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Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 2000s, Ranked by IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDB
122 sci-fi films from the 2000s are in our catalog; the 50 best are ranked below. Top of the list is The Prestige (2006), at 8.5 on IMDb. The average IMDb score across this list is 7.4. Biggest split between audiences and critics: The Butterfly Effect, 7.6 on IMDb against 30 on Metacritic.
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| # | Movie | Genre | IMDb | Tomato | Meta | TMDB | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Prestige '2006 | Drama / Mystery / Sci-Fi | 8.5 | 77% | 66 | 8.2 | Christopher Nolan |
| 2 | WALL·E '2008 | Animation / Sci-Fi | 8.4 | 95% | 95 | 8.1 | Andrew Stanton |
| 3 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind '2004 | Sci-Fi / Drama / Romance | 8.3 | 93% | 89 | 8.1 | Michel Gondry |
| 4 | V for Vendetta '2006 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 8.1 | 73% | 62 | 7.9 | James McTeigue |
| 5 | Avatar '2009 | Sci-Fi / Action | 7.9 | 81% | 83 | 7.6 | James Cameron |
| 6 | Iron Man '2008 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.9 | 94% | 79 | 7.7 | Jon Favreau |
| 7 | District 9 '2009 | Sci-Fi | 7.9 | 90% | 81 | 7.5 | Neill Blomkamp |
| 8 | Star Trek '2009 | Sci-Fi / Action | 7.9 | 94% | 82 | 7.4 | J.J. Abrams |
| 9 | Children of Men '2006 | Sci-Fi / Thriller / Action | 7.9 | 92% | 84 | 7.6 | Alfonso Cuarón |
| 10 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith '2005 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.7 | 79% | 68 | 7.5 | George Lucas |
| 11 | Moon '2009 | Sci-Fi / Drama | 7.8 | 90% | 67 | 7.6 | Duncan Jones |
| 12 | Minority Report '2002 | Sci-Fi / Action / Thriller | 7.6 | 89% | 80 | 7.4 | Steven Spielberg |
| 13 | Watchmen '2009 | Mystery / Action / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 64% | 56 | 7.4 | Zack Snyder |
| 14 | The Butterfly Effect '2004 | Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.6 | 34% | 30 | 7.6 | J. Mackye Gruber |
| 15 | Spider-Man 2 '2004 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.5 | 93% | 83 | 7.3 | Sam Raimi |
| 16 | Serenity '2005 | Sci-Fi / Action / Thriller | 7.8 | 82% | 74 | 7.4 | Joss Whedon |
| 17 | 28 Days Later '2002 | Horror / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.5 | 87% | 73 | 7.2 | Danny Boyle |
| 18 | Spider-Man '2002 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.4 | 90% | 73 | 7.4 | Sam Raimi |
| 19 | The Man from Earth '2007 | Sci-Fi / Drama | 7.8 | 100% | - | 7.6 | Richard Schenkman |
| 20 | Mr. Nobody '2009 | Sci-Fi / Drama / Romance | 7.7 | 64% | 63 | 7.8 | Jaco Van Dormael |
| 21 | X2 '2003 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.4 | 85% | 68 | 7.0 | Bryan Singer |
| 22 | X-Men '2000 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.3 | 82% | 64 | 7.0 | Bryan Singer |
| 23 | Lilo & Stitch '2002 | Animation / Comedy / Sci-Fi | 7.4 | 86% | 75 | 7.6 | Dean DeBlois |
| 24 | Equilibrium '2002 | Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.3 | 40% | 33 | 7.1 | Kurt Wimmer |
| 25 | K-PAX '2001 | Sci-Fi / Drama / Mystery | 7.4 | 41% | 49 | 7.2 | Iain Softley |
| 26 | I Am Legend '2007 | Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.2 | 68% | 65 | 7.2 | Francis Lawrence |
| 27 | Frequency '2000 | Sci-Fi / Crime / Thriller | 7.4 | 70% | 67 | 7.3 | Gregory Hoblit |
| 28 | The Matrix Reloaded '2003 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.2 | 74% | 62 | 7.1 | Lilly Wachowski |
| 29 | Paprika '2006 | Animation / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.7 | 87% | 81 | 7.8 | Satoshi Kon |
| 30 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence '2001 | Drama / Sci-Fi | 7.2 | 76% | 65 | 7.1 | Steven Spielberg |
| 31 | Sunshine '2007 | Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.2 | 77% | 64 | 7.0 | Danny Boyle |
| 32 | Transformers '2007 | Sci-Fi / Action | 7.1 | 57% | 61 | 6.9 | Michael Bay |
| 33 | I, Robot '2004 | Action / Sci-Fi | 7.1 | - | 59 | 7.0 | Alex Proyas |
| 34 | Treasure Planet '2002 | Sci-Fi / Animation / Fantasy | 7.2 | 68% | 60 | 7.6 | Ron Clements |
| 35 | The Mist '2007 | Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.1 | 74% | 58 | 7.0 | Frank Darabont |
| 36 | The Girl Who Leapt Through Time '2006 | Fantasy / Animation / Drama / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 87% | 66 | 7.8 | Mamoru Hosoda |
| 37 | Pitch Black '2000 | Thriller / Sci-Fi / Action | 7.0 | 58% | 49 | 6.9 | David Twohy |
| 38 | Déjà Vu '2006 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.1 | 55% | 59 | 6.9 | Tony Scott |
| 39 | The Fountain '2006 | Drama / Sci-Fi / Romance | 7.1 | 52% | 51 | 6.9 | Darren Aronofsky |
| 40 | District B13 '2004 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.1 | 81% | 70 | 6.8 | Pierre Morel |
| 41 | Atlantis: The Lost Empire '2001 | Animation / Sci-Fi | 6.9 | 48% | 52 | 7.1 | Gary Trousdale |
| 42 | Vanilla Sky '2001 | Mystery / Romance / Sci-Fi | 6.9 | 41% | 45 | 6.8 | Cameron Crowe |
| 43 | The Host '2006 | Horror / Drama / Sci-Fi | 7.1 | 93% | 85 | 7.0 | Bong Joon Ho |
| 44 | Cloverfield '2008 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.0 | 78% | 64 | 6.7 | Matt Reeves |
| 45 | The Animatrix '2003 | Animation / Sci-Fi | 7.3 | 88% | - | 7.2 | Peter Chung |
| 46 | Meet the Robinsons '2007 | Animation / Comedy / Sci-Fi | 6.9 | 68% | 61 | 7.0 | Stephen J. Anderson |
| 47 | A Scanner Darkly '2006 | Animation / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.0 | 68% | 73 | 6.8 | Richard Linklater |
| 48 | Signs '2002 | Thriller / Sci-Fi / Horror | 6.8 | 76% | 59 | 6.7 | M. Night Shyamalan |
| 49 | Primer '2004 | Sci-Fi / Drama / Thriller | 6.7 | 72% | 68 | 6.7 | Shane Carruth |
| 50 | 28 Weeks Later '2007 | Horror / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 6.8 | 73% | 78 | 6.6 | Juan Carlos Fresnadillo |
Our catalog covers roughly the 8,800 most-rated films on TMDB, so lesser-known titles may be missing. Order uses a confidence-weighted IMDb score so a perfect score from a handful of votes does not beat a well-established classic; the scores shown are the raw ones.
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Other genres in the 2000s
Action of the 2000s Animation of the 2000s Comedy of the 2000s Crime of the 2000s Drama of the 2000s Fantasy of the 2000s Horror of the 2000s Mystery of the 2000s Romance of the 2000s Thriller of the 2000s War of the 2000s
Directors on this list
Christopher Nolan Andrew Stanton James Cameron Jon Favreau Neill Blomkamp J.J. Abrams Alfonso Cuarón George Lucas Steven Spielberg Zack Snyder Sam Raimi Danny Boyle
Actors on this list
Hugh Jackman Christian Bale Jim Carrey Kate Winslet Natalie Portman Hugo Weaving Sam Worthington Zoe Saldaña Robert Downey Jr. Chris Pine Clive Owen Ewan McGregor