Home Stream Max The Best Sci-Fi Movies on HBO Max in 2023| with ratings

The Best Sci-Fi Movies on HBO Max in 2023| with ratings

30
The Best Sci-Fi Movies on HBO Max in 2023

Do you love streaming science-fiction movies that comprise exciting plots, compelling characters, and fantastic scientific elements? We do too! And here we have shortlisted the best sci-fi movies on HBO Max that you can stream now.

HBO Max is a great streaming platform to explore both modern and classic science-fiction movies. Whether you crave an action-based sci-fi movie or want to experience a horror touch in the story, HBO Max has you covered with a range of sci-fi films in multiple sub-genres such as thriller, drama and horror.

To help you choose out of hundreds of movie options on HBO Max, we’ve compiled our list of epic sci-fi films that will be an excellent addition to your watch list. Check out the spoiler-free synopsis and proceed to the HBO Max website to view the full movie in 4K HD quality!

1. Dune (2021)

  • Release Date: October 22, 2021
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 83%
  • Letterboxd: 4/5
  • Directed By: Denis Villeneuve
  • Leading Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a vast destiny beyond his comprehension, must journey to the most perilous planet in the cosmos to protect the future of his family and his people. Only those who can overcome their fear will survive as evil forces erupt into conflict for the planet’s sole supply of the most valuable resource ever discovered—a substance that holds the key to humanity’s greatest potential.

2. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

  • Release Date: October 6, 2017
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
  • Letterboxd: 4.1/5
  • Directed By: Denis Villeneuve
  • Leading Stars: Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas

Denis Villeneuve’s 2017 science fiction neo-noir thriller, Blade Runner 2049, was released in 2017. It is a follow-up to the Blade Runner movie from 1982. The story revolves around a new Blade Runner, LAPD Officer K. K., who unearths a long-buried secret that could destabilize what’s left of society and sends him on a search for Rick Deckard, a former LAPD Blade Runner who has been missing for thirty years.

3. Inception (2010)

  • Release Date: July 13, 2010
  • IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87%
  • Letterboxd: 4.2/5
  • Directed By: Christopher Nolan
  • Leading Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a robber who possesses the extraordinary talent of penetrating people’s dreams and stealing their secrets from the subconscious. In the realm of corporate espionage, his talent has made him a sought-after commodity, but it has also lost him everything he values. Cobb is given the opportunity to redeem himself when he is given the seemingly hard duty of instilling a notion in the minds of others. It would be the ideal crime if he were to succeed, but a dangerous foe is watching Cobb’s every move.

4. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

  • Release Date: March 18, 2021
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
  • Letterboxd: 3.5/5
  • Directed By: Zack Snyder
  • Leading Stars: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot

An action-adventure movie– Zack Snyder’s Justice League feature a cast of superheroes with the lead character Bruce Wayne. He joins forces with Diana Prince in an effort to ensure that Superman’s final sacrifice is not in vain. Bruce plans to assemble a group of metahumans to defend the globe from an impending threat of cataclysmic proportions. The mission turns out to be more challenging than Bruce had anticipated, as each of the recruits must battle the ghosts of their pasts in order to overcome the obstacles that have prevented them from joining forces and creating an unprecedented league of heroes.

5. Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

  • Release Date: July 27, 2010
  • IMDB Rating: 8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
  • Vudu: 4.6/5
  • Directed By: Brandon Vietti
  • Leading Stars: Bruce Greenwood(voice), Jensen Ackles(voice), John DiMaggio(voice)

Batman faces the greatest challenge as the mysterious Red Hood starts engulfing Gotham City. Red Hood begins cleaning up Gotham with the efficiency of Batman but without adhering to the same moral code. He is equal parts vigilante and crime lord. It is possible to kill. Hard facts are uncovered, and old wounds are resurrected as the Joker slips in the balance between the two.

6. The Batman (2022)

  • Release Date:  March 4, 2022
  • IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
  • Fandango: 87%
  • Directed By: Matt Reeves
  • Leading Stars: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright

The popular superhero is once again back in action! This time, Batman ventures into Gotham City’s criminal underbelly after a cruel serial killer assassinates important political people there and leaves a trail of perplexing clues. As the evidence mounts closer to home and the magnitude of the perpetrator’s schemes becomes clear, he must forge new alliances, track down the criminal, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that have long plagued the city.

7. District 9 (2009)

  • Release Date: August 14, 2009
  • IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%
  • Letterboxd: 3.7/5
  • Directed By: Neill Blomkamp
  • Leading Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope

Aliens first came to Earth thirty years ago, not to conquer or help, but to find safety from their dying planet. In a South African area called District 9, aliens are separated from humans and are managed by Multi-National United (MNU). Although the MNU organization is unconcerned with the aliens’ welfare but will do anything to master its cutting-edge technology. There is only one place named District 9 where a business field agent (Sharlto Copley) can hide after he acquires a mysterious virus that starts to change his DNA.

8. Ex Machina (2015)

  • Release Date: April 24, 2015 
  • IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
  • Filmaffinity: 7.1/10
  • Directed By: Alex Garland
  • Leading Stars: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac

Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer at the world’s biggest internet firm, wins a contest and spends a week at Nathan Bateman’s (Oscar Isaac), the brilliant CEO of his company, private residence. When Caleb gets there, he finds out that he has been selected to participate as the human component in a Turing test to ascertain Ava’s (Alicia Vikander) capabilities and consciousness. Ava is quickly revealed to be much more self-aware and cunning than either man had anticipated.

9. Gravity (2013)

  • Release Date: October 4, 2013
  • IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
  • Letterboxd: 3.5/5
  • Directed By: Alfonso Cuarón
  • Leading Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris(voice)

A science fiction thriller film– Gravity was premiered in 2013, starring Sandra Bullock as Dr.Ryan Stone who is an intelligent medical engineer. He is on her first shuttle mission with her commander, veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who is piloting his final mission before retirement. A disaster occurs during a normal space walk by the two: The shuttle is ruined and destroyed, leaving Ryan and Matt trapped in deep space with no connection to Earth and no chance of rescue. As their worry transforms into a panic, they understand that going further into space may be the only way to return home.

10. Source Code (2011)

  • Release Date: April 1, 2011 
  • IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
  • Letterboxd: 3.4/5
  • Directed By: Duncan Jones
  • Leading Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), a helicopter pilot, participates in a top-secret military operation that allows him to witness Sean Fentress’ final moments, a man who lost his life in a commuter train explosion. Colter’s mission is to find out who the bomber is and avert another similar accident. Colter grows increasingly certain that he can stop the first tragedy from happening as he lives Sean’s final moments, provided that he doesn’t run out of time.

11. Wonder Woman (2017)

  • Release Date: June 2, 2017  
  • IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
  • Letterboxd: 3.4/5
  • Directed By: Patty Jenkins
  • Leading Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright

Diana, the princess of the Amazons, was taught to be an unbeatable fighter before she became Wonder Woman. Diana, who was raised in an idyllic island paradise, meets an American pilot (Chris Pine), who informs her about the terrible struggle going on in the outer world. Diana makes her first trip outside of her house since she is sure she can halt the threat. She finally learns the extent of her abilities and her real purpose while fighting alongside men in the war to end all conflicts.

12. Limitless (2011)

  • Release Date: March 8, 2011 
  • IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 69%
  • Letterboxd: 3.3/5
  • Directed By: Neil Burger
  • Leading Stars: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish

Writer Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who is facing unemployment and his girlfriend’s rejection, is convinced that he has no future. All of that alters when an old buddy offers him a drug that improves mental clarity. An entrepreneur (Robert De Niro) wants to use Eddie to earn a fortune as he ascends to the top of the financial world while fueled by the untested chemical. However, awful side effects and a decreasing supply pose a threat to Eddie’s house of cards.

13. Free Guy  (2021)

  • Release Date: August 13, 2021
  • IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%
  • Vudu: 4.6/5 
  • Directed By: Shawn Levy
  • Leading Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi

Ryan Reynolds depicted the role of Free Guy in this American action-sci-fi film. He is by profession a bank teller, but soon he discovers a hidden secret about himself that he’s actually a non-player character in a massively popular multiplayer online video game, Free City. In the game, Guy meets Millie, the girl of his dreams. He made the decision to reinvent himself as a hero and fall in love with Millie, a MolotovGirl.

14. Melancholia (2011)

  • Release Date: November 11, 2011 
  • IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79%
  • Letterboxd: 3.8/5
  • Directed By: Lars von Trier
  • Leading Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland

Melancholia is a rouge blue planet that is about to collide and hurtle towards the earth just after Justine’s wedding night. Her wedding was a luxurious wedding settled for by her sister and brother-in-law, who managed to keep the bride and all the guests in line. Meanwhile, Claire, Justine’s sister, is trying hard to maintain composure with fear of the upcoming disaster: Melancholia.

15. Belle (2021)

  • Release Date: January 14, 2022  
  • IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
  • Letterboxd: 3.5/5
  • Directed By: Mamoru Hosoda
  • Leading Stars: Kaho Nakamura(voice), Ryô Narita(voice), Shôta Sometani(voice)

Suzu is a quiet high school student who lives in a small town. She’s just been a shadow of herself for years. But when she enters “U,” a sizable virtual universe, she runs away into her online character as Belle, a beloved singer who is known all over the world. One day, a hideous creature being pursued by vigilantes interrupts her concert. Suzu sets out on a passionate and epic adventure to learn more about this enigmatic “beast” and to find her true self in a world where everyone can be anyone they want.

16. Man of Steel (2013)

  • Release Date: June 14, 2013
  • IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 56%
  • Blu-ray.com: 5/10
  • Directed By: Zack Snyder
  • Leading Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife try to save their race by transferring their young son to Earth as Krypton, their home planet, is about to be destroyed. Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent receive the boy after his spacecraft lands at their farm, and they give him the name Clark and raise him as their own child. Clark possesses extraordinary abilities, and as soon as he grows up, he discovers that he must become a hero to protect the people he loves from a dreadful threat.

17. Promare (2019)

  • Release Date: May 15, 2019  
  • IMDB Rating: 7/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
  • MyAnimeList: 8/10
  • Directed By: Hiroyuki Imaishi
  • Leading Stars: John Eric Bentley(English version), Steve Blum(English version), Johnny Yong Bosch(English version)

The mutant race known as Burnish, who used fire to burn down half of the globe, first appeared thirty years ago. A conflict starts when a fresh horde of hostile mutants shows up. Therefore, to protect the world, a futuristic firefighting mecha service is created.

18. The One I Love (2014)

  • Release Date: January 21, 2014
  • IMDB Rating: 7/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
  • Letterboxd: 3.6/5
  • Directed By: Charlie McDowell
  • Leading Stars: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson

The one I love is a romance drama with an amalgamation of science fiction, which was launched in 2014. It follows the story of a couple whose marriage is crumbling and travels to a beautiful getaway, suggested by their therapist. But some strange circumstances happen at the getaway, which further complicates their situation.

19. Pacific Rim (2013)

  • Release Date: July 12, 2013 
  • IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 72%
  • Blu-ray.com: 6/10
  • Directed By: Guillermo del Toro
  • Leading Stars: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi

Long ago, armies of terrifying creatures known as Kaiju emerged from the sea and brought with them all-consuming war. In order to combat the Kaiju, mankind created enormous robots called Jaegers that were meant to be operated by two people locked together in a neural bridge. But the Kaiju are too powerful, not even the Jaegers can defeat them, and mankind is about to lose. The only remaining hope for humanity right now is a retired pilot (Charlie Hunnam), an inexperienced trainee (Rinko Kikuchi), and an outdated Jaeger.

20. The World’s End (2013)

  • Release Date: August 23, 2013
  • IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%
  • Letterboxd: 3.6/5
  • Directed By: Edgar Wright
  • Leading Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman

An immature 40-year-old named Gary King (Simon Pegg) is itching to try again at an epic pub crawl that he failed at 20 years prior. He forces his rebellious friends to accompany him back to their hometown. Gary and his companions try to make peace with the past as they travel to their ultimate destination, the renowned World’s End tavern. However, the actual war is for the future when their trip evolves into a battle for humanity.

21. Godzilla (2014)

  • Release Date: May 16, 2014
  • IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 76%
  • Letterboxd: 3/5
  • Directed By: Gareth Edwards
  • Leading Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston

When Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Navy bomb expert, has recently reconnected with his family in San Francisco and is compelled to travel to Japan to assist his estranged father, Joe. When Godzilla, King of the Monsters, emerges from the sea to battle evil foes that endanger humanity, both men are soon caught up in a growing crisis. The creatures leave a trail of catastrophic destruction in their wake as move toward their ultimate battleground—San Francisco

22. Riddick (2013)

  • Release Date: September 6, 2013 
  • IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 57%
  • Letterboxd: 2.8/5
  • Directed By: David Twohy
  • Leading Stars: Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, Katee Sackhoff

Vin Diesel’s character, the wanted man Riddick, is left for dead on a sun-scorched planet where he must battle deadly alien predators to survive. His sole chance of escaping is to turn on an emergency beacon, but doing so introduces a new issue: mercenaries. A particularly vicious and deadly gang is aboard the first ship, while a character from Riddick’s past commands the second. As the clock ticks down, Riddick understands that neither gang will depart with his head as a prize.

23. Under the Skin (2013)

  • Release Date: April 4, 2014 
  • IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84%
  • Letterboxd: 3.6/5
  • Directed By: Jonathan Glazer
  • Leading Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay

A young woman who prowls the streets and roads of Scotland in pursuit of the human prey is actually an alien creature inhabiting a human body. She lures her abandoned and alone men into an ethereal realm where they are stripped and eaten. However, the alien visitor started to alter as a result of existence in all its complexity. She starts to accept that she is a person, which has terrible and terrifying repercussions.

24. Colossal (2016)

  • Release Date: April 7, 2017
  • IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
  • Vudu: 3.5/5
  • Directed By: Nacho Vigalondo
  • Leading Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Austin Stowell

After being ejected from her apartment by her boyfriend, Gloria, an unemployed party girl, relocates to her hometown from New York. Gloria gradually realizes that she is somehow related to this remote phenomenon when news reports appear that a massive beast is destroying Seoul, South Korea. She must determine why her allegedly minor presence is having such an enormous impact on the course of events as they start to spiral out of control.

25. Transcendence (2014)

  • Release Date: April 10, 2014
  • IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 19%
  • Letterboxd: 2.4/5
  • Directed By: Wally Pfister
  • Leading Stars: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman

The leading expert on artificial intelligence, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), is engaged in extremely contentious research to develop a sentient machine. Inadvertently serving as the doctor’s success engine are the radicals who attempt to murder him. Will’s wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and best friend, Max (Paul Bettany), are unable to stop him as his insatiable appetite for knowledge transforms into an all-consuming desire for power.

26. Mortal Kombat (2021)

  • Release Date: April 23, 2021
  • IMDB Rating: 6.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 54%
  • Letterboxd: 2.5/5
  • Directed By: Simon McQuoid
  • Leading Stars: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson

Cole Young, an MMA fighter in “Mortal Kombat,” is used to accepting punishment in exchange for money, but he has no idea who he is or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has dispatched his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an extraterrestrial Cryomancer, to find Cole. Cole, concerned for the safety of his family, seeks out Sonya Blade at the advice of Jax, a Special Forces Major who also possesses the unusual dragon marking Cole was born with.

27. Reminiscence (2021)

  • Release Date: August 20, 2021
  • IMDB Rating: 5.8/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 36%
  • Letterboxd: 2.5/5
  • Directed By: Lisa Joy
  • Leading Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton

Hugh Jackman portrayed the character of Nick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind. He guides his clients through the mysteriously fascinating world of the past by assisting them in retrieving forgotten memories. His life is permanently transformed when he unearths a horrific plot while attempting to investigate the case of a client who vanished while he lived on the periphery of Miami’s submerged coast.

28. Voyagers (2021)

  • Release Date: April 9, 2021 
  • IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 26%
  • Letterboxd: 2.3/5
  • Directed By: Neil Burger
  • Leading Stars: Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp

A group of young people, raised for brilliance and obedience, set out on an expedition to colonize a far-off planet with the fate of the human species on the line. When they learn unsettling details about the mission, they rebel against their training and start to delve into their most primal selves. They quickly become overwhelmed by fear, lust, and an insatiable hunger for power as life on the ship devolves into anarchy.

29. Geostorm (2017)

  • Release Date: October 20, 2017
  • IMDB Rating: 5.3/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 17%
  • Blu-ray.com: 4/10
  • Directed By: Dean Devlin
  • Leading Stars: Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish

The world’s leaders united to build a complex network of satellites to regulate the earth’s climate and protect everyone after an unprecedented number of natural disasters threatened the planet. However, something has changed: the system designed to protect Earth is now attacking it. It is now a race against time to identify the true threat before a global geostorm destroys everything and everyone along with it.

30. Moonfall (2022)

  • Release Date: February 4, 2022
  • IMDB Rating: 5.1/10
  • Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 36%
  • Fandango: 70% 
  • Directed By: Roland Emmerich
  • Leading Stars: Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley

When a strange force knocks the moon out of its orbit and sends it racing into a collision course with Earth, the world is on the verge of extinction. Jocinda “Jo” Fowler, a NASA official, teamed up with a guy from her past and a conspiracy theorist for an improbable expedition into orbit to preserve humanity with only weeks before impact.

Wrapping up!

Voila! Enjoy watching your favorite sci-fi movies on HBO Max without having to wade through a hundred films to get the best ones. Instead, we’ve simply sorted the best films that critics and fans have praised and given high ratings.

We hope you enjoyed our choice of the best sci-fi films, which you can easily stream by going to the HBO Max website. However, if you encounter difficulty accessing those movies in your home region, check out the best VPNs for HBO Max.

Also Read: