The Best Sci-Fi Movies of 2026 (So Far)
The best science-fiction movies of 2026 are led by Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, shot entirely on new IMAX film cameras, and Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, the darker close to the Arrakis saga. Together they anchor a strong year for big-idea, big-screen sci-fi — with the format itself becoming part of the story.
2026 has been a banner year for science fiction with real ambition — the kind shot on film, built practically, and designed to be seen big. Here's our running list of the films worth your time, whether they're playing now or still on the horizon.
1. The Odyssey
Nolan's mythic epic is the tent-pole of the year, adapting Homer with a new generation of IMAX cameras dragged out onto real boats and cliffs. If you see one film in a theatre in 2026, make it this one. Read our full breakdown →
2. Dune: Part Three
Villeneuve returns to Arrakis for the saga's strangest, most tragic chapter — a triumph that curdles into a warning. What to expect from Part Three →
3. The mid-budget sci-fi thriller revival
Beyond the blockbusters, 2026 has been quietly great for smaller, sharper genre films — the kind that trade spectacle for a single unsettling idea. Expect more of them through the back half of the year.
The blockbusters get the billboards, but the sleepers get the conversation.
How to watch them well
- Save anything shot on film or in IMAX — starting with The Odyssey — for the biggest screen you can reach.
- Let the smaller, idea-driven films come to you at home, lights off.
- Add anything that intrigues you to My List so it's ready the moment it lands.
Want the timeless classics too? See our guide to movies like Interstellar for the cerebral sci-fi that paved the way.