Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

These are the 10 best sci-fi movies of all time

From dystopian futures to alien encounters, these sci-fi classics helped shape the genre with bold ideas, striking visuals, and lasting appeal

Science fiction has quietly become one of the most flexible, widely embraced genres in film history, capable of housing everything from pure popcorn spectacle to sharp political allegory under the same broad creative umbrella. The best entries prove the genre was never really about spaceships or robots, but about using invented worlds to examine something true about how people behave under real pressure, whether facing alien contact, cosmic uncertainty, or their own worst impulses buried just beneath the surface of everyday human experience.

This flexibility shows up clearly across decades of ambitious filmmaking, spanning silent-era German expressionism, blockbuster franchises, and quiet, contemplative dramas that barely resemble typical genre fare. Some films built entirely new visual languages that later generations of filmmakers would spend decades borrowing from and reinterpreting for their own, considerably different projects and creative visions, while others found their power in stripping spectacle away entirely and focusing narrowly on a handful of characters trapped together in an impossible situation. A few even managed both at once, delivering genuine visual innovation and real, lasting emotional weight within the same two hours of screen time, proving spectacle and genuine substance never truly had to compete directly within the confines of a single production.

The 10 films below all appear in Time Out, counting down carefully from the tenth-best overall pick to the publication’s single top choice, drawn from a much larger overall ranking of the entire 100 best sci-fi movies ever made, released, and celebrated by critics and fans alike. Each entry below covers the director, full cast, and what earned the film its lasting, well-deserved place among the genre’s most influential and enduring works across multiple generations of viewers and filmmakers.

10. The Empire Strikes Back deepens the saga’s stakes

Irvin Kershner directed this sequel to George Lucas’s original “Star Wars,” taking a successful but relatively straightforward formula and transforming it into something far richer both emotionally and thematically. This deepening shows up throughout the film, since screenwriter Leigh Brackett brought old-Hollywood sensibilities to the script before Lawrence Kasdan later rewrote much of the finished dialogue.

Those old-fashioned instincts show up clearly in the crackling tension between Harrison Ford $F 3.31%’s rakish Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s headstrong Princess Leia, channeling classic screwball romantic dynamics into a galaxy-spanning adventure. This chemistry became legendary in its own right, adding real romantic stakes to a story otherwise focused on rebellion and survival against overwhelming odds.

Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker also undergoes considerable growth throughout the film, training under a diminutive new mentor while grappling with a shocking revelation about his own family history that reshapes everything audiences thought they understood about the saga. This specific plot twist remains one of cinema’s most widely referenced narrative surprises decades after the film’s original release, still capable of landing with real impact for first-time viewers.

Beyond the character work, the film balances spectacle and sentiment throughout its considerable runtime, moving from icy battlefield sequences through asteroid-field chases to a fully operatic emotional climax. Few sequels expand on their predecessor’s world this successfully while still delivering satisfying blockbuster thrills, cementing “The Empire Strikes Back” as a rare follow-up widely considered superior to the original film that inspired it.

Composer John Williams also expanded his score considerably for this installment, introducing the now-iconic Imperial March theme that instantly signals danger whenever Darth Vader appears onscreen throughout the film. This musical addition has become so culturally ingrained that the melody alone now functions as shorthand for villainy across countless other films and television productions unrelated to the Star Wars franchise.

9. The Terminator sends a killer back through time

James Cameron built this lean, propulsive thriller on a relatively modest budget, years before he would go on to direct some of the most expensive productions in Hollywood history. The premise remains gloriously simple: a killer cyborg travels backward through time to eliminate a woman whose unborn son will eventually lead humanity’s resistance against a future machine uprising.

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as that relentless cyborg assassin, delivering a performance built almost entirely around physical presence instead of dialogue, since his character speaks only a handful of lines throughout the entire film. This minimalist approach to characterization makes the villain far more terrifying, treating the Terminator as an unstoppable force of nature rather than a conventional movie antagonist with clear motivations audiences might sympathize with.

Linda Hamilton anchors the human side of the story as Sarah Connor, undergoing a real transformation from an ordinary, somewhat directionless waitress into a capable survivor fighting for her life and humanity's future. This arc gives the film emotional grounding beneath its considerable action-thriller mechanics, treating Sarah’s growth as important as the chase sequences surrounding her.

Michael Biehn rounds out the central cast as Kyle Reese, a soldier from the war-torn future sent back specifically to protect Sarah and convince her of the actual danger closing in around her. This protective dynamic between Reese and Sarah adds real emotional stakes beyond pure survival, giving “The Terminator” a beating human heart beneath its stripped-down genre thrills and relentless pursuit narrative.

Cameron reportedly conceived the film’s central image, a robotic torso pulling itself from an explosion, during a feverish dream while promoting an earlier, considerably less........

© Quartz