From classics like The Matrix and Blade Runner to newer titles, including Pacific Rim and a fantastic Spanish gem called Timecrimes, the city is brimming with sci-fi flicks.
Scroll down for the most popular HBO Max options.
Solaris (1972)
Andrei Tarkovsky made huge leaps for sci-fi cinema with his complex, character-driven piece about astronauts having wild hallucinations that might or may not be real. Solaris' 2002 American remake is also available on HBO Max, with a new George Clooney romance.
Cloverfield (2007)
Matt Reeves has done many things since directing this slick found-footage monster morsel. See what he did before The Planet of the Apes and the Batman in 2022.
Moon (2009)
This huge low-budget sci-fi starring Sam Rockwell has everything. It has Sam Rockwell. A Clint Mansell score. Hard sci-fi concepts. A personal conflict.
I, Robot (2004)
A routine blockbuster for engaging in entertainment.
The Running Man (1987)
Without more Arnie films, it would not be a best sci-fi list. The Running Man is focused on a gameshow where criminals must try to escape from professional killers.
Scanners (1981)
Scanners follow people with special abilities, including telepathic and telekinetic abilities, as well as a lasting impression. Not only is the scene involving a head explosion a distraction for the body horror-averse.
The Faculty of Medicine (1998)
Robert Rodriguez isn't the best actor in Star Wars history, but it isn't bad at the moment, considering that other people are looking into strange events at their school.
Super 8 (2011)
Basically Stranger Things were set in the 1970s. Super 8 follows a group of teens who are filming their own film when a train derails and a dangerous presence begins stalking their town.
Dune (2021)
Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi film has been released on HBO Max. The epic based on Frank Herbert's novel has recently received a slew of awards, including the best original score and cinematography. Catch the stunning story of the Atreides family, who is caught in a conflict on the planet Arrakis. Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, and others add a huge ensemble cast.
Jurassic Park (1993)
A new Jurassic Park movie will be released this year, so get caught up on the (superior) original now. Jurassic Park, based on the same name, was kicked off in 1993, and Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum are all on the way. In the meantime, Laura Dern, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum will make a comeback.
Pacific Rim (2013)
The sequel to Pacific Rim did not reach the same highs, so please watch the first monster epic from the Pacific Rim franchise. Guillermo Del Toro has helmed the sequel, but you should expect a solid visual artistry to overcome the monster mayhem.
Timecrimes (2007)
If you're ready for this low-budget thriller, Timecrimes follows a middle-aged man who is stuck in a time loop, as well as a variety of twists.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
The Day After Tomorrow, the director of this year's events, in which the moon falls out of its orbit on a collision course with Earth. Here's how this film will be presented.
Oblivion (2013)
Oblivion was launched from the build-a-sci-fi-movie project. It follows humans in a war with aliens, paying tribute to iconic 1970s sci-fi movies including The Omega Man and Silent Running. A love letter in the form of a half-decent sci-fi action adventure.
Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One, based on the popular Ernest Cline novel of the same name, is a nerd's feast, dropping over 100 references to popular culture from various periods, including Minecraft, Batman, and Back to the Future. There's even a story in there, about a dystopic society finding solace in virtual reality.
(2010) Monsters
Gareth Edwards, who directed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Godzilla in 2014, has developed this solid British sci-fi. It's all on a shoestring budget, and monsters follows a couple attempting to cross a "Infected Zone" teeming with gigantic tentacled monsters.
Mr. Nobody (2009)
The type of film that follows the ending, leaving you on a fond note to think about. It helps to know that this is a narrative exploring the consequences of choices, and why you shouldn't worry about making the perfect one.
The Matrix (1999)
If you haven't seen The Matrix yet, and may not know about any of the key plot elements, then you should be well-deserved for avoiding spoilers for 23 years. The sequels Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions are also available on HBO Max.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Watch two and a half hours of atmospheric, sumptuous spectacle, but don't expect any conclusions to the original Blade Runner question: Is Rick Deckard a replicant?
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott's Blade Runner will never be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
Tenet (2020)
Tenet is a popular entertainment genre. Don't miss Tenet, make sure you have your knowledge covered.
(2010) of Inception
On this list is the superior Christopher Nolan film.
Soylent Green (1973)
Charlton Heston is set to star in a dystopian thriller in 2022, plagued by overpopulation, pollution, and climate catastrophe. This isn't a documentary.
(1968) A Space Odyssey (2001)
"Alexa, play 2001: A Space Odyssey."
Event Horizon (1997)
A good bad film bringing supernatural to space. A crew of astronauts goes in search of a missing spaceship and discover malevolent forces at play.
Gravity (2013)
Gravity is the ultimate scary and stomach-lurching space story starring a total of zero aliens. It follows Dr. Ryan Stone, Sandra Bullock's astronaut trapped in space, as she attempts to make a seemingly impossible return to Earth.
Reminiscence (2021)
This sci-fi tale forged by one half of Westworld's founders (Lisa Joy) is pure mind boggle, but the interesting findings are worth a try. Nick Bannister, who plays Hugh Jackman, uses a machine to see people's memories.
Independence Day (1996)
Another Roland Emmerich film is the first to follow Earth's resistance soldiers making a last stand against an alien attack, and the event they logged in the calendar for July 4.
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) begins the process in tinkering with the past in an enjoyable B-movie and explores the effects of each change.
Stalker (1979)
Make it through Stalker's slow start, and you'll be able to say you've seen an existential masterpiece of Russian cinema.
Hitchhiker's Galaxy Guide (2005)
Sci-fi comedy isn't always a success, and this Douglas Adams adaptation will be gruesome in a good manner if you're familiar with the source material, or bizarre in a peculiar, confusing manner. My 13-year-old self adored it.
