Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

The best alien movies, ranked

Directors like Spielberg, Abrams, and more have made movies that headline our list

By
The alien from Alien (1979)
unSaint Saturn/Flickr

There’s got to be something out there in outer space besides just rocks and stars, right? Extraterrestrial lifeforms and their potential for being real have been one of humanity’s great curiosities for generations. Filmmakers and storytellers have been at the forefront of speculating and creating plots and themes based around aliens and their invasions on Earth and around the solar system.

Sometimes science-fiction films and space movies give political commentary on racism, colonialism, diversity, and government. Other times the intense action and futuristic weapons are what make the movies interesting. There is so much more to the best alien movies than just lasers and green spacemen. These are the best ones Hollywood has to offer! From horror to sci-fi and even animated classics, aliens have touched almost every category of film there is to offer.

Recommended Videos

10. Independence Day (1996)

10. Independence Day
145m
Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum
Directed by Roland Emmerich
watch on Amazon
watch on Amazon
There’s nothing like good ol’ patriotism to get people interested in the premise of an alien invasion. When powerful lifeforms try to destroy the world right before the Fourth of July, Will Smith’s Captain Steve Hiller is more than happy to save the day. Independence Day doesn’t dabble in anything too thought-provoking or politically related to aliens, instead focusing on a purely good versus evil approach that gets your adrenaline rushing and makes for a fun spectacle on the big screen.
Related

9. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

9. Lilo & Stitch
85m
Genre Animation, Family
Stars Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere
Directed by Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
watch on Disney+
watch on Disney+
The only animated film on this list, Lilo & Stitch is an easy-going tale of a Hawaiian girl who befriends an alien who arrives on Earth. The concept of a human and an alien becoming friends like a kid and a dog is definitely the most Disney thing possible. This cartoon is an optimistic angle of what could and should happen when foreign beings meet each other; love instead of hate conquers all.

8. District 9 (2009)

8. District 9
112m
Genre Science Fiction
Stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt
Directed by Neill Blomkamp
watch on max
watch on max
Of all the alien movies ever made, not many do a better job discussing issues of racism and segregation than District 9. The film shows the ways humans capture and confine alien life that arrives on Earth to a separate sector of society away from the rest of the population. The story is based on segregation in Soth Africa, and the film will surely make you think a little differently about the ways human beings are so ready to separate anyone who looks different from them.

7. Predator (1987)

7. Predator
107m
Genre Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller
Stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo
Directed by John McTiernan
watch on max
watch on max
One of the most famous action movies of the 1980s stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the only man who can stop the extraterrestrial hunter dubbed “the Predator”. Seeing the back and forth between the two forces of nature is an incredible battle that can still be enjoyed by sci-fi and action fans over 30 years after the theatrical release. Several sequels and a crossover with Alien have kept the movie relevant, as well.

6. Planet of the Apes (1968)

6. Planet of the Apes
112m
Genre Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama, Action
Stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
watch on Amazon
watch on Amazon
Despite corny special effects and outdated costumes, Planet of the Apes is a true pioneer in the sci-fi genre because it raises questions about how humanity treats animals. When human astronauts discover an island with alien apes who have superhuman intelligence, the shoe goes on the other foot. The Earthlings start to get a taste of how it feels to be treated as inferior. Charleton Heston gives one of the better performances of his career.

5. Arrival (2016)

5. Arrival
116m
Genre Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery
Stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
watch on Amazon
watch on Amazon
Based on “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, Arrival tells the story of a woman who specializes in linguistics. She uses her knowledge of the field to study and identify what languages are spoken by aliens who have made their new home on Earth. The whole experience is a very thoughtful and thought-provoking account of the power of communication and how it separates different types of intelligent beings from one another.

4. Star Trek (2009)

4. Star Trek
127m
Genre Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy
Directed by J.J. Abrams
watch on Netflix
watch on Netflix
The J.J. Abrams reboot of the Star Trek franchise has all of the great characters, atmosphere, and alien encounters that fans had come to know and love since the 1960s. Captain Kirk, Spok, and more are in conflict with the Romulan character Nero. The series has always been progressive and worked toward finding solutions for different types of people to get along and dissolve conflict.

3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
135m
Genre Science Fiction, Drama
Stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr
Directed by Steven Spielberg
watch on Amazon
watch on Amazon
If there is ever a true textbook classic of the alien genre, it would be Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Without much in the way of special effects or technology, Spielberg grounds his story in pure moviemaking magic, distilling the alien invasion into one man’s version of events and the life he leads after seeing extraterrestrial life on Earth. This movie came out the same year as Star Wars and Spielberg and Star Wars creator George Lucas famously placed a bet on which film would gross more at the box office.

2. Alien (1979)

2. Alien
117m
Genre Horror, Science Fiction
Stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm
Directed by Ridley Scott
watch on Hulu
watch on Hulu
Sigourney Weaver became the ultimate female action star of her generation when she starred as Ellen Ripley, a leader of space crew who must overcome the violent and shocking nature of the titular alien. The horror atmosphere in this film has aged incredibly well, as the first time the alien springs into action is still as bone-chilling as it was in 1979.

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
115m
Genre Science Fiction, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Stars Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Robert MacNaughton
Directed by Steven Spielberg
watch on Apple TV+
watch on Apple TV+
Was there ever any doubt? E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is everything humans could ever imagine a relationship with alien life being like. The relationship between Elliot and E.T. is so adorable it makes you want to hug someone close to you. This movie is still creating shockwaves and influencing alien cinema and the best space movies four decades later, with Netflix’s Stranger Things and blockbusters on our list like Arrival drawing from Spielberg’s classic!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Movie images and data from:
Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib
Contributor
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
These are the best movies to watch on Peacock in May
Peacock is a TV service, but it also has a great catalog of movies to stream, too
Jack Black in Bernie.

A fun bit of historic TV trivia is that the original NBC peacock logo was first implemented in 1956 to highlight the network's new color programming. Even though the logo has gone through numerous iterations since then, the network has stuck with the colorful bird, in one form or another, for going on six decades now. It’s fitting, then, that Peacock is known most for its TV programming, highlighted by shows like The Office, Parks and Rec, and the self-mocking (and hilarious) 30 Rock. If you are on Peacock for the shows, however, don't overlook that the platform is also home to a number of great movies spanning cinema history, including everything from great comedy to excellent sports movies.

Peacock streaming offers both free (registered) and paid accounts. As a result, some Peacock movies are available without a paid subscription, and others only for subscribers. This roundup culls titles from both groups. To be sure you can access all of these classics, you'll have to fork over a subscription fee. Happy streaming and keep reading to find the best movies on Peacock right now.

Read more
The best shows on Paramount Plus to binge in May
Stream these incredible shows on Paramount Plus
Penny Dreadful scene

Having a vast library of good television shows and films is the most important factor in the success of a streaming service. That's part of what transformed Netflix into a global phenomenon, and it's why services like Paramount Plus have worked hard to build a healthy library of series that subscribers can browse through. As is the case with all streaming services, Paramount Plus has a mix of original series that live only on the platform and older shows that were originally on broadcast and have now found a home on streaming.
Although these shows have varied histories, each one of them is a great staple in Paramount Plus's overall streaming library. Paramount Plus will likely continue to develop original content, but these Paramount Plus shows will stand the test of time, whether they're ongoing or have been over for a decade or longer.

Penny Dreadful (2014)

Read more
The 8 best golf documentaries to watch this year
Here's a glimpse into the amazing history of golf, including how the sport has evolved
Tiger (HBO)

Depending on how you look at it, golf is either one of the simplest sports or one of the most complex. The objective is very easy to wrap your head around: This ball has got to wind up in a hole that's maybe a quarter mile away. Everything that happens after that, though, is where things get interesting. Of course, people who love golf love it for a wide array of reasons. Some people love the beautiful courses, while others love the stories behind their favorite players.
There are plenty of people who love golf but don't play it much themselves, and those are the people whom this list is really for. Golf's full of amazing stories, and we've even gotten our fair share of great golf movies as a result. Sometimes, though, a documentary is an even better fit for a particular story set in the world of golf. That's why, after careful consideration, we've brought you this list of the best golf documentaries you can stream now.

Full Swing (2023)

Read more