20 Best Space Exploration Movies of All Time

By Vlad Zakh · July 29, 2026

Arthouse thought provoking intense

Space films tend to split in two: real history like Apollo 13, Hidden Figures and First Man, and the what-ifs built from the same hardware. The best of either camp keeps landing on the same feeling, which is how small a person looks out there. Interstellar sends a pilot away from his kids to find humanity a new home, The Martian leaves an astronaut to science his way off Mars, and Arrival has a linguist trying to talk to aliens before everyone panics.

Interstellar (2014)

01

Interstellar (2014)

IMDb ★ 8.7 RT 73% Metacritic 74

A pilot leaves his children behind on a dying Earth to search the stars for humanity's next home.

Directed by Christopher Nolan · 2h 49m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar45 wins & 148 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

02

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 90% Metacritic 84

A black monolith and a rogue computer push a deep-space crew towards humanity's next step.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick · 2h 29m · Rated G

Won 1 Oscar18 wins & 14 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Arrival (2016)

03

Arrival (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 94% Metacritic 81

A linguist tries to communicate with alien visitors before global panic turns into war.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve · 1h 56m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar73 wins & 276 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Contact (1997)

04

Contact (1997)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 69% Metacritic 62

A scientist's decoded alien signal leads to a single seat aboard a machine built to reach the stars.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis · 2h 30m · Rated PG

Nominated for 1 Oscar15 wins & 32 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Martian (2015)

05

The Martian (2015)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 91% Metacritic 80

An astronaut stranded on Mars has to engineer his own survival with almost nothing.

Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 21m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 7 Oscars40 wins & 199 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Right Stuff (1983)

06

The Right Stuff (1983)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 96% Metacritic 91

The original Mercury Seven astronauts and the test pilots who paved the way for them.

Directed by Philip Kaufman · 3h 13m · Rated PG

Won 4 Oscars14 wins & 18 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Apollo 13 (1995)

07

Apollo 13 (1995)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 92% Metacritic 78

A moon mission's crew has to improvise a way home after an oxygen tank explosion cripples their spacecraft.

Directed by Ron Howard · 2h 20m · Rated PG

Won 2 Oscars31 wins & 59 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Hidden Figures (2016)

08

Hidden Figures (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 93% Metacritic 74

Three Black women mathematicians become essential to NASA's early space race successes.

Directed by Theodore Melfi · 2h 07m · Rated PG

Nominated for 3 Oscars37 wins & 94 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

First Man (2018)

09

First Man (2018)

IMDb ★ 7.3 RT 87% Metacritic 84

Neil Armstrong's grief and discipline drive him through the dangerous years leading up to Apollo 11.

Directed by Damien Chazelle · 2h 21m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar32 wins & 193 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Gravity (2013)

10

Gravity (2013)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 96% Metacritic 96

An astronaut stranded after a debris strike has to find her own way back to Earth alone.

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón · 1h 31m · Rated PG-13

Won 7 Oscars242 wins & 189 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Solaris (1972)

11

Solaris (1972)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 92% Metacritic 93

A psychologist sent to a space station orbiting a sentient ocean confronts visions of his dead wife.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky · 2h 47m · Rated PG

2 wins & 4 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Moon (2009)

12

Moon (2009)

IMDb ★ 7.8 RT 90% Metacritic 67

A lunar miner nearing the end of his solitary contract discovers something deeply wrong with his own memory.

Directed by Duncan Jones · 1h 37m · Rated R

Won 1 BAFTA Award28 wins & 37 nominations total

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Prometheus (2012)

13

Prometheus (2012)

IMDb ★ 7.0 RT 73% Metacritic 64

A scientific expedition to humanity's origins uncovers something that wants them all dead.

Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 04m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar6 wins & 48 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, FXNow · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Ad Astra (2019)

14

Ad Astra (2019)

IMDb ★ 6.5 RT 83% Metacritic 80

An astronaut travels to the edge of the solar system to confront his long-missing father.

Directed by James Gray · 2h 03m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 1 Oscar11 wins & 75 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Passengers (2016)

15

Passengers (2016)

IMDb ★ 7.0 RT 30% Metacritic 41

A man wakes ninety years too early on a generation ship and wakes a woman to keep him company.

Directed by Morten Tyldum · 1h 56m · Rated PG-13

Nominated for 2 Oscars2 wins & 13 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Sunshine (2007)

16

Sunshine (2007)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 77% Metacritic 64

A crew is sent to reignite the dying sun with a bomb the size of a small country.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 1h 48m · Rated R

1 win & 22 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Life (2017)

17

Life (2017)

IMDb ★ 6.6 RT 67% Metacritic 54

A space station crew's first contact with alien life turns immediately hostile.

Directed by Daniel Espinosa · 1h 44m · Rated R

7 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Red Planet (2000)

18

Red Planet (2000)

IMDb ★ 5.7 RT 14% Metacritic 34

A crew sent to investigate Mars's failing terraforming project crash-lands with a malfunctioning robot.

Directed by Antony Hoffman · 1h 46m · Rated PG-13

1 nomination

Where to watch

Stream: Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Mission to Mars (2000)

19

Mission to Mars (2000)

IMDb ★ 5.7 Metacritic 34

A rescue crew investigates a mysterious disaster that struck the first manned Mars mission.

Directed by Brian De Palma · 1h 54m · Rated PG

3 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Lost in Space (1998)

20

Lost in Space (1998)

IMDb ★ 5.3 RT 27% Metacritic 43

A family of astronauts is sabotaged en route to colonise a distant planet.

Directed by Stephen Hopkins · 2h 10m · Rated PG-13

4 wins & 17 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.