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The 20 Best Sci-Fi Movies According to Real People

Ranked by the percentage of everyday audiences who actually liked them — not critics, not algorithms.

Published March 18, 2026

Science fiction is a genre where critics and audiences frequently disagree. Films that push creative boundaries sometimes alienate casual viewers, while crowd-pleasing blockbusters get dismissed by cinephiles. The simplest way to cut through the debate is with a single question: what percentage of real people actually liked it?

1
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
James Cameron's action-sci-fi masterpiece
👍 95%14,028 votes
2
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The gold standard of sci-fi sequels
👍 94%18,164 votes
3
Return of the Jedi (1983)
The original trilogy's triumphant conclusion
👍 94%16,727 votes
4
Interstellar (2014)
Nolan's emotional space odyssey
👍 92%39,138 votes
5
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The culmination of a decade of storytelling
👍 92%27,368 votes
6
Back to the Future (1985)
The time travel movie that started it all
👍 92%21,488 votes
7
WALL-E (2008)
Pixar's most poetic and visionary film
👍 91%20,007 votes
8
The Terminator (1984)
Where it all began for Cameron and Schwarzenegger
👍 91%14,369 votes
9
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Hoverboards and time paradoxes
👍 91%13,741 votes
10
The Fifth Element (1997)
Luc Besson's colorful, over-the-top space opera
👍 91%11,522 votes
11
Jurassic Park (1993)
Spielberg brings dinosaurs to life
👍 90%17,624 votes
12
Aliens (1986)
Cameron turns horror into action -- and both work
👍 90%10,661 votes
13
The Matrix (1999)
Red pill, blue pill -- audiences chose both
👍 89%27,518 votes
14
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
George Miller's explosive return to the wasteland
👍 89%23,840 votes
15
Star Wars (1977)
The film that created modern blockbuster cinema
👍 89%22,049 votes
16
The Martian (2015)
Matt Damon sciences the s*** out of Mars
👍 89%20,925 votes
17
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Thanos did nothing wrong (according to 88% of people)
👍 88%31,604 votes
18
Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's original space horror classic
👍 87%16,111 votes
19
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott's rain-soaked cyberpunk noir
👍 87%14,784 votes
20
District 9 (2009)
Neill Blomkamp's grounded alien apartheid allegory
👍 87%10,182 votes

Surprising Omissions

Notice what's NOT in the top 20? 2001: A Space Odyssey (84%), Blade Runner 2049 (78%), and Arrival (83%) all scored lower with general audiences than with critics. These are films that cinephiles revere but everyday viewers find less accessible. Meanwhile, blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame and Back to the Future score higher than many "prestige" sci-fi films.

Critical consensus does not equal audience satisfaction. Both perspectives have value, but regular people deserve their own rankings.

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