Summary

• Rotten Tomatoes ranks Alien above Aliens, solidifying its status as the best in the series.
• The Alien franchise has made over $1.35 billion globally, with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant being the most financially successful.
• Alien and Aliens stand out as the strongest movies in the series, with superior critical scores compared to other entries.

With the publication of its list of the 300 "Best Movies of All Time", review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes has seemingly confirmed which movie in the Alien series is truly the best. As one of the most successful sci-fi horror series ever made, Alien has cemented its status in popular culture – providing both one of the most iconic movie heroines and monsters ever made. While the overall quality of the series has fluctuated from film to film, two entries have long stood out as the strongest movies in the franchise.

Starting in 1979 with Ridley Scott's seminal original movie, the Alien saga has made over $1.35 billion globally – excluding the controversial Predator crossover movies. As a result, the franchise ranks simultaneously as one of the most successful science fiction and horror sagas of all time, with its enduring influence felt across both genres. The two most financially lucrative Alien movies have both been the most recent, with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant making $403 million and $241 million, respectively. Despite this success, however, the debate around the two best Alien movies centers around earlier entries in the series.

Rotten Tomatoes Officially Ranks Alien Above Aliens

While both movies have their defenders, Rotten Tomatoes has officially placed Alien above Aliens in its combined list of the greatest movies ever made. Impressively, both movies sit inside the top 100, according to the site's ranking, with Alien coming in at number 57 and Aliens sitting at number 80. However, while this positioning highlights the quality of both movies, it also reinforces the idea that Alien is a better movie than Aliens.

Ever since James Cameron released his Alien sequel in 1986, there has been fierce debate around which movie was superior. Part of what made the argument so engaging is that the two films offer such radically different approaches to the source material, with Alien leaning more heavily into the horror elements of the story and Aliens introducing explosive action alongside the scares. There's also the fact that Aliens' Rotten Tomatoes score is actually higher than Alien's, suggesting that critics prefer the sequel. However, even with this discrepancy, Rotten Tomatoes combined critical and audience criteria has seen Ridley Scott's horror movie triumph – cementing its status.

Alien And Aliens Are The Best Movies In The Franchise

Although fans have often oscillated over whether Alien or Aliens is the best movie in the series, there is no doubt that the two original entries are streets ahead of the rest of the saga in terms of quality. While every Alien film has its defenders thanks to the popularity of the characters and creatures, close examination of the movies' comparative critical scores reveals that there can be no doubt about Alien and Aliens' preeminence. Based purely on their Rotten Tomatoes scores alone, the two films are at least 20 percentage points better than the next "best" Alien movie, highlighting their superiority.

There are several reasons why Alien and Aliens succeed where other installments have failed. In their own way, both films were brilliantly original, despite their radically different storytelling styles. Where subsequent Alien films got bogged down in lore and overly complex themes, Alien and Aliens are actually fairly straightforward – instead relying on iconic design, stunning visuals, and powerful characters to carry the story. While all later Alien movies have tried, to some extent, to follow this formula, only Alien and Aliens successfully balance all the necessary elements.

Why Alien's Ranking Is Correct

Even though Aliens boasts a better score on Rotten Tomatoes and many fans enjoy the movie's emphasis on action, Rotten Tomatoes' decision to rank it below Alien is ultimately correct. Although the original film's slow-burn story is arguably more challenging, the richness of H.R. Giger's design, Ridley Scott's claustrophobic world-building, and the terrifying concept of the xenomorph's simultaneously disturbing and intriguing lifecycle make it one of the most powerful and influential movies ever made.

Aliens bold decision to approach the saga with fresh eyes and a more action-heavy story certainly marks it out as a truly great movie sequel. However, without the design originated in Alien, the movie would not have been as memorable. Without the xenomorphs themselves (not to mention Ripley), Aliens would have been an enjoyable action romp. It's the ideas and world first established in Alien that elevate the sequel to truly great status. Given this dependency, it's only right that Alien's achievement places it further up the list.