Which are the best sci-fi movies of 2025? Here are the year’s most striking sci-fi productions, standing out with themes of artificial intelligence, technology, capitalism, and political paranoia… In a period where artificial intelligence settled at the center of life throughout 2025 and clearly revealed its potential to transform the world, many directors turned their route to science fiction. The goal was not only to explain new technologies; it was to question the powers developing these technologies and the results they created. After all, science fiction has managed to be one of the most powerful tools of social criticism throughout history.
While the genre has predicted many technological developments in the past, it gave its most impressive examples when it reflected the spirit of the era in which it was written. Frankenstein was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, while Star Trek carried the ideological tensions of the Cold War to space.
What is 2025’s Sci-Fi Discussing?
In a year like 2025, where political, economic, and social structures struggle to keep up with technological transformation, science fiction offered an ideal space to discuss the cost of this so-called “progress“. While the year’s films oscillated between hope and pessimism, the words of master sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury gained meaning once again:
“Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn’t exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again.”
A Weak Year at the Box Office, Strong in Creativity
Although box office and award record-holders of previous years like Dune or Everything Everywhere All at Once were not on stage this year, 2025 produced quality productions in terms of science fiction. The only major production that stood out at the box office, despite heavy criticism, was Avatar: Fire and Ash. However, the lack of commercial success did not stand in the way of creative films.
Below, you can review the standout best sci-fi movies of 2025.
5. Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited Frankenstein adaptation is a visually highly impressive production. With ice-covered landscapes, gothic settings, and costumes reflecting the Victorian era, the film adds the director’s unique aesthetic sense to Mary Shelley’s classic story.
Oscar Isaac’s interpretation of Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi’s unconventional approach to the monster are among the most talked-about aspects of the film. The Netflix production has already entered nomination lists in many categories for the 2026 Oscars.
Great Ambition, Messy Narrative However, the film struggles to reach the peak of both its literary source and del Toro’s previous works. While addressing a major question like the ethical cost of technological progress, it occasionally loses its narrative integrity. Nevertheless, being released in a period where the boundaries of artificial intelligence and technology are discussed gives the film a distinct meaning. It stands out by reminding us of the question “Should we?” rather than “Can we?”.
4. Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands handles a rooted series from an unusual point. This time, the Predator in the hunter role settles at the center of the story. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the film offers a “coming of age” narrative, even though it looks like an origin story.
Thanks to the android zoologist character voiced by Elle Fanning and its lighter tone, the film appeals to a wider audience compared to previous productions in the series.
Action and Message The film does not compromise on high-tech weapons, scenes challenging the laws of physics, and the hardness specific to the series. However, in its subtext, it asks the question “who is the real predator?” and puts humanity on the target board. In this respect, it manages to be not only entertaining but also thought-provoking.
3. Companion
It is difficult to talk about Companion because one must not spoil its surprises. Drew Hancock’s pop sci-fi thriller feels like a different genre until the first major breaking point.
Starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, the film centers on power dynamics in romantic relationships and how technology transforms these balances.
Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, and Control The film questions how AI-supported “companion” applications gamify relationships and reproduce sexist stereotypes. While doing this, it offers a thriller fed by dark humor that never drops its tempo. It stands out by asking uncomfortable questions as much as it is entertaining.
2. Mickey 17
Directed by Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17 is a science fiction example that holds a mirror to reality with its absurdity. The film, in which Robert Pattinson plays an employee who dies repeatedly and is “reprinted“, satirizes capitalism in space.
Office Life… But in Space While the film explains the meaninglessness of modern work life through a death cycle, it questions the relationship between exploitation, authoritarianism, and scientific progress. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette’s exaggerated but conscious performances turn the film into a harsh political satire.
In conclusion, Mickey 17 is one of the rare productions that disturbs while making you laugh and forces the audience to think about their own mortality.
1. Bugonia
The year’s strongest science fiction film, Bugonia, is also the production that most clearly reflects the spirit of 2025. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the film is about two conspiracy theorists kidnapping a CEO whom they believe is an alien preparing to destroy the world.
In the film where Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons come face to face, political paranoia, class conflict, and technology elites are blended with dark humor.
Whose Fault is It? Bugonia questions who we should blame for violence and political chaos: Those who resist oppression, or those at the top of the system? It does not offer clear answers but does not hesitate to ask questions that disturb the audience.
In this aspect, when looking back at 2025 in the future, the film is a candidate to be remembered as one of the sci-fi examples that best describes the social mood of the era.
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