The best alien movies, ranked by fans of space and sci-fi genres. Famous alien related movies can take several forms. What are the best alien movies? Many films about extraterrestrials, alien themed abductions, or visitors from other planets turn them into traditional horror villains. These "alien war" movies tend to follow a simple pattern: 1) UFOs arrive on Earth, 2) a misunderstanding or outright evil intent sparks a war between aliens and humanity, 3) with massively destructive and terrifying results.
Whether the movies are funny, scary, or totally crazy, there are plenty of parallels to be found between them. Consider the similarities of Battle: LA, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and even Tim Burton's genre parody, Mars Attacks. However, there are also films in which aliens are not an interstellar threat but a boon to humanity, or at least well-intentioned explorers like Arrival. E.T. is the classic example of the "friendly alien" genre – and the xenomorphs in the Alien franchise stay in outer space, so that's good for humans, too. E.T. is also one of the best alien kids movies ever made.
What are the best alien films of all time? Often in these films, the aliens are tragically misunderstood, and it's the primal nature of human beings that spark conflict. Finally, there are numerous films about aliens which attempt to "realistically" depict what might happen if humans and extraterrestrials interacted. These include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (another Spielberg film!), District 9, and even abduction films purportedly based on "true stories," such as Fire in the Sky. All-in-all this is far more than just a top 10 list of the best alien movies.
While this list does not include all alien movies ever made, it is a list of the best alien films. What do you think are the greatest alien movies of all time? Vote up the good alien movies you'd watch over and over, and vote down the ones that aren't worth your time. If you find you want more ideas then check out the best alien movies on Netflix, best action movies on Netflix, best movies on Netflix, the best Predator movies, and our list of scary movies on Netflix.
1
5,5951,782Aliens
Sigourney Weaver, Bill PaxtonReleased: 1986
Directed by: James Cameron
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4,9641,621Predator
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse VenturaReleased: 1987
Directed by: John McTiernan
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5,7022,006Alien
Sigourney Weaver, John HurtReleased: 1979
Directed by: Ridley Scott
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4,0901,555The Fifth Element
Milla Jovovich, Bruce WillisReleased: 1997
Directed by: Luc Besson
5
4,0281,562Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Harrison Ford, Carrie FisherReleased: 1980
Directed by: Irvin Kershner
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3,8661,800Men in Black
Will Smith, Sylvester StalloneReleased: 1997
Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
7
4,1801,940Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Harrison Ford, Carrie FisherReleased: 1977
Directed by: George Lucas
8
4,5862,147Independence Day
Will Smith, Jeff GoldblumReleased: 1996
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
9
2,810694The Thing
Kurt Russell, Keith DavidReleased: 1982
Directed by: John Carpenter
10
3,1171,462Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Harrison Ford, Carrie FisherReleased: 1983
Directed by: Richard Marquand
11
3,8871,830District 9
Sharlto Copley, Jed BrophyReleased: 2009
Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
12
792217Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Pratt, Zoe SaldanaReleased: 2014
Directed by: James Gunn
13
3,3561,607Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Richard Dreyfuss, Teri GarrReleased: 1977
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
14
2,7331,281Stargate
Kurt Russell, James SpaderReleased: 1994
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
15
2,6091,478Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon StoneReleased: 1990
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
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2,4771,306Pitch Black
Vin Diesel, Radha MitchellReleased: 2000
Directed by: David Twohy
17
3,4182,102E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Drew Barrymore, Erika EleniakReleased: 1982
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
18
2,092848The Abyss
Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth MastrantonioReleased: 1989
Directed by: James Cameron
19
2,0201,162Star Trek
Zoe Saldana, Jennifer MorrisonReleased: 2009
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
20
644275Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Chris Pratt, Zoe SaldanaReleased: 2017
Directed by: James Gunn
21
3,2821,642Avatar
Zoe Saldana, Sigourney WeaverReleased: 2009
Directed by: James Cameron
22
2,8341,547Starship Troopers
Neil Patrick Harris, Denise RichardsReleased: 1997
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
23
338175Thor: Ragnarok
Chris Hemsworth, Tom HiddlestonReleased: 2017
Directed by: Taika Waititi
24
2,2691,352The X-Files
Gillian Anderson, David DuchovnyReleased: 1998
Directed by: Rob Bowman
25
3,1711,778Signs
Mel Gibson, Joaquin PhoenixReleased: 2002
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
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