Best '80s sci-fi movies
Stacker compiled a list of the best '80s sci-fi movies of all time based on our own Stacker score, a weighted index split evenly between IMDb user rating and Metascore. To qualify, the film had to have sci-fi as one of its genres on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Ties were broken by votes.
#50. 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)
- Director: Peter Hyams
- Stacker score: 75.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 116 minutes
#49. TRON (1982)
- Director: Steven Lisberger
- Stacker score: 76.5
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 96 minutes
#48. Scanners (1981)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 76.7
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 103 minutes
#47. Night of the Creeps (1986)
- Director: Fred Dekker
- Stacker score: 76.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 88 minutes
#46. Cocoon (1985)
- Director: Ron Howard
- Stacker score: 77.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 117 minutes
#45. The Last Starfighter (1984)
- Director: Nick Castle
- Stacker score: 77.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 101 minutes
#44. Enemy Mine (1985)
- Director: Wolfgang Petersen
- Stacker score: 77.6
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#43. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
- Director: Stephen Herek
- Stacker score: 77.7
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 50
- Runtime: 90 minutes
#42. Innerspace (1987)
- Director: Joe Dante
- Stacker score: 78.4
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 120 minutes
#41. Altered States (1980)
- Director: Ken Russell
- Stacker score: 78.6
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 102 minutes
#40. The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
- Director: John Sayles
- Stacker score: 78.8
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#39. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
- Director: Randal Kleiser
- Stacker score: 79.2
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 90 minutes
#38. Spaceballs (1987)
- Director: Mel Brooks
- Stacker score: 79.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 46
- Runtime: 96 minutes
#37. Real Genius (1985)
- Director: Martha Coolidge
- Stacker score: 79.9
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#36. The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
- Director: Nelson Shin
- Stacker score: 80.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 43
- Runtime: 84 minutes
#35. Superman II (1980)
- Director: Richard Lester
- Stacker score: 80.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 127 minutes
#34. The Hidden (1987)
- Director: Jack Sholder
- Stacker score: 80.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 97 minutes
#33. Time Bandits (1981)
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- Stacker score: 80.8
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 110 minutes
#32. Starman (1984)
- Director: John Carpenter
- Stacker score: 80.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#31. Testament (1983)
- Director: Lynne Littman
- Stacker score: 81.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 90 minutes
#30. Repo Man (1984)
- Director: Alex Cox
- Stacker score: 81.1
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 92 minutes
#29. They Live (1988)
- Director: John Carpenter
- Stacker score: 81.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 94 minutes
#28. 1984 (1984)
- Director: Michael Radford
- Stacker score: 81.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 113 minutes
#27. Videodrome (1983)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 81.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 87 minutes
#26. Escape from New York (1981)
- Director: John Carpenter
- Stacker score: 82.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 99 minutes
#25. WarGames (1983)
- Director: John Badham
- Stacker score: 82.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 114 minutes
#24. The Dead Zone (1983)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 82.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 103 minutes
#23. Re-Animator (1985)
- Director: Stuart Gordon
- Stacker score: 83.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 84 minutes
#22. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
- Director: Dan O'Bannon
- Stacker score: 83.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 91 minutes
#21. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
- Director: Leonard Nimoy
- Stacker score: 84.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 119 minutes
#20. The Abyss (1989)
- Director: James Cameron
- Stacker score: 85.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 140 minutes
#19. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
- Director: Don Bluth
- Stacker score: 86.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 82 minutes
#18. Predator (1987)
- Director: John McTiernan
- Stacker score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 47
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#17. RoboCop (1987)
- Director: Paul Verhoeven
- Stacker score: 87.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 102 minutes
#16. The Road Warrior (1981)
- Director: George Miller
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 96 minutes
#15. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 108 minutes
#14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- Director: Nicholas Meyer
- Stacker score: 88.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 113 minutes
#13. The Fly (1986)
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Stacker score: 88.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 96 minutes
#12. Ghostbusters (1984)
- Director: Ivan Reitman
- Stacker score: 89.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 105 minutes
#11. Akira (1988)
- Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
- Stacker score: 91.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 124 minutes
#10. Brazil (1985)
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- Stacker score: 91.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 132 minutes
#9. The Thing (1982)
- Director: John Carpenter
- Stacker score: 92.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 109 minutes
#8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Stacker score: 92.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 91
- Runtime: 115 minutes
#7. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Stacker score: 93.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 117 minutes
#6. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Director: Richard Marquand
- Stacker score: 93.3
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 131 minutes
#5. Blade Runner (1982)
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Stacker score: 93.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 117 minutes
#4. The Terminator (1984)
- Director: James Cameron
- Stacker score: 93.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 107 minutes
#3. Aliens (1986)
- Director: James Cameron
- Stacker score: 97.1
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 137 minutes
#2. Back to the Future (1985)
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 98.4
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 116 minutes
#1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Director: Irvin Kershner
- Stacker score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 124 minutes
