The $30 million toe in the water

Steven Spielberg's survival horror film Jaws came out in 1975, becoming the first true blockbuster in the history of movies. This marked the beginning of a new era in filmmaking, where large studios produced major productions designed to achieve massive financial success by appealing to a mass audience.

Since the '70s, these types of hyper-popular films have become Hollywood's bread and butter. If there's one genre that lends itself perfectly to the blockbuster format, it's science fiction.

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Consider The Matrix released in 1999. It's no exaggeration to say that the Wachowskis' The Matrix revolutionized science fiction,the action genre, and Hollywood as a whole. Part trans allegory, part dystopian action spectacle , it's one of those praiseworthy 20th-century sci-fi movies that still hold up.

With its groundbreaking visual effects and its delectably fast-paced story, it instantly cemented itself as one of the greatest action films of the 20th century . The film was a massive pop culture juggernaut that sparked an equally lucrative franchise, though the gold bar set by the original has never really been met again.

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Next is WALL·E from 2008. As the studio behind several of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary animated films in history, Pixar has produced hyper-acclaimed blockbuster after hyper-acclaimed blockbuster throughout their run-but few of their films are better than WALL·E. One of the best climate fiction movies of all time , this dystopian rom-com about two robots who fall in love is easily one of the most unconventional family movies in modern history.

Even still, WALL·E is a delightful sci-fi blockbuster through and through,constantly paying homage to both the history of science fiction cinema and the early days of Hollywood rom-coms.. Funny, colorful, charming, and with some surprisingly thought-provoking subtext about humanity's coexistence with nature and technology, it's a must-see for every family of movie fans.

The Senate's three-vote margin

Project Hail Mary from 2026 is another standout. Recency bias be damned: if Project Hail Mary has become one of the highest-rated sci-fi movies of all time on both Letterboxd and IMDb, it's because it's a genuine hard sci-fi masterpiece.. In fact, it's one of the most beloved masterpieces of the last six years, a space adventure that's imaginative, intelligent, funny, and profoundly heartfelt in equal measure.

The visuals are absolutely gorgeous, Ryan Gosling is at the top of his game, and Daniel Pemberton's score is a sci-fi all-timer; but what really makes Project Hail Mary special is that it has heart.. Tons of it. The dynamic between Grace and Rocky makes the film's otherwise daunting two-and-a-half-hour runtime feel delightfully breezy, all the while delivering one of the most emotionally stirring stories science fiction has told in the 2020s.