14 Must-Watch Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix Right Now (October 2025)

Andy Weir‘s self-published novel, The Martian, is one of the great success stories of the internet era. The story of the book and the film is even more impressive, as it uses real science to set the stage for this slightly sci-fi tale.

Matt Damon plays Dr. Mark Watney, an astronaut who is accidentally left for dead on Mars by his crew. Mark’s an inventive guy who can make the most out of his limited resources, but even he can only survive for so long on the red planet. That leaves Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) and the rest of her crew with a difficult choice — they can either return home or undertake a risky rescue mission to save their friend. Will Mark return to Earth? Or is he destined to die alone on Mars?

The Martian is streaming on Netflix.

Despite its many YA trappings, The Maze Runner is a sci-fi story, especially when dealing with the mechanical nightmares that patrol the maze that keeps its community of boys in place.

Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is the last male teenager who enters the Glade, a largely peaceful collective of other boys. Although Thomas displays real leadership capabilities, he makes an enemy out of Gally (Will Poulter), an unstable Glader. When a female teenager, Teresa (Kaya Socdelario), is sent into the group, it triggers a turn of events that may kill all of the Gladers unless Thomas can help them find their way through the maze.

The Maze Runner is streaming on Netflix.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was a cultural sensation in 1982 and a blockbuster that was nominated for Best Picture back when the Oscars rarely acknowledged anything sci-fi. Over four decades later, this is still one of Steven Spielberg‘s best movies.

The late Pat Welsh provided the voice of E.T., an alien who is accidentally stranded on Earth. While government agents search for E.T., he befriends a 10-year-old boy, Elliott Taylor (Henry Thomas), as well as his siblings, Gertie (Drew Barrymore) and Michael Taylor (Robert MacNaughton). But the longer E.T. stays on Earth, the more his health dramatically declines. Something is killing E.T., and his close bond with Elliott may take the boy with him.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is streaming on Netflix.

Tom Cruise‘s character, William Cage, dies over and over again in Edge of Tomorrow. That’s the price he pays for the piece of immortality that he gains after exposure to an alien’s blood. In the battle for Earth, Cage may represent humanity’s best hope because each day he spends in his personal time loop transforms him into a better warrior.

Unfortunately, the aliens are also getting better at killing humans during the time loop. Their victory seems more and more inevitable, even as Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) teaches Cage everything she knows about the time loops and how to be a soldier. It’s just not enough to turn the tide of battle in humanity’s favor.

Edge of Tomorrow is streaming on Netflix.

The title of The 5th Wave refers to the latest phase of an alien invasion by a threat that humans call “the Others.” The planet itself has been weaponized against humanity, and there aren’t many survivors left. Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) is one of the lucky ones, if “lucky” is truly the right word for it.

Cassie is the protector of her younger brother, Sam (Zackary Arthur), and it’s a responsibility that she takes seriously. When Sam is lost to an alien deception, Cassie embarks on a desperate journey to rescue him. Cassie may also have to let go of what’s left of her compassion to live long enough to reunite with her brother.

The 5th Wave is streaming on Netflix.

The One is such an old movie that Jason Statham still had some hair on his head when he was playing second lead to Jet Li. Although Li portrays so many different characters in this movie that he may qualify as his own second lead.

Li plays Gabriel Yulaw, a dangerous criminal on the run from Multiverse Authority agent Evan Funsch (Statham). Yulaw has realized that he can become infinitely powerful by murdering all of his counterparts in the multiverse. Now, the only alternate version of Yulaw left is Gabe Law (Li), a Deputy Sheriff who has no idea why he’s become so powerful. But only one version of Gabe will emerge victorious as “the One.”

The One is streaming on Netflix.

You’ll notice pretty quickly that Zathura: A Space Adventure essentially has the same plot as Jumanji. Since this film is technically a spinoff from that franchise, that’s allowed.

Director Jon Favreau may have to follow the same beats, but he does so in an entertaining way. Kristen Stewart plays Lisa, the older sister of Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo). When the boys stumble across the Zathura board game, their house gets sent to space and Lisa is frozen. And if they don’t finish their game, none of them are making it back to Earth alive.

Zathura: A Space Adventure is streaming on Netflix.

Our Times is a Spanish sci-fi rom-com starring Lucero and Benny Ibarra as a married pair of scientists, Dr. Nora Cervantes and Dr. Héctor Esquivel. In 1966, Nora is a genius, but the only way to publicize her findings is through her husband. She’s the one who successfully figured out how to time travel, and both of them jump to the present when their experiment goes awry.

Nora loves living in 2025, as she is finally accepted by her peers and recognized for her brilliance. Héctor isn’t as thrilled about it, and he finds himself feeling increasingly jealous and bitter when his wife gets all of the adoration. When it comes time to go back to where they came from, Héctor’s ready to leave and Nora doesn’t want to go.

Our Times is streaming on Netflix.

Prior to reteaming for Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy collaborated on the Netflix original film, The Adam Project. Reynolds plays Adam Reed, a time travel pilot who goes back in time from 2050 to prevent the death of his wife, Laura Shane (Zoe Saldaña). Instead of arriving at his intended destination, Adam arrives in the present and comes face-to-face with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell).

There’s a bigger conspiracy across time than either Adam could have dreamed, and it traces back to their late father, Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who died the year before. The two Adams may even get to see their dad one last time if they can stay alive long enough to reach him.

The Adam Project is streaming on Netflix.

There are four main characters in Stowaway, and that’s a problem because their spaceship can only handle three people. On a two-year mission to Mars, Zoe Levenson (Anna Kendrick), Marina Barnett (Toni Collette) and David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim) were supposed to make the trip together. Michael Adams (Shamier Anderson) was caught on board by accident.

Since Michael’s presence is endangering the mission and the lives of the crew, he’s the one who’s expected to sacrifice himself. However, Zoe wants to wait until the last possible moment before letting Michael take that step. But the crew may not have as much time as they think.

Stowaway is streaming on Netflix.

What Happened to Monday was among the first Netflix original movies before the streamer produced seemingly countless films every year. In the future, overpopulation has led to strict rules about having children. Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe) came up with a novel solution for his seven granddaughters (all played by Noomi Rapace).

To hide the truth of their existence, only one daughter – named for her day of the week – is allowed to leave at a time. This week, Monday never came home and her sisters want to know what happened. And they’re willing to break the rules that governed their lives to solve the mystery.

What Happened to Monday is streaming on Netflix.

Oxygen may be one of the most claustrophobic movies ever made. That’s because Elizabeth “Liz” Hansen (Mélanie Laurent) wakes up in a stasis pod without her memory or any idea how she got there. The onboard A.I., M.I.L.O. (Mathieu Amalric), offers her some assistance, but even M.I.L.O. can’t open the pod without the access code.

Using only the tools she has in the pod, Liz has to jog her memory and learn who she is in the hope that she can remember what she needs to know before the oxygen runs out.

Oxygen is streaming on Netflix.

It’s lonely out in space, especially for cosmonaut Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) in Spaceman. This film has a rare dramatic turn for Sandler, whose character is emotionally crippled on his long trip to Jupiter. Mission Control won’t even tell Jakub that his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), wants to leave him.

Jakub’s only companion on this journey is an alien spider he names Hanuš (Paul Dano), which can communicate with him telepathically. Once Hanuš learns more about Jakub and humanity in general, he may not be as willing to hang around.

Spaceman is streaming on Netflix.

Get ready for all the John Boyega you can handle in They Cloned Tyrone. He both is and isn’t the title character. More accurately, Boyega is playing several characters, including Fontaine, a drug dealer whose murder is witnessed by one of his clients, Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx).

When Fontaine reappears the next day as if nothing happened, Slick convinces him and the only other witness, a sex worker named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), to help him figure out what’s really going on. Their investigation leads to uncomfortable revelations about how many clones are out in the wild, and why their neighborhood is being preyed upon.

They Cloned Tyrone is streaming on Netflix.

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