The 17 Highest-Grossing Sci-Fi Movies of the Last 10 Years, Ranked

1 hour ago 14

20th Century Studios / courtesy Everett Collection

Updated Sep 17, 2026, 6:03 AM EDT

Eddie Possehl is a dynamic and driven writer/director with a passion for the written word and all things film, television, comics, and games. His passion for storytelling led him to establish his own production company in hopes of achieving his dreams.

His dedication to his craft has attracted renowned talent like Yuri Lowenthal to collaborate with him on his projects. As he grows and improves, Eddie is a shining example of a self-starter.

Science fiction is one of the biggest film genres on the planet and, in turn, one of the highest-grossing of all time. People scramble to theaters to escape into new and unique worlds that keep the real one from being so scary and invasive. Whether they travel to space in a galaxy far, far away, or Earth in an alternative reality or dark future, fans always seem to enjoy some incredible journeys through things they've never seen before.

Some of the highest-grossing sci-fi projects also happen to be among the highest-earning in history, largely because the genre holds some of the greatest cinema franchises ever. Star Wars, Dune, Avatar, and Jurassic World are among the sci-fi series that dominated the last ten years, taking sci-fi to a new level of critical and commercial acclaim. This list will rank the highest-grossing sci-fi movies of the last ten years based on their worldwide gross.

17 'Kong: Skull Island' (2017)

Worldwide Gross: $568,652,812

Any fan of sci-fi knows who King Kong is, and they can't deny that one of his best projects is, without a doubt, Kong: Skull Island—clear from the box office revenue it pulled in. Taking place just after the Vietnam War, this King Kong flick is such a stylized project—being a period piece—with a strong cast and great direction from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

Kong: Skull Island does some great worldbuilding for the Kong/Godzilla universe and introduces some super cool creatures. This 2017 film feels like a perfect blend between a wild, mindless blockbuster that's fun to watch and a good screenplay from writers Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly.

16 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' (2024)

Worldwide Gross: $572,050,016

There's no denying that everyone loves Godzilla, and everyone loves King Kong. So, the idea of creating a franchise that brings the two together is pretty genius. The second project in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, took everything good about Godzilla vs. Kong and improved upon it.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is big, bold, fun, thrilling, and everything a blockbuster action flick needs to be. Does it have much depth? No. Is it very thought-provoking? No. But the film knows that it absolutely does not have to be, and simply has fun being exactly what it is: an action flick that is thrilling and entertaining for the eyes.

15 'Transformers: The Last Knight' (2017)

Worldwide Gross: $605,425,157

The Transformers franchise has always been one of the most popular sci-fi franchises ever made. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Autobots have ruled the box office for most of the years they've released projects. Despite how rough around the edges they can be at times (aka, the Michael Bay series), this series is known for making a great amount of cash.

One of the more recent examples is the fifth and final entry in the Michael Bay series, Transformers: The Last Knight. Bringing home an incredible $605.4 million, this project may very well be the worst Transformers movie, but it is a high-earner. Funny enough, Transformers: The Last Knight may be one of the highest-grossing sci-fi movies of the last ten years, but it's actually the lowest-grossing of the Michael Bay movies.

14 'Ready Player One' (2018)

Worldwide Gross: $607,874,422

Wade (Tye Sheridan) holding his VR goggles on his head in 'Ready Player One'

Based on the hit book of the same name, Steven Spielberg's more recent sci-fi success, Ready Player One, had a great time at the box office in 2018. This is partially because the book was already so popular, but also because it's the one and only Steven Spielberg, and nobody wants to miss a Spielberg release when it comes around. Therefore, many flocked to theaters when Ready Player One had its big release.

Despite what people think of the film's quality (book fans, as typical, not enjoying it as much as the source material), the movie made a good amount of money, and gamers specifically loved it. Spielberg did a great job bringing the world of the Oasis to life, and while some people have issues with the plot, the movie is a really enjoyable one for the most part.

13 'The Wandering Earth II' (2023)

Worldwide Gross: $615,023,132

Astronauts avoiding shattering glass in The Wandering Earth 2

With how popular the first movie was (more on that later), it only made sense that audiences were going to see The Wandering Earth II. What this Frant Gwo movie does best is exactly what the first movie did best, as well—subverting the typical Hollywood tropes for the genre and serving as a breath of fresh air for anyone who's a fan of the genre.

The Wandering Earth II tells a story about worldwide teamwork that brings people together for the greater good. The idea of the entire planet working as one force to do good may sound like an impossible future, but that's what sci-fi is for, is it not? The Wandering Earth II's story is one that is inspiring and worth giving a watch.

12 'Project Hail Mary' (2026)

Worldwide Gross: $684,041,145

One of the most recent sci-fi hits is none other than Project Hail Mary, based on the book of the same title by Andy Weir—also the author of The Martian. This Ryan Gosling-led film is such a refreshing movie for the genre, and provides a plot that is not only fun and entertaining, but heartwarming, as well.

The relationship between Gosling's character, Ryland Grace, and the little alien he meets, Rocky (James Ortiz), is a phenomenal character dynamic that serves as the beating heart of the movie. The critical reception of Project Hail Mary should be proof enough that the 2026 project is going to go down in history as an unforgettable cult-classic.

11 'The Wandering Earth' (2019)

Worldwide Gross: $699,992,512

Two tiny figures on a destroyed earth surface look up at Jupiter, which fills the sky.

If one were to ask a real cinephile, they'd be told that many American audience members are totally missing out on international movies. However, sometimes an international product breaks through and becomes one of the highest-grossing sci-fi movies of all time—said product being The Wandering Earth. This 2019 Frant Gwo movie was a breakout hit, and for very good reason.

The Wandering Earth is the seventh highest-grossing non-English film to date. It is a huge spectacle of a movie that emphasizes humanity's ability to survive, no matter what the scenario. It's a genuine vision, and Gwo is quite easily one of the greatest directors of all time—somehow not being recognized as such, which is a massive shame. For a sci-fi fan, The Wandering Earth is a must-see.

10 'Dune: Part Two' (2024)

Worldwide Gross:$714,844,358

A shot of a man standing in the sand in Dune Part One

Dune was so popular and garnered such a large fanbase that the second movie, Dune: Part Two, out-grossed the first by around a whopping $304 million, bringing home about $714 million. The first movie displayed some of Timothee Chalamet's best acting work, but it doesn't even compare to the performance he brings to Dune: Part Two.

Many consider Dune to be the new generation's Star Wars, and that makes complete sense, given the critical love it's gotten and the massive box office return it brings in. Dune: Part Two helped define the franchise's reputation and cement it in not only the sci-fi genre but the Hollywood landscape of films as a whole.

Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

REVEAL MY WORLD →

Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

9 'Jurassic World: Rebirth' (2025)

Worldwide Gross: $868,823,474

Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) stare up at a dinosaur in Jurassic World Rebirth.

Despite how absolutely horrific the reviews were for Jurassic World: Rebirth, it, as usual for the Jurassic Park franchise, brought home the bacon at the box office. In spite of trying to do something new and different with the series (which, in theory, is a great idea), the love was not critically present for Jurassic World: Rebirth. They got very lucky with how many people went to see it, due to the money it received, but it was also a detriment, thanks to the horrible reputation it now has.

Jurassic World: Rebirth takes place five years after the last entry in the franchise and brings in an entirely new cast—thank goodness, due to the nostalgia bait that so horribly held down the last trilogy—and has fun with new concepts. Again, in theory, this was a great idea, and if written a bit better, this could have easily been one of the most critically successful movies in the Jurassic Park series.

8 'Jurassic World Dominion' (2022)

Worldwide Gross: $1,001,978,080

Old and new together as the cast looks up at something in 'Jurassic World Dominion'

Since the beginning of the genre, the Jurassic Park franchise has been one of the defining staples of it in cinema—of course, Hollywood needed to keep it around for more big bucks. Thus, the world got the Jurassic World franchise. While it has been hit-or-miss critically (with the entire franchise feeling tired at this point), it has been a massive earner at the box office.

Still, when the original Jurassic Park cast returned for the third Jurassic World film, people immediately sprinted to theaters on June 10th, 2022. The assumptions were true, as Jurassic World: Dominion became one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022. The movie didn't get great reviews, but the box office numbers cannot be denied.

Read Entire Article