Box office results don’t always reflect a movie’s quality, and there are plenty of sci-fi classics which didn’t get what they deserved. Whether it takes weeks or years, great movies eventually get recognition, even if they have already been branded as commercial flops. A movie’s marketing campaign and timing can also contribute to its commercial viability, so some movies are doomed before audiences even have a chance to judge them.
Along with horror and action, sci-fi is one genre which tends to fare rather well at the box office. Audiences will always be interested in seeing otherworldly concepts playing out on the big screen. However, there are more than a few exceptions to this rule, including some of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time. These maligned classics highlight the problems with putting too much stock into box office numbers.
Related 10 Amazing Sci-Fi Movies Directed By Women
The sci-fi genre is chock full of amazing and mind-bending movies, and notably, many outstanding sci-fi films have been directed by women.
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10 Event Horizon (1997)
Box Office: $42 million
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8/10 9/10 Event Horizon
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*Availability in US Director Paul W.S. Anderson Release Date August 15, 1997 Cast Jason Isaacs , Kathleen Quinlan , Sean Pertwee , Laurence Fishburne , Richard T. Jones , Joely Richardson , Sam Neill
Event Horizon follows a team of astronauts who respond to a distress signal to find an abandoned ship which had previously vanished during its maiden voyage. The sci-fi horror movie was dismissed by some as a ripoff of Alien, and this may have been a factor which contributed to its sub-par box office return. Although the premise does seem to borrow from Alien, Event Horizon has plenty of its own tricks up its sleeve.
Event Horizon‘s particular brand of horror is more psychological and existential than Alien, which quickly puts an end to any direct comparisons. The movie’s eerie atmosphere and some of its themes mean that it has also been compared to a sci-fi version of The Shining. Event Horizon also has the benefit of a great cast, which includes Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill and Jason Isaacs. If it had cast an A-list lead, it could have achieved the financial success which it deserved.
9 Dark City (1998)
Box Office: $27.2 million
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7/10 Dark City
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*Availability in US Director Alex Proyas Release Date February 27, 1998 Cast Rufus Sewell , William Hurt , Kiefer Sutherland , Jennifer Connelly , Ian Richardson
Dark City was released a year before The Matrix, and many sci-fi fans have suggested the former may have influenced the latter in some ways. New Line Cinema didn’t quite know what they had on their hands with Dark City. Despite some hesitance on the part of the studio, the movie still received plenty of positive reviews. Famous critic Roger Ebert even recorded a commentary track for the DVD release.
Dark City uses a gloomy color palette to create an intense, oppressive atmosphere. Its dystopian approach has been likened to the movies of Terry Gilliam, as well as German expressionist works from the 1920s and 1930s. Dark City takes on a swirl of disparate influences to create something unique. It may have struggled to clear its $27 million budget, but it has created a long legacy in the sci-fi genre.
8 Under The Skin (2013)
Box Office: $7.2 million
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7/10 7.3/10 Under the Skin
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*Availability in US Director Jonathan Glazer Release Date April 4, 2014 Cast Dougie McConnell , Lynsey Taylor Mackay , Jeremy McWilliams , Scarlett Johansson , Kevin McAlinden
10 years before scoring two Academy Award nominations for The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer directed an underrated sci-fi movie starring Scarlett Johansson. Like The Zone of Interest, Under the Skin uses unsettling music and stretches of silence to create an unsettling, alien atmosphere. Johansson plays an enigmatic alien who travels the Scottish countryside, abducting men and trapping them inside an ink-black void.
Under the Skin had a budget of just $13.3 million, but it still fell short of recouping that cost at the box office. Although it’s a sci-fi movie, it doesn’t offer much of the action or spectacle that fans of the genre are often looking for. It may be better understood as a philosophical horror movie about the male gaze with a sci-fi twist. Despite its poor commercial results, Under the Skin has developed a cult following.
7 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Box Office: $172.8 million
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8/10 8.3/10 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Director George Miller Release Date May 24, 2024 Cast Anya Taylor-Joy , Chris Hemsworth , Tom Burke , Alyla Browne , Nathan Jones , Angus Sampson , Daniel Webber , Lachy Hulme
Furiosa is far from the only high-profile movie which has failed to meet box office expectations in 2024. In a strange year at the theaters, Furiosa stands out as one movie which definitely deserved more. The follow-up to the groundbreaking Mad Max: Fury Road had all the potential of becoming a huge hit. Audiences may have been turned away by the decision to recast Charlize Theron for the prequel, and the absence of Max Rockatansky probably didn’t help either.
George Miller carries on the good work of Fury Road in Furiosa, delivering more high-octane thrills set in his nightmarish vision of a desert dystopia. Anya Taylor-Joy steps into Theron’s shoes admirably, but Chris Hemsworth is the real scene-stealer, playing an eccentric villain with great joy and enthusiasm. Furiosa has some unbelievable stunts and all the peculiar detail that fans have come to expect of the Mad Max franchise, but this wasn’t enough at the box office.
6 Annihilation (2018)
Box Office: $43.1 million
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7/10 8.2/10 Annihilation
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*Availability in US Director Alex Garland Release Date February 23, 2018 Cast Sonoya Mizuno , Kola Bokinni , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Gina Rodriguez , Cosmo Jarvis , Oscar Isaac , Tessa Thompson , Tuva Novotny , Natalie Portman , David Gyasi
Annihilation has gradually come to be recognized as one of the best sci-fi movies of the last decade, but it started as a commercial failure. Annihilation was seen as a risky investment, since its surreal horror and unorthodox storytelling can be off-putting to some people. The international distribution rights were sold to Netflix, which meant that Annihilation was never given a fair shot at winning big at the box office.
Despite its mediocre box office returns, Annihilation was a big hit for Netflix, proving that Alex Garland’s unconventional sci-fi story did have an audience after all. Streaming might be the ideal home for Annihilation, since the film presents several intriguing mysteries that urge audiences to go back and examine events closer. It ends with one final puzzle, but there is also the lingering notion that some mysteries have no simple answers.
5 The Iron Giant (1999)
Box Office: $31.3 million
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9/10 9.7/10 The Iron Giant
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*Availability in US Director Brad Bird Release Date August 6, 1999 Cast Vin Diesel , Christopher McDonald , Harry Connick Jr , Jennifer Aniston , Eli Marienthal
The Iron Giant is an animated classic, directed by Brad Bird before he went on to make groundbreaking 3D computer animated movies at Pixar, such as The Incredibles and Ratatouille. The Iron Giant‘s gorgeous 2D style adds to its indefatigable charm. The story follows the odd friendship which develops between a young boy and an enormous alien robot that the United States government tries desperately to capture.
The Iron Giant received positive reviews, but its marketing campaign didn’t give it a fair shot at box office success. Warner Bros. was still reeling from some costly animated flops at the time, so they decided against investing heavily in The Iron Giant. The glowing reviews and the movie’s enduring popularity prove that this is one that Warner Bros. should have gambled on. The Iron Giant was a box office flop which became a classic.
4 The Thing (1982)
Box Office: $19.9 million
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10/10 9.7/10 The Thing
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*Availability in US Director John Carpenter Release Date June 25, 1982 Cast T.K. Carter , David Clennon , Keith David , Kurt Russell , wilford brimley
The Thing received mixed reviews when it was first released, and these undoubtedly played a part in the movie’s poor performance at the box office. One of the most common criticisms aimed at The Thing was its perceived lack of emotion. With the benefit of hindsight, this seems like one of the movie’s greatest strengths, as it feeds into the sense of paranoia and dehumanization.
The Thing shows John Carpenter at the peak of his powers, as the director’s instinctive feel for horror creates a terrifying Arctic mystery. The Thing‘s ambiguous ending is perfectly measured, as the true identity of the surviving characters remains a mystery, but the fact that they are suspicious of one another to the very end speaks volumes. This allows the movie to linger in the memory long after the credits roll, and it has contributed to its cult status.
3 Treasure Planet (2002)
Box Office: $109.6 million
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8/10 Treasure Planet
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*Availability in US Director John Musker Release Date November 27, 2002 Cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Martin Short , Emma Thompson
Treasure Planet wasn’t the only Disney animated movie to suffer at the box office in the 2000s. While Pixar and DreamWorks were changing the landscape of animation with 3D computer-generated movies, Disney took a little while longer to get on board with the trend. Compared to movies like Shrek and Monsters Inc., Treasure Planet looked old-fashioned, and this affected its box office return.
It’s a shame that Disney scrambled to adopt computer-generated animation, because the brief period between the ’90s Disney renaissance and their early forays into 3D produced some beautiful movies. Treasure Planet has aged well, divorced from the cultural trends of the time which negatively impacted its release. The movie puts a sci-fi twist on a classic adventure tale, and the character designs alone are wonderfully inventive.
2 Children Of Men (2006)
Box Office: $70.5 million
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Children of Men
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*Availability in US Director Alfonso Cuarón Release Date January 5, 2007 Cast Julianne Moore , Clare-Hope Ashitey , Clive Owen , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Michael Caine
Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian thriller has been incredibly influential in the years since its release. The single-shot action sequences in particular have been replicated endlessly, but very few imitators have been able to match the energy of Children of Men. The story uses a simple sci-fi premise to explore human society close to breaking point. It’s as much an action thriller as it is a sci-fi movie.
With a budget of $76 million, Children of Men failed to break even at the box office. It didn’t have the biggest release, which is odd for a movie with such a high budget. The three Oscar nominations underline the positive contemporary response to Children of Men, and it has only grown in stature in the subsequent years. If it had been given a wider release, Children of Men may have been a commercial success.
1 Blade Runner (1982)
Box Office: $41.8 million
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9/10 9.5/10 Blade Runner
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*Availability in US Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 25, 1982 Cast Harrison Ford , Rutger Hauer , Sean Young , Edward James Olmos , M. Emmet Walsh , Daryl Hannah , William Sanderson , Joe Turkel
Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is a classic sci-fi movie, and it has influenced the genre in many ways. Initially, however, Blade Runner was a commercial failure. Although it has the scale of a sci-fi epic, Blade Runner is really a neo-noir detective story in disguise. This means that Blade Runner didn’t immediately attract as much attention as it did later. Some fans probably would have preferred a steampunk shoot-em-up.
Blade Runner‘s commercial disappointment didn’t hold it back for long, and it’s now considered one of Ridley Scott’s best movies, alongside the likes of Alien and Gladiator. Blade Runner 2049 repeated the pattern of the original. It too is a critically-acclaimed sci-fi movie that struggled at the box office. For both movies, the slow pace and the relative lack of action could be a major factor in their lukewarm commercial response.