The Best Doomsday Movies Of All Time, Ranked
The best way to celebrate the end of the world is by watching the best Doomsday movies of all time to get in the mood. To that end, fans have ranked this list of the top doomsday movies. These movies about the end of the world have been voted by fans of the genre. The best ones appear first, so vote for your favorites to get them to rise to the top of the list. You can click on the doomsday movie titles to get more information about the films. Find out who the directors were, year of release, top-billed cast, and more.
These are the top films in the doomsday film genre, meaning that each and every one of these is a movie about the end of the world or takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Be it the motifs of the doomsday film genre or just some of the most common archetypes. The films on this list cover multiple genres and are voted on by people who really care about doomsday movie lists.
Show your appreciation for movies like Independence Day or The Matrix by voting for them. If we missed any doomsday movies on this list, please add them to the list yourself, as this is an open list which means you can add any movies whenever you like (choices are subject to moderation). Don't forget, not all end of the world Doomsday movies are sad and action-packed. Some are sentimental and emotional roller coasters, such as Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, starring Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.
This list has everything from sci-fi classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and animated hits like Wall-E. Want to watch these apocalypse movies right now but don't own them? Don't worry, it's not the end of the world. Many of these end of times flicks are streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. These top Doomsday movies will help you get prepared for the apocalypse.
Plenty of well-known directors have been associated with Doomsday film films, including George A. Romero and Edgar Wright.
- 1Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
After a virus turns most people into zombies, the world's surviving humans remain locked in an ongoing battle against the hungry undead. Four survivors -- Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and his ...more - 2Cillian Murphy, Noah Huntley, Naomie Harris
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Danny Boyle
A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with the "Rage" virus from a medical research lab. When London bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma a month ...more - 3Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
- Released: 1991
- Directed by: James Cameron
In this sequel set eleven years after "The Terminator," young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the key to civilization's victory over a future robot uprising, is the target of the shape-shifting T-1000Â ...more - 4Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum
- Released: 1996
- Directed by: Roland Emmerich
In the epic adventure film "Independence Day," strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it ...more - 5Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Thirty years after war turned the world into a wasteland, a lone warrior named Eli (Denzel Washington) marches across the ruined landscape, carrying hope for humanity's redemption. Only one other man ...more - 6Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Roland Emmerich
After climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is largely ignored by U.N. officials when presenting his environmental concerns, his research proves true when an enormous "superstorm" develops, setting ...more - 7Will Smith, Alice Braga, Dash Mihok
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Robert Neville (Will Smith), a brilliant scientist, is a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants. He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other ...more - 8Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Taylor
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Michael Bay
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads ...more - 9John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet
- Released: 2009
- Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Earth's billions of inhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date. With the warnings of an American scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor), world leaders begin secret preparations for the ...more - 10Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Edgar Wright
Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 30-something loser with a dull, easy existence. When he's not working at the electronics store, he lives with his slovenly best friend, Ed (Nick Frost), in a small flat on the ...more - 11Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Zack Snyder
When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana (Sarah Polley) manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being ...more - 12Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Six months after the original epidemic, the rage virus has all but annihilated the population of the British Isles. Nevertheless the U.S. Army declares the danger past, and American soldiers arrive ...more - 13Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: John Krasinski
If they hear you, they hunt you. A family must live in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn and Lee ...more - 14Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, John Cullum
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes (Jason Robards)Â ...more - 15Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Andrew Stanton
WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class, is the last robot left on Earth. He spends his days tidying up the planet, one piece of garbage at a time. But during 700 years, WALL-E has ...more - 16Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
- Released: 2015
- Directed by: George Miller
Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads ...more - 17Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson
- Released: 2014
- Directed by: Doug Liman
When Earth falls under attack from invincible aliens, no military unit in the world is able to beat them. Maj. William Cage (Tom Cruise), an officer who has never seen combat, is assigned to a ...more - 18Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt
- Released: 1995
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Traveling back in time isn't simple, as James Cole (Bruce Willis) learns the hard way. Imprisoned in the 2030s, James is recruited for a mission that will send him back to the 1990s. Once there, he's ...more - 19Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Bong Joon-ho
A post-apocalyptic ice age forces humanity's last survivors aboard a globe-spanning supertrain. One man (Chris Evans) will risk everything to lead a revolt for control of the engine and the future of ...more - 20David Emge, Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross
- Released: 1978
- Directed by: George A. Romero
As hordes of zombies swarm over the U.S., the terrified populace tries everything in their power to escape the attack of the undead, but neither cities nor the countryside prove safe. In ...more - 21Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
- Released: 1951
- Directed by: Robert Wise
When a UFO lands in Washington, D.C., bearing a message for Earth's leaders, all of humanity stands still. Klaatu (Michael Rennie) has come on behalf of alien life who have been watching Cold War-era ...more - 22Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi
- Released: 2016
- Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Train to Busan is a 2016 South Korean zombie apocalypse action thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho. A man, his estranged daughter and other passengers become trapped on a speeding train during a ...more - 23Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
- Released: 2006
- Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
When infertility threatens mankind with extinction and the last child born has perished, a disillusioned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) becomes the unlikely champion in the fight for the survival of Earth's ...more - 24Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale
- Released: 2013
- Directed by: Marc Forster
When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses that it's no ordinary traffic jam. His suspicions are confirmed when, suddenly, the city ...more - 25Yoo Ah-in, Park Shin-hye, Jeon Bae-soo
- Released: 2020
- Directed by: Il Cho
A rapidly spreading infection leaves one survivor in the entire city.
