Best Science Fiction Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   The Empire Strikes Back 1980

   Directed by Irvin Kershner · Streaming on Disney Plus, YouTube TV
   8.4

   8.4 · 19K votes
2. 2
   Back to the Future 1985

   Directed by Robert Zemeckis
   8.3

   8.3 · 23K votes
3. 3
   The Thing 1982

   Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, AMC Plus
   8.1

   8.1 · 8.4K votes
4. 4
   Aliens 1986

   Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Netflix, fuboTV, Philo
   8.0

   8.0 · 11K votes
5. 5
   Blade Runner 1982

   Directed by Ridley Scott
   7.9

   7.9 · 16K votes
6. 6
   Akira 1988

   Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo · Streaming on Crunchyroll
   7.9

   7.9 · 5.1K votes
7. 7
   Return of the Jedi 1983

   Directed by Richard Marquand · Streaming on Disney Plus
   7.9

   7.9 · 17K votes
8. 8
   Back to the Future Part II 1989

   Directed by Robert Zemeckis
   7.8

   7.8 · 14K votes
9. 9
   The Terminator 1984

   Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, The Roku Channel
   7.7

   7.7 · 15K votes
10. 10
    Brazil 1985

    Directed by Terry Gilliam · Streaming on YouTube Free
    7.6

    7.7 · 3.9K votes
11. 11
    Predator 1987

    Directed by John McTiernan · Streaming on fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow
    7.6

    7.6 · 9.6K votes
12. 12
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

    Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Philo, Starz
    7.5

    7.5 · 12K votes
13. 13
    Angel's Egg 1985

    Directed by Mamoru Oshii · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.5

    7.7 · 627 votes
14. 14
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982

    Directed by Nicholas Meyer · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.4

    7.4 · 2.2K votes
15. 15
    Heart of a Dog 1988

    Directed by Vladimir Bortko
    7.4

    7.9 · 210 votes
16. 16
    The Fly 1986

    Directed by David Cronenberg · Streaming on Hulu, Peacock Premium, Philo
    7.4

    7.4 · 5.2K votes
17. 17
    Mad Max 2 1981

    Directed by George Miller · Streaming on YouTube Free
    7.4

    7.4 · 4.4K votes
18. 18
    Threads 1984

    Directed by Mick Jackson · Streaming on Philo, AMC Plus, AMC+
    7.4

    7.6 · 446 votes
19. 19
    RoboCop 1987

    Directed by Paul Verhoeven · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.4

    7.4 · 6K votes
20. 20
    The Secret of NIMH 1982

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Tubi TV
    7.3

    7.4 · 994 votes
21. 21
    The Abyss 1989

    Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Disney Plus, Philo, BBC America
    7.3

    7.4 · 3.6K votes
22. 22
    Kin-dza-dza! 1986

    Directed by Georgiy Daneliya · Streaming on Philo, Hoopla, Night Flight Plus
    7.3

    7.7 · 312 votes
23. 23
    They Live 1988

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
    7.3

    7.3 · 3.7K votes
24. 24
    Videodrome 1983

    Directed by David Cronenberg · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
    7.2

    7.3 · 2.6K votes
25. 25
    The Return of the Living Dead 1985

    Directed by Dan O'Bannon · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.2

    7.2 · 2.4K votes
26. 26
    On the Silver Globe 1989

    Directed by Andrzej Żuławski · Streaming on Eternal Family
    7.1

    7.6 · 192 votes
27. 27
    Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1986

    Directed by Leonard Nimoy · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.1

    7.2 · 1.7K votes
28. 28
    Godzilla vs. Biollante 1989

    Directed by Kazuki Ōmori · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.1

    7.3 · 321 votes
29. 29
    Re-Animator 1985

    Directed by Stuart Gordon · Streaming on Hoopla, Tubi TV
    7.1

    7.1 · 1.8K votes
30. 30
    WarGames 1983

    Directed by John Badham · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.0

    7.1 · 2.3K votes
31. 31
    The Transformers: The Movie 1986

    Directed by Nelson Shin
    7.0

    7.2 · 654 votes
32. 32
    Escape from New York 1981

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex
    7.0

    7.0 · 3.7K votes
33. 33
    Sexmission 1984

    Directed by Juliusz Machulski
    7.0

    7.2 · 346 votes
34. 34
    The Return of Godzilla 1984

    Directed by Koji Hashimoto · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Cinemax
    7.0

    7.2 · 357 votes
35. 35
    The Dead Zone 1983

    Directed by David Cronenberg · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo
    7.0

    7.0 · 1.9K votes
36. 36
    Enemy Mine 1985

    Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
    7.0

    7.0 · 1.2K votes
37. 37
    Time Masters 1982

    Directed by René Laloux
    6.9

    7.3 · 204 votes
38. 38
    Flight of the Navigator 1986

    Directed by Randal Kleiser · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 994 votes
39. 39
    Tetsuo: The Iron Man 1989

    Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, Kanopy, Night Flight Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 745 votes
40. 40
    The Secret of the Third Planet 1981

    Directed by Roman Kachanov · Streaming on Eternal Family
    6.9

    7.4 · 130 votes
41. 41
    The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy 1981

    Directed by Alan J.W. Bell · Streaming on Kanopy
    6.9

    7.3 · 160 votes
42. 42
    Spaceballs 1987

    Directed by Mel Brooks · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, AMC+
    6.9

    6.9 · 3.6K votes
43. 43
    Starman 1984

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Hulu, The Roku Channel, Tubi TV
    6.9

    6.9 · 1.1K votes
44. 44
    Guest from the Future 1984

    Directed by Pavel Arsenov
    6.8

    7.6 · 87 votes
45. 45
    The Blob 1988

    Directed by Chuck Russell · Streaming on Philo, Pluto TV, Tubi TV
    6.8

    6.9 · 1.1K votes
46. 46
    Man Facing Southeast 1987

    Directed by Eliseo Subiela · Streaming on Fawesome
    6.8

    7.5 · 90 votes
47. 47
    Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars 1988

    Directed by Noboru Ishiguro
    6.8

    7.9 · 56 votes
48. 48
    Captain EO 1986

    Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
    6.8

    7.9 · 56 votes
49. 49
    Innerspace 1987

    Directed by Joe Dante
    6.8

    6.8 · 1.5K votes
50. 50
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure 1989

    Directed by Stephen Herek · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, MGM Plus
    6.8

    6.8 · 2.2K votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Godzilla Fantasia 1984

   Directed by Ishirō Honda
   6.5

   9.7 · 13 votes
2. 2
   ThunderCats Ho! – The Movie 1987

   Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama
   6.5

   7.8 · 27 votes
3. 3
   Robotech II: The Sentinels 1988

   Directed by Carl Macek · Streaming on Crunchyroll
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
4. 4
   Doctor Who: The Five Doctors 1983

   Directed by Peter Moffatt
   6.4

   7.8 · 22 votes
5. 5
   Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked 1982

   Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
   6.3

   7.9 · 16 votes
6. 6
   The Falls 1982

   Directed by Peter Greenaway · Streaming on Kanopy
   6.4

   7.3 · 39 votes
7. 7
   The Iceman Cometh 1989

   Directed by Clarence Ford · Streaming on Darkroom
   6.4

   7.4 · 29 votes
8. 8
   Barbie and the Sensations: Rockin' Back to Earth 1987

   Directed by Bernard Deyriès
   6.4

   7.3 · 35 votes
9. 9
   The Princess and the Robot 1984

   Directed by Mauricio de Sousa
   6.3

   7.8 · 14 votes
10. 10
    BraveStarr: The Legend 1988

    Directed by Tom Tataranowicz
    6.4

    7.2 · 40 votes