The 150+ Best Movies With Aliens
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox / Universal Pictures

The 150+ Best Movies With Aliens

Ranker Community
Updated May 16, 2024 1.7M views 178 items
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312.9K votes
23.7K voters
39 reranks
Voting Rules
Movies must feature extra-terrestrials
Latest additions: Into the Dark: Crawlers, Spaceman, The Marvels
Most divisive: The Thing from Another World
Over 23.7K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Greatest Alien Movies Ever Made

The best alien movies, ranked by fans of space and sci-fi genres. Famous alien related movies can take several forms. What are the best alien movies? Many films about extraterrestrials, alien themed abductions, or visitors from other planets turn them into traditional horror villains. These "alien war" movies tend to follow a simple pattern: 1) UFOs arrive on Earth, 2) a misunderstanding or outright evil intent sparks a war between aliens and humanity, 3) with massively destructive and terrifying results.

Whether the movies are funny, scary, or totally crazy, there are plenty of parallels to be found between them. Consider the similarities of Battle: LA, Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and even Tim Burton's genre parody, Mars Attacks. However, there are also films in which aliens are not an interstellar threat but a boon to humanity, or at least well-intentioned explorers like Arrival. E.T. is the classic example of the "friendly alien" genre – and the xenomorphs in the Alien franchise stay in outer space, so that's good for humans, too. E.T. is also one of the best alien kids movies ever made.

What are the best alien films of all time? Often in these films, the aliens are tragically misunderstood, and it's the primal nature of human beings that spark conflict. Finally, there are numerous films about aliens which attempt to "realistically" depict what might happen if humans and extraterrestrials interacted. These include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (another Spielberg film!), District 9, and even abduction films purportedly based on "true stories," such as Fire in the Sky. All-in-all this is far more than just a top 10 list of the best alien movies.

While this list does not include all alien movies ever made, it is a list of the best alien films. What do you think are the greatest alien movies of all time? Vote up the good alien movies you'd watch over and over, and vote down the ones that aren't worth your time. If you find you want more ideas then check out the best alien movies on Netflix, best action movies on Netflix, best movies on Netflix, the best Predator movies, and our list of scary movies on Netflix.Â