got deliciously creative with small budgets. And it’s been a particularly great year for animated sci-fi movies, which occupy three spots on this list.
From robot romances to alien battles, genetic experiments gone wrong to human cloning gone weird, here’s our rundown of the 10 best sci-fi movies of 2025 (so far).
Warner Bros. Pictures
Good science fiction entertains, but great science fiction makes you think about the world a bit differently, using allegory to broaden audience members’ minds. Few other films this year have played with science fiction storytelling to perfection quite like Drew Hancock’s “Companion,” a sci-fi thriller about love, relationships, and most of all, control.
Sophie Thatcher stars as Iris, a young woman who’s a little more human than human, purchased by her seemingly sweet boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid). The fact that Iris is a companion android was revealed in the movie’s marketing, but “Companion” is so much more than just a simple narrative twist. It’s smart, funny, and has a whole lot to say about the patriarchy and how some people feel entitled to complete control over their significant others.
“Companion” shares DNA with everything from “M3GAN” to the HBO series “Westworld,” drawing from the great android stories of the past to craft one of the most deliciously complex allegories of 2025. Thatcher is perfect as Iris, playing her as warm, a little naive, and deeply curious, and not at all like one might expect from your traditional movie robot. Quaid is an interesting antagonist as a pseudo-nice guy, and Harvey Guillén and Lukas Gage are stellar in supporting roles as Josh’s good friend Eli and his boyfriend Patrick. “Companion” is smart, scary, and surprising, easily making it one of the best sci-fi flicks of 2025. (Danielle Ryan)
Ketchup Entertainment
After nearly 90 years, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig finally have a feature film — and it’s one of the best movies of 2025. “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” is essentially a Roger Corman-inspired ’50s sci-fi B-movie, following Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as they become the only two people capable of fighting back against a group of aliens using chewing gum to conquer the Earth. The movie is outright hilarious, with some of the best gags of 2025, and does a fantastic job translating the “Looney Tunes” visual style to 2025. It’s also a surprisingly great sci-fi movie.
“The Day the Earth Blew Up” plays to many of the tropes and formulas of classic sci-fi movies, like the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in order to tell a story of two brothers facing the world on their own and getting in way over their heads in the conflict to beat the aliens. The specific aesthetic and tone of ’50s Hollywood B-movies gives the film a shortcut to embrace the, well, looniness of classic “Looney Tunes.” The over-the-top nature of the story fits the absurdist humor, creating the perfect combination of stupid and smart. (Rafael Motamayor)
Pixar
/Film’s own Jeremy Mathai has covered at length how Disney’s “Elio” was failed by its marketing, so there’s no need to go into that here. Besides, it would only make me angry, and “Elio” and angry really don’t match. Instead, let’s use this space to praise the sci-fi animation that’s easily Pixar’s best original movie since “Coco.”
Thematically, “Elio” belongs in another time. Namely, the bygone era when every Pixar movie was a cultural event celebrated by all. Its central premise of young space-obsessed orphan Elio Solís (Yonas Kibreab) getting hoisted away for intergalactic adventures due to a misunderstanding is a timeless one, and Pixar knows how to mine its resources efficiently. The belly-laughs, the tearjerker moments, the story that’s suitable for adults and youngsters alike — it’s all there, and much of it can stand proudly beside some of the studio’s finest projects.
However, where “Elio” truly shines is its setting. This is a science fiction movie through and through, even more so than Pixar’s previous efforts like “Wall-E.” Brimming with eye-popping alien designs, concepts, sights, and sounds, the movie’s Communiverse is an impressive creation that feels truly alive. It’s easy to believe it’s filled to the brim with interesting stories, and that Elio’s is simply the one the movie happens to follow. Unfortunately, the lackluster box office performance of “Elio” might mean that Pixar isn’t about to revisit this amazing place in a hurry … but that shouldn’t deter you from enjoying it here. Repeatedly. (Pauli Poisuo)
Marvel Studios
There is a “Childhood’s End” vibe to Matt Shakman’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Although set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “First Steps” takes place in a parallel dimension where it seems that all of the world’s problems have been solved. 1960s retro-futurist technology has pervaded across the globe. Poverty seems to be at an end, or at least on its way out the door. This all happened because the Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn) went into space and acquired superpowers. Their powers allowed them to fight crime and rescue those in need, of course (that’s standard superhero stuff), but more importantly, their powers brought them a certain deal of authority in the world. Their stirring scientific brilliance, charisma, natural sense of righteousness, and unmatched talents for diplomacy brought the world together.
It’s rare that superhero movies depict heroes changing the entire world for the better. The Fantastic Four aren’t a freelance military like the Avengers, but utopians. “The Fantastic Four” is a utopian text. It gives one the same thrill as “Star Trek.”
Shakman’s film also contains marvelous themes of growing up. The plot involves an ineffable space deity named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) who is essentially an analog for an Old Testament God. When Galactus asks that the Fantastic Four sacrifice Reed (Pascal) and Sue’s (Kirby) firstborn child, they refuse, return to Earth, and use their brilliant scientific inventions and calm-thinking, humanity-unifying diplomacy to rid the Earth of God’s influence. That’s some classically heady sci-fi, right there. (Witney Seibold)
Apple TV+
“The Gorge,” as it’s deceptively simple title suggests, holds many secrets. What initially it appears to be a modern-day riff on deep-seated anxieties about the clandestine histories of world governments, combined with a romance between two snipers from literal opposite ends of a gorge they’re assigned to monitor, eventually blossoms into a visually inventive and heart-pounding sci-fi film. Writer Zach Dean is clearly riffing on the last several decades of genre video games, as American sniper Levi (Miles Teller) and Russian sniper Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) find themselves falling into the gorge they were told never to venture into, and discover a secret genetic experiment gone horrifically wrong. Director Scott Derrickson picks up on Dean’s video game influence, fusing something like the “Dead Space” games with Alex Garland’s “Annihilation” as Levi and Drasa discover how the bioweapon unleashed in the gorge has mutated every living thing in its reach.
Despite Derrickson and Dean’s clear influences, “The Gorge” is a refreshingly original experience, delivering a brand new sci-fi/horror realm and a menagerie of beasties within it that don’t feel hopelessly derivative. In cinematic terms, the film hews closer to “King Kong” (both the 1933 and 2005 versions) than a standard zombie-adjacent movie, giving us the feeling that just about anything could be lurking around every corner. By the time Levi and Drasa are forced to climb through and around a gigantic, pulsating yellow mass that might be the mutated form of men trapped in the gorge (or might be a pupal stage for other beasties, or might even be both), the film feels like its ventured into truly unsettling uncharted territory. The fact that it’s also a solid mystery, action, and romance movie is the genre cherry on top. (Bill Bria)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Oscar-winning South Korean director Bong Joon-ho took a bit of a break after wowing the world with his 2019 success “Parasite,” the first non-English-language movie to win Best Picture. While “Mickey 17” never reaches the heights of its predecessor, it’s still a ton of fun. In an attempt to avoid paying back a dangerous loan shark, pilot Timo (Steven Yeun) convinces his buddy Mickey Barnes (a stunningly great and weird Robert Pattinson, doing another silly voice) to board a ship to the ice planet Niflheim, but there’s one problem. The only job available to Mickey is “expendable,” meaning that experiments are performed on him that all lead to certain death. He survives only by being cloned and reproduced with the same memories and personality. When the 17th version of Mickey accidentally lives after being assumed KIA, he returns to discover that a new clone has already been made, pitting Mickey against Mickey.
From Pattinson’s incredible dual performance to supporting turns from Naomi Ackie (as security expert Nasha Barridge, who’s simply delighted to have not one but two boyfriends), Mark Ruffalo (as the expedition’s “mastermind” Kenneth Marshall, an evil politician whose appearance and manner feels a little too familiar these days), and Toni Collette (as Kenneth’s wife Ylfa, who is both evil and strangely obsessed with sauce), “Mickey 17” is a blast from start to finish. Plus, who could possibly resist the cute little Creepers, this sci-fi flick’s resident dangerous and adorable creature? I definitely can’t. (Nina Starner)
Hulu
If you’re looking for a way to pass the time while you wait for “Predator: Badlands” (in which a youthful Yautja teams up with a half-robot that he has to carry around like a backpack), look no further than the animated feature “Predator: Killer of Killers.” For starters, both movies were directed by Dan Trachtenberg (who also helmed the excellent franchise entry “Prey”) and there’s always the possibility of some narrative overlap. But while “Killer of Killers” does have a bit of sequel-bait at the end, it’s also a hugely enjoyable standalone story in its own right.
Building off the success of “Prey,” in which a scrappy 18th century Comanche hunter defended her tribe and lands from a Predator, “Killer of Killers” sticks with the historical sci-fi theme. The story spans more than a thousand years of Earth’s history and pits the titular aliens against three very different human warriors: a battle-weary Viking clan leader in the year 841; a lethal samurai in 1609; and a gutsy young fighter pilot in 1942.
Like “Prey” before it, “Predator: Killer of Killers” feels like a video game in the best way possible. “Prey” resembled a single-player campaign in which the player character must build up their skills and weapons arsenal before they’re strong enough to take on the final boss. “Killer of Killers,” meanwhile, is more like a multiplayer arena combat game, changing up the environment (tundra, castle, sky) and weapons (axe, sword, gunship) with each story to create fresh challenges and opportunities for both the humans and their alien opponents.
Of course, as always with this franchise, it kind of feels like the Predators are using their overpowered futuristic tech to cheat — but that only makes it more satisfying when they get a beatdown. (Hannah Shaw-Williams)
Sparke Films
Sorry “Carnosaur” and “The Valley of the Gwangi,” but “Primitive War” is the best non-“Jurassic Park” dinosaur movie ever made — and it doesn’t even come close. Based on Ethan Pettus’ (who co-wrote the script) novel of the same name, Luke Sparke’s latest feature is a Vietnam war story about a group of soldiers who get sent into the jungle on a mission and fall prey to dinosaurs. Cue the shoot-’em-ups and monster mayhem.
“Primitive War” is a low-budget independent feature with blockbuster ambitions, and it looks more upscale than it probably has any right to. The creature designs are incredible, with Sparke and Pettus’ story unleashing a variety of prehistoric menaces when the dino-centric mayhem commences. The action set-pieces are well-staged, too, and the film doesn’t skimp on the gore. What more can we ask for? Shootouts? Check? Dinosaurs munching people? Check? Hard-boiled dialogue such as “a**-deep in alligators” thrown in for good measure? Check.
This is the perfect flick for anyone who loves “Jurassic Park” and “Predator,” but wishes a filmmaker would come along and mix the best elements of both to create something fresh. “Primitive War” is a testament to independent filmmaking, but I suspect it won’t be too long until Sparke is fielding offers from Hollywood (Kieran Fisher).
DC Studios
Following the crumbling of Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe, “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker James Gunn had all eyes on him to deliver an entirely different approach to Superman.
The expectations and pressure were impossibly high, but thankfully, 2025’s “Superman” managed to not only deliver one of the best adaptations of the Man of Steel, but also established an exciting new comic book universe that feels lived-in, complete with plenty of promising new characters already fully formed with a rich history.
But perhaps the greatest achievement in the summer’s best blockbuster is David Corenswet’s big screen debut as the Big Blue Boy Scout. His Superman is one with a genuine desire to do good, a gee-whiz heart, and noble heroism that is satisfyingly cheesy and thus incredibly refreshing. This Superman has personality. He gets angry, and he occasionally cracks jokes, but not in that sarcastic way that the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have often utilized.
Finally, because this is one of the best sci-fi movies of the year (so far), one of the greatest things about “Superman” is how weird it’s willing to get. This is a universe where its normal for giant monsters to attack Metropolis, and the Justice Gang is nearby to handle a threat if Superman happens to be busy having an important conversation with Lois Lane. Let’s not forget Lex Luthor’s social media army of super smart monkeys and the pocket universe he uses to house them and imprison those who have wronged him.
“Superman” soars, and we should all be grateful to take flight with him. (Ethan Anderton)
Marvel Studios
America is one of the best places in the world to be sad, because when you hit rock bottom, there are plenty of people already down there to give you a soft landing. Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” is one of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, namely because it doesn’t feel like something from the current era of MCU cinema. Named for the perfect losing season pee-wee soccer team that Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) played on as a child, the latest rag-tag group of rejected supes teaming up to save the world includes the aforementioned adoptive sister of Black Widow, Winter Soldier turned Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the dishonorably discharged John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who finally has her molecular disequilibrium under control, and the aging Russian super soldier Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour).
And then there’s newcomer Bob (Lewis Pullman), who, after government manipulation and brainwashing, becomes the extremely powerful Sentry, only to turn into The Void halfway through the movie — because you can’t superpower your way out of emotional turmoil. “Thunderbolts*” is one of the most mature entries in the MCU, but it is not without its usual banter. However, instead of being tacked on to fill a giggle quota, the comedy provides necessary levity to the heavy subject matter. With “Avengers: Doomsday” heading our way next year and likely determining the future of the MCU, “Thunderbolts*” feels like a special treat that stands on its own. (BJ Colangelo)