Best Sci-Fi Movies Based on Book (Dystopia, Apocalyptic, Horror)
by MAthePA | created - 25 Jan 2019 | updated - 19 Jun 2019 | PublicAll these sci-fi movies (dystopia, apocalyptic, horror) are based on books (no comics; titles ordered by release year). When you love a book, few things are more exciting than seeing it turned into a movie. When you initially love a movie, it's never late to know how all the things were on the page...
What is your favorite movie in the list?
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1. Annihilation (I) (2018)
R | 115 min | Adventure, Drama, Horror
A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.
Director: Alex Garland | Stars: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Benedict Wong
Votes: 361,910 | Gross: $32.73M
Based on the novel: Annihilation (2014) by Jeff VanderMeer
2. The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
R | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
Director: Colm McCarthy | Stars: Sennia Nanua, Fisayo Akinade, Dominique Tipper, Paddy Considine
Votes: 64,457
Based on the novel: The Girl with All the Gifts (2014) by Mike Carey
3. Z for Zachariah (2015)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
Director: Craig Zobel | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine, Margot Robbie
Votes: 32,756 | Gross: $0.12M
Based on the novel: Z for Zachariah (1974) by Robert C. O'Brien
4. The Maze Runner (2014)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.
Director: Wes Ball | Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Votes: 510,322 | Gross: $102.43M
Based on the novel: The Maze Runner (2009) by James Dashner
5. The Giver (2014)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a seemingly perfect community without war, pain, suffering, differences or choices, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man, the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift
Votes: 125,673 | Gross: $45.09M
Based on the novel: The Giver (1993) by Lois Lowry
6. Divergent (2014)
PG-13 | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she's Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.
Director: Neil Burger | Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney
Votes: 489,272 | Gross: $150.95M
Based on the novel: Divergent (2011) by Veronica Roth
7. How I Live Now (2013)
R | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An American girl, sent to the English countryside to stay with relatives, finds love and purpose while fighting for her survival as war envelops the world around her.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Tom Holland, George MacKay, Harley Bird
Votes: 31,974 | Gross: $0.06M
Based on the novel: How I Live Now (2004) by Meg Rosoff
8. Under the Skin (I) (2013)
R | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.
Director: Jonathan Glazer | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell
Votes: 158,331 | Gross: $2.61M
Based on the novel: Under the Skin (2000) by Michel Faber
9. World War Z (2013)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatens to destroy humanity itself.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale
Votes: 719,906 | Gross: $202.36M
Based on the novel: World War Z (2006) by Max Brooks
10. The Hunger Games (2012)
PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 1,004,258 | Gross: $408.01M
Based on the novel: The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins
11. Never Let Me Go (2010)
R | 103 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
The lives of three friends, from their early school days into young adulthood, when the reality of the world they live in comes knocking.
Director: Mark Romanek | Stars: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Izzy Meikle-Small
Votes: 153,345 | Gross: $2.43M
Based on the novel: Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro
12. Repo Men (2010)
R | 111 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Set in the near future when artificial organs can be bought on credit, it revolves around a man who struggles to make the payments on a heart he has purchased. He must therefore go on the run before said ticker is repossessed.
Director: Miguel Sapochnik | Stars: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Alice Braga, Liev Schreiber
Votes: 110,721 | Gross: $13.79M
Based on the novel: The Repossession Mambo (2009) by Eric Garcia
13. The Road (I) (2009)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Votes: 254,349 | Gross: $0.06M
Based on the novel: The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy
14. City of Ember (2008)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker.
Director: Gil Kenan | Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Toby Jones, Bill Murray, David Ryall
Votes: 69,762 | Gross: $7.87M
Based on the novel: The City of Ember (2003) by Jeanne Duprau
15. Blindness (2008)
R | 121 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant white blindness.
Director: Fernando Meirelles | Stars: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael García Bernal, Yûsuke Iseya
Votes: 75,213 | Gross: $3.07M
Based on the novel: Ensaio sobre a cegueira (1995) by José Saramago
16. I Am Legend (2007)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Drama, Horror
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Votes: 814,789 | Gross: $256.39M
Based on the novel: I Am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson
17. The Mist (2007)
R | 126 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher
Votes: 340,702 | Gross: $25.59M
Based on the novella: The Mist (1980) by Stephen King
18. The Invasion (I) (2007)
PG-13 | 99 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
As a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond
Votes: 82,708 | Gross: $15.07M
Based on the novel: The Body Snatchers (1955) by Jack Finney
19. Children of Men (2006)
R | 109 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine
Votes: 529,669 | Gross: $35.55M
Based on the novel: The Children of Men (1992) by P.D. James
20. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Jack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok
Votes: 476,317 | Gross: $186.74M
Based on the book : The Coming Global Superstorm (1999) by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber
21. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,531
Based on the short story: Battle Royale (1999) by Koushun Takami
22. Screamers (1995)
R | 108 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A military commander stationed off planet during an interplanetary war travels through the devastated landscape to negotiate a peace treaty, but discovers that the primitive robots they built to kill enemy combatants have gained sentience.
Director: Christian Duguay | Stars: Peter Weller, Roy Dupuis, Jennifer Rubin, Andy Lauer
Votes: 29,473 | Gross: $5.78M
Based on the short story: Second Variety (1953) by Philip K. Dick
23. The Running Man (1987)
R | 101 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom.
Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown
Votes: 167,845 | Gross: $38.12M
Based on the novel: The Running Man (1982) by Stephen King
24. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 202,062 | Gross: $40.46M
Based on the short story: The Fly (1957) by George Langelaan
25. The Quiet Earth (1985)
R | 91 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith, Anzac Wallace
Votes: 27,647 | Gross: $2.12M
Based on the novel: The Quiet Earth (1981) by Craig Harrison
26. Re-Animator (1985)
Unrated | 84 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
After an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Votes: 71,540 | Gross: $2.02M
Based on the short story: Herbert West–Reanimator (1922) by H.P. Lovecraft
27. 1984 (1984)
R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 79,076 | Gross: $8.40M
Based on the novel: 1984 (1949) by George Orwell
28. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,369 | Gross: $20.77M
Based on the novel: The Dead Zone (1979) by Stephen King
29. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 467,047 | Gross: $13.78M
Based on the novella: Who Goes There? (1938) by John W. Campbell Jr.
30. Altered States (1980)
R | 102 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid
Votes: 38,660 | Gross: $19.85M
Based on the novel: Altered States (1978) by Paddy Chayefsky
31. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,865 | Gross: $0.23M
Based on the novel: Roadside Picnic (1972) by Arkady and Boris Strugatskiy
32. Soylent Green (1973)
PG | 97 min | Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A nightmarish futuristic fantasy about the controlling power of big corporations and an innocent cop who stumbles on the truth.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Charlton Heston, Edward G. Robinson, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors
Votes: 70,608 | Gross: $7.92M
Based on the novel: Make Room! Make Room! (1966) by Harry Harrison
33. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 881,726 | Gross: $6.21M
Based on the novel: A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess
34. The Andromeda Strain (1971)
G | 131 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Top scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne, Kate Reid
Votes: 40,463 | Gross: $3.42M
Based on the novel: The Andromeda Strain (1969) by Michael Crichton
35. Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack, Anton Diffring
Votes: 45,440
Based on the novel: Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury
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