The past year has been a fantastic year for the science fiction genre, taking it to new heights with the best sci-fi movies of 2024. Once upon a time, science fiction movies were considered to be a niche genre lacking mass appeal. Now, science fiction TV shows, video games, and especially movies have become more popular than ever before. From massive blockbuster franchises to smaller meditative indie movies, all sorts of flavors of sci-fi have cropped up in theaters in 2024.

There are two fronts a science fiction movie can succeed on. For one, the ability to quickly establish and sell a core concept or futuristic sci-fi technology through world-building, set design, and special effects is more important in science fiction than almost any other genre. Making a vision of the future believable, whether it's thousands of years from the modern age or not too far off from the present, is a critical endeavor all the year's best sci-fi films accomplish. Beyond this, the quality of the filmmaking necessary for any movie to succeed is just as important.

20 Parallel

A Multiversal Mystery That Doesn't Pull Its Punches

The multiverse has been an incredibly popular concept in science fiction media in recent years, from the timeline-hopping antics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the bizarre alternate realities of TV shows like Rick and Morty. It's rare that a film can examine the idea of parallel realities in a serious light, and Parallel works to do just that. The film follows a grieving young woman who is attacked by another version of herself from a parallel dimension.

Taking shades of influence from Jordan Peele's Us, the film's spooky sequences of doppelgänger violence within the isolated confines of a darkly-lit lake house present some striking imagery that's hard to forget. As events progress, the headier exploration of the nature of reality and how humans process grief solidifies Parallel as a thoughtful science fiction endeavor. If the performances and cinematography were just a tad stronger, the disturbing consequences of Parallel's tangled plot could be more than a match for most of 2024's sci-fi offerings.

19 I.S.S.

A Character-driven Thriller In The Confines Of Space

ittedly, tense disaster movies set in the dark expanse of space are nothing new, with films like Gravity, Interstellar, and The Martian all being familiar tales of astronaut survival. I.S.S.' contribution to the genre is a healthy dose of political tension and claustrophobic human struggles to make survival in space all the more challenging. When a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth, the multinational crew of the International Space Station are all given secret directives from their governments -- take control by any means necessary.

It is an enjoyable ride that accomplishes what it sets out to do

I.S.S. has a fascinating, eerily-possible premise that shockingly has never been done before, and lives up to expectations with some claustrophobic action sequences and intense character drama that makes the halls of the International Space Station feel like a floating coffin. The film wouldn't work without its fantastic performances, not leaving the concept to do the heavy lifting as interpersonal drama forms the foundation of the conflict. I.S.S. might not re-invent the wheel, bearing some predictable plot beats, but it is an enjoyable ride that accomplishes what it sets out to do.

18 Y2K

A Horror-Comedy About The New Millenium

It's rare that a movie can be both a period story and have elements of sci-fi, but Y2K achieves this by focusing on a specific moment in recent history. The film is set on New Year's 1999, following a group of young party people celebrating the new millennium. However, the movie imagines an alternate reality in which all the fears about society crumbling due to the Y2K bug end up coming true as technology quickly turns against humanity.

There are other film that have dealt with the technological uprising more effectively and even with a more humorous take, but there is still a lot of fun and charm to Y2K. Directed by SNL alum Kyle Mooney, the movie is filled with genre-mashing humor while also being a fun throwback to the 90s. It also features a solid cast of young stars, including Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison.

17 Venom: The Last Dance

The Final Adventure Of Eddie Brock And Venom

The Venom movies have always embraced the sci-fi genre with its main character being an alien entity bonding with a human. However, Venom: The Last Dance is the most sci-fi of the franchise thus far, which is fitting as it is also the final chapter in this Marvel trilogy. Tom Hardy returns to the dual roles of Eddie Brock and Venom as they continue their dysfunctional yet symbiotic relationship, only for it to be disrupted when the creator of the symbiote race sends his minions to Earth to destroy Venom.

This movie continues the trend of a fun and wild sci-fi adventure that wisely doesn't take itself too seriously.

The Venom movies have never been hits with critics, but unlike the other villain movies in Sony's Spider-Man cinematic universe, the audience has totally embraced them. This movie continues the trend of a fun and wild sci-fi adventure that wisely doesn't take itself too seriously. Once again, the highlight of it all is Hardy's performance and his ability to create this genuinely effective relationship between Eddie and Venom.

16 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Thus Begins A Box Office Reign Of Kaiju

Ever since the premiere of Legendary's Monsterverse in 2014, the city-stomping creatures of Hollow Earth have been the only cinematic universe to begin giving Marvel a run for their money. The fifth entry in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has fully leaned in to the goofiness of Showa era Godzilla films to roaring success. The film once again prompts Kong and Godzilla to forces against a new threat from deep within the Hollow Earth, the tyrannical gigantic ape known as Skar King.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire knows exactly what it is and aspires to nothing more, satisfying giant monster fans with some bombastic action. The humans have no delusions of grandeur this time around, accepting their fate as a B-plot for the largely Kong-focused main story to bounce off of. The stunning CGI makes the titular ape protagonist more expressive than ever, and the outlandish worldbuilding of Hollow Earth's mythos is endlessly entertaining. Certainly not a cerebral sci-fi film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delivers precisely what it promises.

15 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Proved The Ghostbusters Universe Is Still Worth Exploring

The Ghostbusters franchise has had a fraught history, with each sequel struggling to re-capture the magic of the original for various reasons. However, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire proved that the new cast was capable of coming into their own as the face of the paranormal exterminator team, proving the series still has room to grow. The Spengler family returns, taking up residence in the iconic New York City firehouse only to come face to face with a chilling new spectral threat.

With one foot in nostalgia and the other in the new generation, the film is ultimately balanced, if tenuously so.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire introduces a lot of elements to juggle, from personal tales of overcoming teenage insecurities to cameos from the original Ghostbusters to some engaging new ghostly chase scenes showing off the latest in Ghostbuster technology. While the film risks falling apart at the seams from so many directions being explored at once, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is able to keep all its plates spinning miraculously well, thanks to some great performances from the returning cast. With one foot in nostalgia and the other in the new generation, the film is ultimately balanced, if tenuously so.

14 Code 8: Part II

Gets Its Hands Dirty With The Exploration Of Corruption

2019's Code 8 crafted a striking science fiction world that turns the ideas of the superhero genre on its head, establishing a cyberpunk world in which powered individuals turn to crime to get by while avoiding the custody of a robotic police force. After 5 years in-universe and in real-time, director Jeff Chan returned to Lincoln City for a new installment. This time around, Connor and Garrett must protect a teenager with a rare ability from the clutches of the corrupt police state.

Improving on the first film's action scenes and visuals, the second installment is flashier, more thought-provoking, and better characterized...

Code 8: Part II builds satisfying embellishments on the world introduced in the previous film, upgrading the LD's forces with new K9 robots and an even deeper well of corruption than ever thought possible. Improving on the first film's action scenes and visuals, the second installment is flashier, more thought-provoking, and better characterized, making some thoughtful critiques on the dangers of police state "safety." That being said, Code 8: Part II still can't quite capture the level of narrative depth it seems to strive for, hydroplaning along the surface of true sci-fi greatness with CW-series-level drama.

13 Badland Hunters

Presents One Of The Most Gruesome Tales Of Post-Apocalyptic

From the intrepid imaginations of films like Alienoid to the strange confines of Snowpiercer, Korean cinema has always been one of the strongest contenders in the science fiction space. 2024 proved this once more with Badland Hunters, a post-apocalyptic tale that blurs the lines between science fiction and snuff film. The movie is a haunting follow-up to 2023's Concrete Utopia, which turned the city of Seoul into an apocalyptic wasteland after a titanic earthquake.

The sequel follows the efforts of a lone huntsman to rescue a teen girl from the clutches of a deranged mad scientist, carving his way across the broken former city. The brutality of Badland Hunters presents its straightforward, fast-paced story through a mystifying lens, spelunking in the darkest depths of human cruelty. Reveling in to-the-point action, Badland Hunters is a no-holds-barred nail-biter that doesn't provoke much higher-level thinking but doesn't need to.

12 The Kitchen

A Haunting Glimpse Future Of The Gulf Between The Haves And Have-Nots

Written, directed, and produced by Daniel Kaluuya of Get Out fame, The Kitchen is a grim science fiction exploration of late-stage capitalism that presents some of the most scathing social commentary of 2024. Taking place in London in the year 2040, The Kitchen takes place in its eponymous building, the last bastion of social housing after increased financial stratification in the city. The Kitchen resident and activist Izi befriends a young boy while working at a funeral service with a unique burial option.

What makes The Kitchen so striking isn't its vastly-defined world or vision of the future. The subtle character-driven narrative allows Kane Robinson and Jedaiah Bannerman's incredible performances room to breathe, making them feel like real people against the backdrop of their financial struggles. The film's bleak postulations on the future of commerce and living conditions for the poor raise some pressing questions worth discussion, making The Kitchen a weighty, if long-winded, story.

11 It's What's Inside

A Wild Body-Swap Concept

Sci-fi movies don't necessarily have to be big-budget blockbusters with special effects as there are some projects that have a more intimate and even grounded feel with a sci-fi element thrown into the middle. Such is the case with the underrated and inventive Netflix movie It's What's Inside. The story follows a group of friends gathering for a celebration before one of them gets married. One of the friends brings along a device developed at his company that allows people to switch consciousness with the friends trading bodies as a party game.

The fun sci-fi idea opens up the story to explore the tensions, unresolved feelings, and betrayals behind these friendships. However, when things spiral out of control, the body-swap idea takes on an even more outrageous dynamic with some wild and clever twists along the way. It is a funny, thrilling, and completely unique genre mash-up.