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( It's been eight years since the iconic director released a movie in this genre, re-entering his UFO era with a twisted alien thriller. To mark his momentous return to sci-fi cinema, we've taken time to gaze across his entire sci-fi slate, ranking them from worst to best.We use the term 'worst' lightly, though. Spielberg is a movie legend after all. To date, he's directed over 30 films during his illustrious career, crafting spectacular titles with a deep understanding of what it takes to truly tell a story. Frankly, if you don't recognize the nine movies listed here, well, where the devil have you been?So, hold onto your butts and please enjoy our ranking of Steven Spielberg's sci-fi movies, worst to best.Honorable mention: FirelightA short film called Firelight is arguably his inaugural entry into sci-fi cinema, with only a few minutes ever having been publicly released. While we can't place it in the rankings, it must be mentioned as Spielberg was only a teenager at the time, demonstrating his early genius and determination to bring his ideas to life.9. The Lost World: Jurassic Park ( Unfortunately, those were some mighty big dinosaur-shaped boots to fill, and The Lost World didn't quite live up to the overwhelming success of its predecessor. Somewhat understandable given how iconic the first movie was. That being said, it's still one of the best Jurassic Park movies ever made. Just not the best.With Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) leading the sequel, he leads a team to a second island where dinosaurs roam freely, though a threat jeopardizes their peace. Trying to carve out its own path in the wake of Jurassic Park was a tall order.It leans more into the horror genre this time around, which gives it a fresh feeling, but The Lost World doesn't quite have the same glimmer and spectacle of the first movie's cast (although Goldblum was certainly a standout character).8. Disclosure Day ( Was it worth the wait? Eh.Disclosure Day centers on a conspiracy to cover up the existence of aliens, and it gets a lot of things right. The cast plays their roles to perfection, the dialogue is snappy and witty, and it hits all the right marks aesthetically, but something about it just feels… off.The central story — following an unlikely duo (Blunt & Connor) on a journey to uncover and reveal the truth to the world — asks you to think, but often falls apart when you do, as you start to notice the string of McGuffins, contrivances, and vapid action scenes stringing it together.It's an entertaining watch, but nothing more, which is a real shame from a filmmaker of Spielberg's caliber.7. War of the Worlds (G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds practically begged for a movie director with abundant talent to tackle it. Fortunately, Spielberg stepped up to the plate, transforming the short novel into a big-screen masterpiece.War of the Worlds follows Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a divorced crane operator, who must protect his children from an alien invasion – not your usual setup for a weekend of parental custody! It's epic in proportion and relentless in action, with the narrative underscore of Morgan Freeman

Haley Joel Osment delivers a standout performance in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" () On the occasion of its 25th anniversary today, it’s worth noting a certain sense of irony that Steven Spielberg's "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" seems oddly prescient into today’s AI-obsessed environment, especially when compared to the master director’s recently released "Disclosure Day," which sadly feels three decades late to the whole governmental cover-up UFO/UAP party."A.I. Artificial Intelligence's" path to the silver screen is a strange odyssey, one that includes two of the world's greatest filmmakers, a '60s short story about global warming and advanced robots, a child star hot off a horror hit, multiple production starts and stops, and even a crazy sudden death conspiracy theory.This $75 million futuristic fairy tale was filmed in a dreamy, desaturated preternatural haze that draws audiences into its emotional depths, making "A.I." one of Spielberg’s finest films made during what can be considered his darker, more serious period of moviemaking. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers - YouTube Watch On Released by Warner Brothers on June 29, 2001, the mature sci-fi film attracted a diverse audience that was mesmerized by the depiction of a climate-changed world and the advancement of artificial humans called mechas. It tells the story of a couple whose child is stricken with a fatal disease, causing them to purchase David, a new model of android child programmed to love.When their son recovers, conflict between the human and mecha becomes hazardous, and David is disposed of, where he meets up with a band of stray robots. Attuned to the fairy tale of "Pinocchio" and yearning to become a real boy, David and his A.I. toy bear Teddy embark on a strange road trip to a flooded Manhattan to find the Blue Fairy, who might grant him his wish. 25 years later, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" feels even more timely ()Spielberg naturally brought along his faithful A-list team of Oscar-winning collaborators that included cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, editor Michael Kahn, and composer John Williams for this PG-13 sci-fi adventure whose eventual global box office take was a respectable $236 million.Starring Haley Joel Osment, Frances O’Connor, Jude Law, Sam Robards, Brendan Gleeson, and William Hurt, "A.I." was a brilliant storm of spectacular visual effects, especially observed in the Flesh Fair set pieces where robots were forced into gladiatorial battles to entertain post-apocalyptic crowds. Jude Law and Haley Joel Osment in the decadent Rogue City from "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" ()Law has a lot of ribald fun with his pleasure model android called Gigolo Joe, who rescues David and brings him into his fold as they travel to meet their 'maker' in a sort of twisted "Wizard of Oz"-like journey. Robin Williams also voices an amusing interactive search engine conceived in the likeness of Albert Einstein and aptly called Dr. Know.Fresh from his role as Cole Sear, aka the "I see dead people" kid in M. Night Shyamalan’s "The Sixth Sense," Osment gives a shattering performance here as an innocent machine hoping to fulfill its programming and be loved as a real boy. It's been noted that Osment doesn't blink once in the film, and he displays an incredible depth of feeling on screen for such a young actor. Steven Spielberg working with Haley Joel Osment on the set of "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" ()"A.I.'s" narrative also returns to one of the major themes seen in Spielberg’s catalog, that of the dissolving family unit. It’s been well documented and discussed over the years that his parents’ divorce when he was 19 had a devastating effect on Spielberg.That trauma of fractured families has been well played out in numerous Spielberg movies, including "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T. the Extra-Te

(Get a Disney+ and Hulu bundle subscription for just $11.99 a month, that's 50% cheaper per month!Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Kate Winslet, Avatar: Fire and Ash is available now to stream on Disney Plus. Right now, Disney Plus is offering one of the best streaming deals around with a huge 50% discount on the standard price of a Disney Plus and Hulu bundle.We're constantly checking for big discounts on the best telescopes, binoculars, star projectors, cameras, drones, Lego, streaming and more.Sam Worthington reprised his iconic role as the Na'vi leader Jake Sully for Avatar: Fire and Ash, and he is confirmed to continue portraying the character in the upcoming fourth and fifth instalments of the franchise. Although with release dates of December 2029 and the fifth instalment pencilled in for December 2031, we'll have to wait a while.In the meantime, there are plenty of sci-fi movies and series to enjoy on Disney Plus, including the original Avatar (the highest-grossing movie of all time), plus Avatar 2: The Way of Water, and behind-the-scenes documentary Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films.For less than the price of your morning coffee and a bagel or two, you'll get access (with ads) to both Disney Plus and Hulu, two popular streaming services that feature thousands of movies, box sets and all your favorite sci-fi series and films. Avatar: Fire and Ash | Official Trailer - YouTube Watch On It's not just the Avatar franchise to stream with Disney Plus or Hulu there's something for almost every taste and if you've never been a subscriber before or returning after a break, then this streaming deal bundle is worth grabbing fast.Both services are fantastic choices for fans of sci-fi, with new content being added regularly, including Star Wars, Marvel, and Alien: Earth, the Alien TV series, which will be available to stream on Hulu. You also get access to Disney's huge library of original content and animated classics from them and Pixar.For the stargazers out there who are also sports fans, you can also access the ESPN+ offerings by signing up for the Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle for $35.99 — which is a 33% saving over the usual cost of signing up to all three services. ESPN+ has a wide variety of live sports, original shows, and on-demand content, including NFL, NHL, MLB, and PGA Tour golf, as well as various international soccer leagues.You can browse all of our streaming deals on our hub page, but we think this is one of the best deals out there.Key features: All Avatar movies, plus Star Wars and Marvel films and series, plus hundreds of movies and box sets, including lots of sci-fi content.Price history: It's been as low as $2.99 a month for the Duo Basic bundle, but if you missed out on that, this bundle price is still a great value for money option when compared to signing up individually to each service ($23.98)Consensus: We love both Disney Plus and Hulu, and if you're a sci-fi fan, Disney, in particular, is hard to beat. The Disney-owned content alone makes it worth the asking price but there's still a whole catalog of great content to scroll through. On Hulu, you have another huge library to choose from, and they have big sci-fi titles in their collection.Tom's Guide: ★★★★ | TechRadar: ★★★★ ✅ Buy it if: You want unlimited access to sci-fi content from Star Wars to Marvel, along with hundreds of other sci-fi box sets and movies.❌ Don't buy it if: You don't watch much TV. But then, you probably wouldn't consider any streaming deal if that were the case.Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, Lego and much more. Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Paul is a deals writer for Space.com and writes across the stable of Sports and Know

Disclosure Day hits cinemas on June 12, 2026. (Even before he hit paydirt with blockbuster smashes "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "ET" and "War of the Worlds", the filmmaker's rookie, teenage self was watching the skies in "Firelight" (1964), the first movie he directed. He's since described the latter as "one of the five worst films ever made" — a claim we can't verify, seeing as only a few minutes of footage still exist — but it proves how long the director has been interested in little green men. (Other extra-terrestrial archetypes are, of course, available.)A new Spielberg alien movie is therefore always going to be worth getting excited about, though that's not the only reason "Disclosure Day" feels like the most important sci-fi movie release of 2026.Along with Christopher Nolan, JJ Abrams and — following the success of last year's brilliant, genre-bending "Sinners" — arguably Ryan Coogler as well, Spielberg is now one of the few filmmakers in Hollywood with the commercial clout to make an original, standalone genre movie with blockbuster scale. ("Project Hail Mary" is another exception that proves the rule, though that did arrive with the advantage of being based on Andy Weir's already-beloved bestselling novel.)It hasn't always been this way. Although the 21st century box office charts have been dominated by mega-franchises such as Marvel, DC, Star Wars and Harry Potter — not to mention James Cameron's extended mission to Pandora — you don't have to go back too far to find a time when original sci-fi movies were a significant force in Hollywood."Independence Day", "Men in Black", "Armageddon" and "The Matrix" were all among the top 20 highest-grossing films of the 1990s, as were "Ghost", "Forrest Gump" and "Home Alone". All of them achieved their success without relying on prior audience awareness, yet would be the outliers at the modern box office, just as likely to debut on a streaming platform as in multiplexes. Emily Blunt stars in Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" ( But as Marvel and pretty much every other brand has discovered in recent years, no franchise — except, perhaps, "Avatar" — is a guaranteed banker. And if you bet everything on a limited number of pre-existing franchises, you're left with a vacuum if/when they start to fail.It's a state of affairs that hasn't been lost on Spielberg who, aside from sequels to his own "Jurassic Park" and "Indiana Jones" movies, has tended to steer well clear of franchise filmmaking."If all we make is known, branded IP, we’re going to run out of gas," Spielberg told CinemaCon in April (via Variety). "There is nothing more important than giving the audience visual stories, and they can be in any form, but we need to tell more original stories." Something wicked this way comes in "Disclosure Day" ( There's something exhilarating about sitting in a theater and not being entirely sure what you're about to see — an air of mystery Spielberg has done his damnedest to generate ahead of "Disclosure Day".Until last December, it was simply known as Steven Spielberg's untitled UFO movie. We all knew that the legendary director was plotting a return to his alien visitation happy place, of course, but — aside from the identity of its stars, and the involvement of screenwriter David Koepp — nobody was exactly sure what form "Disclosure Day" was going to take.Remarkably, six months later, he's managed to keep most of his movie's secrets out of the public eye. We know the story involves a push to disclose information about alien vis