What Sci Fi Movie Should I Watch?

Three science fiction films a press, each with its year, rating, length and a one-line premise.

  1. The Wild Robot2024. PG. 102 min. US. A service robot shipwrecked on an island becomes the adoptive mother of an orphaned goose.
  2. Midnight Special2016. PG-13. 112 min. US. A Texas man goes on the run with his 8-year-old son, who has powers the authorities want.
  3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen2009. PG-13. 150 min. US. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, battle the Decepticons, led by Megatron.

How it works

What sci fi movie should I watch? This random sci fi movie generator draws three films that their own Wikipedia articles call science fiction, all nominees for the Saturn or Hugo awards. It opens without R-rated and unrated films.

Read the full guide

Narrow the draw

The rating menu under the button opens on G, PG and PG-13 films; choose Every film to add the R-rated and unrated ones. More filters adds Kind (space travel, aliens, time travel, robots, dystopia, monsters and experiments, comedy) and Decade. Lock a film somebody wants and press again to change the rest.

What the rating means

Ratings are the Motion Picture Association's, looked up film by film. Not rated means its database showed no G, PG, PG-13 or R entry near the film's release, which is true of most films made before November 1968. It does not mean suitable for children.

Tips
  • For a young audience choose G and PG: a Not rated film is unchecked, not cleared.
  • At most five films of one series are listed.

Questions and answers

What sci fi movie should I watch?

Press the button and take one of the three. To narrow it, open More filters and choose a kind, such as Time travel or Robots and artificial minds, or a decade. Each card gives the premise in one line and no ending.

Why is a famous science fiction film missing?

Its Wikipedia article may open with another label, such as space opera or superhero film. It may never have been named for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film or the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation. Or its series already has five films here.

What does Not rated mean on a card?

That the Motion Picture Association's database showed no G, PG, PG-13 or R entry for that film near its release on the day we looked. Most films from before November 1968 are in that group. It says nothing about who the film suits.

Are there science fiction films for children on the list?

Yes. Choose G and PG in the rating menu and the draw keeps to those films. Each card prints the rating, the year and the running time.

All 191 films

Space travel 34

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968. G. 139 min. US and UK. Astronauts and the supercomputer HAL 9000 travel to Jupiter to investigate an alien monolith.
  • 2010: The Year We Make Contact 1984. PG. 116 min. US. A joint American and Soviet crew is sent to Jupiter to find out what happened to the Discovery.
  • Ad Astra 2019. PG-13. 124 min. US and Brazil. An astronaut ventures into space in search of his lost father.
  • Armageddon 1998. PG-13. 150 min. US. NASA sends deep-core drillers to destroy an asteroid the size of Texas.
  • Avatar 2009. PG-13. 162 min. US and UK. In the mid-22nd century, humans colonize Pandora, a habitable moon, to mine unobtanium.
  • Avatar: Fire and Ash 2025. PG-13. 197 min. US. Jake Sully's family faces human forces and the Mangkwan, a rival Na'vi clan.
  • Avatar: The Way of Water 2022. PG-13. 192 min. US. Jake Sully and his family live on the habitable moon Pandora.
  • The Black Hole 1979. PG. 98 min. US. A crew finds a lost ship poised at the edge of a black hole.
  • Ender's Game 2013. PG-13. 114 min. US. A gifted boy is trained at a military school in space.
Show all 191 films (182 more)

Space travel, continued

  • The Fifth Element 1997. PG-13. 126 min. France. In the 23rd century, the survival of Earth falls to taxi driver Korben Dallas.
  • Gravity 2013. PG-13. 91 min. US and UK. Two astronauts are stranded in orbit after their shuttle is destroyed.
  • Interstellar 2014. PG-13. 169 min. US and UK. With Earth failing, astronauts travel through space in search of a new home for humanity.
  • Lost in Space 1998. PG-13. 130 min. US. The Robinson family's ship is thrown off course into unknown space.
  • Marooned 1969. G. 134 min. US. Three astronauts are trapped in orbit with their air running out.
  • The Martian 2015. PG-13. 142 min. An astronaut is left behind on Mars and has to survive until NASA can bring him home.
  • Mickey 17 2025. R. 137 min. US and South Korea. In 2054, a man joins a space colony voyage as an Expendable, cloned each time he dies.
  • Moon 2009. R. 97 min. US and UK. A man nears the end of a three-year stint working alone on the far side of the Moon.
  • Outland 1981. R. 109 min. US and UK. A new marshal starts work at a mining facility on the moon Io.
  • Passengers 2016. PG-13. 116 min. US. Two passengers on a 120-year voyage wake 90 years early.
  • Prometheus 2012. R. 124 min. US and UK. The crew of the spaceship Prometheus follows an ancient star map.
  • Rocketship X-M 1950. Not rated. 78 min. US. A Moon expedition goes awry.
  • Silent Running 1972. G. 89 min. US. A botanist on a space freighter tends the last forests from Earth.
  • Solaris (1972) 1972. Not rated. 166 min. Soviet Union. A scientific mission has stalled on a space station orbiting the planet Solaris.
  • Solaris (2002) 2002. PG-13. 99 min. US. A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris.
  • Star Trek Generations 1994. PG. 118 min. US. Captain Picard joins forces with Captain Kirk to stop Dr. Tolian Soran.
  • Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 1991. PG. 110 min. US. The crew of the Enterprise is caught up in peace talks with the Klingons.
  • Star Trek: Insurrection 1998. PG. 103 min. US. The Enterprise crew rebels against Starfleet to protect the peaceful Ba'ku.
  • Star Trek: The Motion Picture 1979. Not rated. 132 min. US. In the 2270s, a powerful alien cloud known as V'Ger approaches Earth.
  • Stargate 1994. PG-13. 121 min. US and France. An ancient ring-shaped device opens a wormhole to another part of the universe.
  • Starship Troopers 1997. R. 129 min. US. In the 23rd century, Johnny Rico joins the military in a war against the Arachnids.
  • Sunshine 2007. R. 107 min. US and UK. In 2057, a spacecraft crew is sent to reignite the dying Sun.
  • Titan A.E. 2000. PG. 95 min. US. After Earth is destroyed, Cale Tucker must find the giant spaceship Titan.
  • Total Recall 1990. R. 113 min. US. Douglas Quaid, a construction worker, receives an implanted memory of an adventure on Mars.
  • The Wandering Earth 2 2023. Not rated. 173 min. China. A prequel to The Wandering Earth, from the story by Liu Cixin.

Aliens and first contact 37

  • The Abyss 1989. PG-13. 139 min. US. A diving team searching for a lost submarine meets something unknown in the deep ocean.
  • Alien 1979. R. 116 min. US and UK. The crew of a commercial starship investigates a derelict space vessel.
  • Alien 3 1992. R. 114 min. US. Ripley's escape pod crashes on a prison planet.
  • Alien Nation 1988. R. 91 min. US. An alien race, the Newcomers, settles in Los Angeles.
  • Alien Resurrection 1997. R. 109 min. US. Two hundred years after Alien 3, Ellen Ripley is cloned.
  • Aliens 1986. R. 137 min. US and UK. Ellen Ripley returns to the moon where her crew first met the alien.
  • The Andromeda Strain 1971. G. 130 min. US. Scientists study a deadly organism from space, in a film of Michael Crichton's novel.
  • Annihilation 2018. R. 115 min. US and UK. Lena, a biology professor, goes on an expedition into the Shimmer, a zone that has spread from a lighthouse where a meteor landed.
  • Arrival 2016. PG-13. 116 min. US. A linguist is asked to find a way to talk with aliens who have arrived on Earth.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977. PG. 135 min. US. An Indiana worker's life changes after he encounters a UFO.
  • Cocoon 1985. PG-13. 117 min. US. A group of elderly people is rejuvenated by aliens.
  • Cocoon: The Return 1988. PG. 116 min. US. The elderly travelers of Cocoon come back to Earth for a visit.
  • Contact 1997. PG. 150 min. US. A scientist finds a radio signal from another star.
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still 2008. PG-13. 103 min. US. An alien visitor arrives on Earth with a warning for humanity.
  • District 9 2009. R. 112 min. Aliens stranded on Earth are confined to a camp outside Johannesburg.
  • Enemy Mine 1985. PG-13. 108 min. US. A human pilot and an alien enemy are stranded together on a hostile planet.
  • Fire in the Sky 1993. PG-13. 109 min. US. In 1975, loggers in Arizona see a UFO and one of their crew disappears.
  • Independence Day 1996. PG-13. 145 min. US. Giant alien ships arrive over the world's cities in the days before July 4.
  • Independence Day: Resurgence 2016. PG-13. 120 min. US. Twenty years after the first invasion, the Earth Space Defense faces a new one.
  • Invaders from Mars 1953. Not rated. 80 min. US. A young boy sees a flying saucer land behind his home one night.
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1978. PG. 115 min. US. People in San Francisco are being replaced by emotionless copies.
  • It Came from Outer Space 1953. Not rated. 80 min. US. An amateur astronomer and his fiancée are stargazing in the desert when something lands.
  • Life 2017. R. 104 min. US. The crew of the International Space Station finds the first evidence of life from Mars.
  • Nope 2022. R. 130 min. US. OJ and Emerald Haywood, who train horses for film productions, try to capture evidence of an unidentified flying object.
  • Pitch Black 2000. R. 108 min. US. The survivors of a crashed transport are stranded on a desert planet with creatures that hunt in the dark.
  • Predator 1987. R. 107 min. US. A military rescue team in a Central American jungle is hunted by something not of this world.
  • Predator 2 1990. R. 108 min. US. A police detective battles an advanced extraterrestrial in the streets of Los Angeles.
  • Predator: Badlands 2025. PG-13. 107 min. US. Dek, a young exiled Yautja, crash-lands on a hostile planet and allies with an android named Thia.
  • Prey 2022. R. 99 min. US. In 1719 on the Northern Great Plains, a young hunter faces a Predator.
  • The Puppet Masters 1994. R. 109 min. US. Three government agents try to stop alien parasites that take control of people.
  • Riddick 2013. R. 119 min. US and Canada. Riddick is left on a desolate planet and has to survive.
  • Signs 2002. PG-13. 106 min. US. A former priest finds crop circles in his cornfield.
  • Starman 1984. PG. 115 min. US. An alien takes the form of a young widow's late husband.
  • Super 8 2011. PG-13. 112 min. US. In 1979, teenagers filming a movie witness a mysterious train derailment in their Ohio town.
  • They Live 1988. R. 94 min. US. A working-class drifter comes to Los Angeles for work and finds that its rulers are camouflaged aliens.
  • The War of the Worlds 1953. Not rated. 85 min. US. Martians invade Earth, in a film of the H. G. Wells novel.
  • War of the Worlds 2005. PG-13. 116 min. US. A dock worker tries to protect his children when extraterrestrials invade Earth.

Time travel 16

  • Back to the Future 1985. PG. 116 min. US. Teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean.
  • Back to the Future Part II 1989. PG. 108 min. US. Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel from 1985 to 2015.
  • Back to the Future Part III 1990. PG. 118 min. US. Stranded in 1955, Marty McFly travels to 1885 to help Doc Brown.
  • Déjà Vu 2006. PG-13. 126 min. US. An agent looks back in time to prevent an attack in New Orleans.
  • Edge of Tomorrow 2014. PG-13. 113 min. US. A soldier fighting the alien Mimics relives the same day again and again.
  • The Final Countdown 1980. PG. 103 min. US. A modern aircraft carrier travels through time to the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  • Flight of the Navigator 1986. PG. 89 min. US and Norway. A boy disappears and returns eight years later without having aged a day.
  • The Last Mimzy 2007. PG. 96 min. US. Two children find a box of toys sent from the future.
  • Looper 2012. R. 118 min. US. Hired guns called loopers wait in the present for targets sent back from the future.
  • Slaughterhouse-Five 1972. R. 104 min. US. Billy Pilgrim comes unstuck in time, in a film of the novel by Kurt Vonnegut.
  • Source Code 2011. PG-13. 93 min. US and France. A soldier relives the same eight minutes on a commuter train, again and again.
  • Star Trek: First Contact 1996. PG-13. 111 min. US. The Enterprise crew travels back to the 21st century to stop the Borg from changing the past.
  • Tenet 2020. PG-13. 150 min. US and UK. A CIA officer traces objects that are traveling backward through time.
  • Time After Time 1979. PG. 112 min. US. H. G. Wells uses his time machine to chase a criminal into the 20th century.
  • The Time Machine 1960. Not rated. 103 min. US. An inventor in Victorian England builds a machine that carries him into the distant future.
  • Timecop 1994. R. 98 min. US. An officer polices crime committed by time travel.

Robots and artificial minds 30

  • A.I. Artificial Intelligence 2001. PG-13. 145 min. US. A robot boy programmed to love longs to become real.
  • Blade Runner 1982. R. 117 min. US and Hong Kong. In the Los Angeles of 2019, a former police officer hunts synthetic humans known as replicants.
  • Bumblebee 2018. PG-13. 114 min. US and China. In 1987, Bumblebee takes refuge on Earth and befriends a teenage girl named Charlie.
  • Colossus: The Forbin Project 1970. Not rated. 100 min. US. An American defense computer named Colossus becomes sentient.
  • Ex Machina 2014. R. 108 min. US and UK. A programmer is invited to give the Turing test to an intelligent humanoid robot.
  • Existenz 1999. R. 97 min. UK and Canada. A game designer goes on the run inside a virtual reality game of her own creation.
  • I, Robot 2004. PG-13. 115 min. US. In the Chicago of 2035, a detective suspects a robot of a crime.
  • The Iron Giant 1999. PG. 87 min. US. In 1957, a boy named Hogarth Hughes befriends a giant robot from space.
  • M3GAN 2022. PG-13. 102 min. US. An artificially intelligent doll becomes fiercely protective of her human companion.
  • The Matrix 1999. R. 136 min. US and Australia. A computer hacker learns that the life he knows is a deception created by intelligent machines.
  • The Matrix Revolutions 2003. R. 129 min. US. Neo and his allies fight to end the war between humanity and the machines.
  • Ready Player One 2018. PG-13. 140 min. US. In 2045, much of humanity escapes into the OASIS, a virtual reality simulation.
  • RoboCop 1987. R. 102 min. US. In a crime-ridden Detroit, a police officer is rebuilt as the cyborg law enforcer RoboCop.
  • RoboCop 2 1990. R. 117 min. US. RoboCop is caught up in a scheme by Omni Consumer Products to take over Detroit.
  • RoboCop 3 1993. PG-13. 104 min. US. RoboCop tries to save Detroit from falling into chaos.
  • Short Circuit 1986. PG. 98 min. US. An experimental military robot is struck by lightning and gains a mind of its own.
  • Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 2004. PG. 107 min. A pilot and a reporter investigate giant robots and missing scientists.
  • The Terminator 1984. R. 107 min. US. A cyborg assassin is sent back from 2029 to 1984.
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991. R. 137 min. US. Skynet sends a Terminator back to 1995 to find the young John Connor.
  • Terminator Genisys 2015. PG-13. 126 min. US. Kyle Reese, a soldier from 2029, is sent back in the war against Skynet.
  • Terminator: Dark Fate 2019. R. 128 min. US and China. A Terminator called the Rev-9 is sent back to 2020 after Dani Ramos.
  • Transformers 2007. PG-13. 143 min. US. Two factions of alien robots bring their war to Earth.
  • Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2009. PG-13. 150 min. US. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, battle the Decepticons, led by Megatron.
  • Transformers: Rise of the Beasts 2023. PG-13. 127 min. US. In 1994, the Autobots and the Maximals protect the Transwarp Key from the Terrorcons.
  • Tron 1982. PG. 96 min. US. A programmer is pulled into the world inside a computer.
  • Tron: Ares 2025. PG-13. 119 min. US. A program called Ares crosses from the Grid into the real world.
  • Tron: Legacy 2010. PG. 125 min. US. Sam Flynn is transported into the virtual world called the Grid.
  • WALL-E 2008. G. 98 min. US. In 2805, a solitary robot named WALL-E cleans up a deserted Earth.
  • Westworld 1973. PG. 88 min. US. Guests at an amusement park of lifelike androids find the machines starting to malfunction.
  • The Wild Robot 2024. PG. 102 min. US. A service robot shipwrecked on an island becomes the adoptive mother of an orphaned goose.

Dystopia and after the end 25

  • Battle for the Planet of the Apes 1973. G. 87 min. US. Caesar tries to keep the peace between apes and humans.
  • Brazil 1985. R. 142 min. US and UK. Sam Lowry, a low-ranking bureaucrat, looks for a woman who appears in his dreams.
  • Dark City 1998. R. 100 min. US and Australia. A man wakes with no memory, hunted by the police and by a group known as the Strangers.
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2014. PG-13. 130 min. US. In 2026, human survivors of a pandemic meet Caesar's growing community of apes.
  • The Day After Tomorrow 2004. PG-13. 123 min. US. A series of extreme weather events brings on a new ice age.
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire 1961. Not rated. 98 min. UK. Nuclear tests shift the Earth and the planet starts to heat up.
  • Deep Impact 1998. PG-13. 121 min. US. Humanity prepares for a comet on course to hit the Earth.
  • Demolition Man 1993. R. 115 min. US. A police officer and a criminal, both frozen in 1996, wake in the future.
  • Escape from New York 1981. R. 99 min. US. In 1997, Manhattan Island has become the country's one maximum security prison.
  • Fortress 1992. R. 96 min. US and Australia. A couple is sent to a high-tech prison in a dystopian future.
  • Gattaca 1997. PG-13. 106 min. US. In a future ordered by genetics, a man born the natural way dreams of going to space.
  • The Illustrated Man 1969. Not rated. 103 min. US. A man's tattoos show visions of frightening futures.
  • The Island 2005. PG-13. 136 min. US. Two human clones live in a compound sealed off from the outside world.
  • Judge Dredd 1995. R. 96 min. US. In the 22nd century, judges patrol the streets of a dystopian city.
  • Knowing 2009. PG-13. 121 min. A paper filled with numbers seems to predict the details of disasters.
  • Logan's Run 1976. PG. 118 min. US. In a seeming utopia, nobody is allowed to live past the age of 30.
  • Megalopolis 2024. R. 138 min. US. In a New York restyled as New Rome, architect Cesar Catilina clashes with Mayor Franklyn Cicero.
  • Never Let Me Go 2010. R. 103 min. UK. Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grow up together in an alternative history.
  • Planet of the Apes 2001. PG-13. 120 min. US. Astronaut Leo Davidson crash-lands on a planet inhabited by intelligent apes.
  • Rollerball 1975. R. 129 min. US. In a future ruled by corporations, a violent sport keeps the public entertained.
  • The Running Man 1987. R. 101 min. US. In a totalitarian future United States, convicts fight for their lives on a television game show.
  • THX 1138 1971. Not rated. 88 min. US. In a future where drugs suppress emotion, citizens are watched by android police.
  • War for the Planet of the Apes 2017. PG-13. 140 min. US. Caesar sets out on a quest in the war between apes and humans.
  • The World, the Flesh and the Devil 1959. Not rated. 95 min. US. A handful of survivors meet in an emptied, post-apocalyptic world.
  • The Zero Theorem 2013. R. 106 min. Qohen Leth, a reclusive computer genius, works on a formula to decide whether life has meaning.

Monsters and experiments 23

  • The 6th Day 2000. PG-13. 124 min. US. A family man of the future is illegally cloned by accident.
  • The Blob 1988. R. 95 min. US. An acidic, amoeba-like organism crashes to Earth in a military satellite and grows.
  • Brainstorm 1983. PG. 106 min. US. A research team perfects a system that records and replays what a person senses and feels.
  • The Cabin in the Woods 2011. R. 95 min. US and Canada. College students at a remote cabin are watched by technicians in an underground facility.
  • The Cell 2000. R. 107 min. US and Germany. Scientists use experimental technology to send a social worker into another person's mind.
  • Congo 1995. PG-13. 108 min. US. An expedition and a mountain gorilla travel to the rainforest to find a missing team.
  • The Day of the Dolphin 1973. PG. 104 min. US. A scientist has taught dolphins to speak.
  • Fantastic Voyage 1966. Not rated. 100 min. US. A submarine crew is shrunk to microscopic size and sent into the body of an injured scientist.
  • Flatliners 1990. R. 114 min. US. Five medical students experiment to find out what lies beyond death.
  • The Fly (1958) 1958. Not rated. 94 min. US. A scientist's matter transporter goes wrong when a house fly gets inside.
  • The Fly (1986) 1986. R. 96 min. US. An eccentric scientist slowly turns into a fly-hybrid creature after an experiment goes wrong.
  • Frankenstein 2025. R. 150 min. US. From Mary Shelley's 1818 novel: Victor Frankenstein builds a living Creature, and the experiment turns dangerous.
  • Gemini Man 2019. PG-13. 117 min. US and China. A retiring sniper is hunted by a much younger clone of himself.
  • The Incredible Shrinking Man 1957. Not rated. 81 min. US. A man starts to shrink, and keeps on shrinking.
  • The Invisible Man Returns 1940. Not rated. 81 min. US. Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, condemned for a murder he did not commit, begs a doctor to make him invisible.
  • Jurassic Park 1993. PG-13. 127 min. US. A theme park of cloned dinosaurs breaks down during a preview tour.
  • Jurassic World 2015. PG-13. 124 min. US. Twenty-two years after Jurassic Park, a dinosaur theme park is open on Isla Nublar.
  • Jurassic World Dominion 2022. PG-13. 147 min. US. Dinosaurs now live alongside humans around the world.
  • Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018. PG-13. 128 min. US. Owen Grady and Claire Dearing return to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs from a volcano.
  • The Lawnmower Man 1992. R. 108 min. UK and Japan. A scientist uses virtual reality experiments to raise the intelligence of a gardener.
  • Man's Best Friend 1993. R. 87 min. US. A television personality adopts a dog freed from a genetic research facility.
  • Pacific Rim 2013. PG-13. 132 min. US. Humans in giant machines fight the Kaiju, colossal sea monsters from a portal under the Pacific.
  • Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011. PG-13. 105 min. US. Caesar, a genetically enhanced chimpanzee, is raised by a chemist.

Comedy 17

  • Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 1989. PG. 90 min. US. Two high school students travel through time to collect historical figures for a history presentation.
  • The Cat from Outer Space 1978. G. 104 min. US. A cat from another planet needs help repairing its spaceship.
  • Dark Star 1974. G. 83 min. US. The crew of a run-down starship is twenty years into a mission to destroy unstable planets.
  • Free Guy 2021. PG-13. 115 min. US. A bank teller discovers he is a background character in a video game.
  • Galaxy Quest 1999. PG. 102 min. US. The cast of a space television series is drawn into a real interstellar conflict by aliens.
  • Heartbeeps 1981. PG. 78 min. US. Two robots fall in love and strike out on their own.
  • Honey, I Blew Up the Kid 1992. PG. 89 min. US. Two-year-old Adam is exposed to a growth machine and grows to enormous size.
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids 1989. PG. 93 min. US. An inventor's shrinking machine accidentally shrinks his children.
  • Innerspace 1987. PG. 120 min. US. A test pilot shrunk for a secret experiment is injected by accident into a timid hypochondriac.
  • Mars Attacks! 1996. PG-13. 106 min. US. Martians arrive on Earth, and they have not come in peace.
  • Memoirs of an Invisible Man 1992. PG-13. 99 min. US. An accident turns an ordinary man invisible.
  • Men in Black 1997. PG-13. 98 min. US. A secret agency polices the aliens who live on Earth.
  • My Stepmother Is an Alien 1988. PG-13. 108 min. US. An extraterrestrial woman on a secret mission to Earth meets a widowed scientist and his daughter.
  • Palm Springs 2020. R. 90 min. US. Two wedding guests are stuck living the same day over and over.
  • Short Circuit 2 1988. PG. 110 min. US. Johnny 5, the robot from Short Circuit, comes to the big city.
  • Sleeper 1973. PG. 87 min. US. A man is frozen in 1973 and wakes 200 years later.
  • Sorry to Bother You 2018. R. 112 min. US. A young telemarketer is swept into a corporate conspiracy.

Rated PG-13 5

  • The Adjustment Bureau 2011. PG-13. 106 min. US. A young congressman finds mysterious forces working to keep him from a dancer he has met.
  • Inception 2010. PG-13. 148 min. US and UK. A thief who steals secrets from dreams is asked to plant an idea instead.
  • Jumper 2008. PG-13. 88 min. US. A young man discovers he can teleport anywhere in the world.
  • Midnight Special 2016. PG-13. 112 min. US. A Texas man goes on the run with his 8-year-old son, who has powers the authorities want.
  • The One 2001. PG-13. 87 min. US. A rogue agent travels between parallel realities hunting other versions of himself.

Rated R 4

  • Cloud Atlas 2012. R. 172 min. Six connected stories run from the 19th century to a distant future.
  • Endangered Species 1982. R. 97 min. US. A former New York police officer moves to a Colorado town where cattle are being mysteriously killed.
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004. R. 108 min. US. A couple have their memories of each other erased.
  • Vanilla Sky 2001. R. 136 min. US. A magazine publisher begins to question reality after a car crash.

How this list was compiled: A list by a written rule, built on 2026-10-03 and worded for this site. A film is listed when (1) English Wikipedia's page for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Award_for_Best_Science_Fiction_Film) or for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Dramatic_Presentation) names it as a winner or nominee, and (2) the opening sentence of the film's own Wikipedia article calls it a science fiction film. A film whose article opens with another label (space opera, superhero film) is not here, whatever its fame. Left out as well: films made for television, more than five films of one series, films whose entry in the rating database is NC-17 or X, eleven films cut by hand because the story turns on sexual violence, the abuse of a child, mass killing or the taking of a drug, and films whose article gave us no premise we could check. R-rated films with violence, and crime stories in which a gang trades a drug, are still on the list. 191 films are left, from 1940 to 2025. Year, running time and country come from each film's own article, read through Wikipedia that day (CC BY-SA 4.0); the country is left off the card of a film made by three or more countries. The premise line is ours, written from the article's opening and plot: the starting situation only, no ending and no opinion, and a script checked that every name and number in it stands in the article. The kind is our reading of that opening; a few films fit none of the seven kinds and carry none. Ratings were looked up one title at a time that day in the Motion Picture Association's database at https://www.filmratings.com/ . A rating is given only where the database has an entry for this exact film, under its title, a plain variant of it (Wall*E, Short Circuit II, 2010) or a listed alternate title, rated within a year of its release; one film, Midnight Special, was rated two years before it came out and carries that rating. 174 films are rated (8 G, 36 PG, 69 PG-13, 61 R). Not rated on the other 17 means only that no such G, PG, PG-13 or R entry was found: it covers films from before the rating system began on 1 November 1968, films rated only for a later release, two films whose only entry carries the 1968 mark M, printed there as M or M/PG and no longer given (The Illustrated Man and Colossus: The Forbin Project), and films released without a rating, and it never means suitable for children. G, PG, PG-13 and R are the Motion Picture Association's marks, reported as published; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Motion Picture Association, the Saturn Awards, the Hugo Awards or any studio. To be checked again within 12 months. Licence: own work (selection rule and wording); facts from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Motion Picture Association rating database