deadly aliens returned to theaters in 2024. Alien: Romulus continues the exhilarating Alien franchise with the terrifying xenomorphs finding a new batch of humans to hunt. Alien: Romulus is set after the first Alien movie and follows a group of young people who work as space scavengers. Upon finding a derelict space station, they find themselves targeted by the deadly alien on board the vessel.

The movie comes from director Fede Alvarez who had already proven his ability to bring plenty of gore to beloved horror franchise with his 2013 Evil Dead movie. Alien: Romulus certainly delivers some bloody kills while also paying homage to a lot of the great moments from the franchise so far. However, it also takes some interesting new approaches with a young cast and a surprising third act. The result is a solid new entry in the franchise that proves there is still a lot of life in this series.

5 Deadpool & Wolverine

The Fox Heroes Enter The MCU

Most superhero movies lean into the sci-fi genre with their stories, but this has been especially true of recent MCU movies as the cinematic universe explores the multiverse. Coming out of the Fox universe, the multiverse was essential in bringing Deadpool into the MCU fold, and he also brought along another beloved hero from the X-Men world. Deadpool & Wolverine finds Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman teaming up as the titular heroes as they attempt to save their own realities.

So much of the movie's success just comes down to seeing these two comic book characters getting to have some live-action R-rated fun together for the first time. That is only elevated by the amazing chemistry between the two stars. However, the sci-fi concepts allow for Deadpool & Wolverine's crowd-pleasing cameos while also serving as a love letter to the Fox superhero movies.

4 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

George Miller's Triumphant Return To The Wasteland

Widely considered to be one of the greatest action films of all time, George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road created a science fiction world rich enough to explore for ages. Luckily, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was able to do so, presenting a prequel film that explains the origins of the wasteland warrior, Furiosa. After being abducted from her idyllic home of abundance as a child, Furiosa has to quickly learn to adapt and survive in the harsh world of Mad Max's post-apocalyptic Australia.

Just like Mad Max: Fury Road, the practical action setpieces, thrilling set design, and elaborate chases make the film an instant sci-fi action classic, even outdoing its predecessor in some instances. What's easier to overlook are the quietly incredible performances, from the imperceptible transition from Alyla Browne to Anya-Taylor Joy as Furiosa over the years to Chris Hemsworth's delightfully evil Dementus. However, there's something to be said about the Mad Max films' quality as a loose collection of folk tales, a tradition the thorough chronicling of the wasteland's history breaks.

3 Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Evolves The Franchise To New Heights

Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes movies made for one of the most quietly successful blockbuster franchises to be established in the late 2010s, with the most recent film in the continuity promising a new trilogy of science fiction classics. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes takes the post-apocalyptic fall of humanity and the rise of the simian race to its next logical step.

Set hundreds of years after War for the Planet of the Apes, the film follows Noa, a tribal ape who must prevent a tyrannical conqueror, Proximus Caesar, from unlocking the horrible secrets of the extant human civilization.

Finally taking the spotlight off of the original Caesar, the new Planet of the Apes franchise proves its success isn't beholden to recognizable characters. Noa, Proximus, and the rest of the new cast of apes and humans are all distinct personalities with their own ideas for forging a new kingdom in the ashes of the old world, and the striking CGI effects of the apes themselves are as impressive as ever. The film even makes some daring inquiries about the core conceits of higher thinking, and whether humanity, or any species, could ever realistically give up conquest for peace.

2 The Substance

The Clever And Gory Body Horror Masterpiece

The Substance has become one of the most talked-about movies of 2024 thanks to its clever commentary and its grotesque sci-fi body horror. The movie stars Demi Moore as a celebrity who has lost her job due to her age. Overcome with confidence issues, she decides to take an experimental drug that allows her to transform into her younger self (Margaret Qualley). While the drug initially changes her life and career, she soon discovers there are some horrifying side effects.

The Substance embraces the outrageousness that the sci-fi genre affords it, showcasing some truly stomach-churning gore and gruesomeness. However, it is also a clever commentary on the beauty standards that are thrust upon women. The satire has been hailed as one of the best movies of 2024 with Demi Moore winning a Golden Globe for her powerful and intense comeback performance.

1 Dune: Part Two

The Prophetic Peak Of Sci-fi Adaptation

Dune: Part One re-imagined the first half of Frank Herbet's science fiction classic for the big screen once again. While the first film felt mostly like a setup, the delivery of the grander story with Dune: Part Two left audiences with one of the most spectacular science fiction events in cinema of the modern age. Picking up where Paul Atreides and his mother's journey left off in the deserts of Arrakis, Dune: Part Two concludes the intricate web of politicking, prophecy, and desert power set into motion by the previous film.

Dune: Part Two received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, and it isn't difficult to see why. From the jaw-dropping collection of career-defining performances from the film's star-studded cast to its breathtaking visuals and effortless worldbuilding, the film succeeds on essentially every front a film can be judged by, being thought-provoking, exciting, and emotionally intriguing at the same time. Intriguing, spectacular, and deeply human, Dune: Part Two is undeniably the strongest science fiction film of 2024.