Best science fiction films

Back to the Future leads with an ELO of 1,305, ahead of Alien (1,294) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1,271). Ranked over 3,930 duels between 15 contenders, last updated September 15, 2026.

Vote for your favorite sci-fi movie among 15 cult classics: Blade Runner, Dune, Matrix, Star Wars, Interstellar and more!

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.