The most original sci-fi films by decade
Sci-fi lives on new ideas. We ranked the well-rated science fiction films of each decade by originality, and compared how fresh each decade is on average.
Updated
What we found
- The 1970s score highest for originality, averaging 4.29 out of 5 across 15 sci-fi films; the 1990s score lowest, at 3.79.
- The single most original pick is Mr. Nobody (2009), with an originality score of 5.
Average originality of sci-fi films by decade
Average originality score (0 to 5) of the scored sci-fi films from each decade.
- 1970s4.29 · 15 titles
- 1980s4.09 · 47 titles
- 1990s3.79 · 50 titles
- 2000s4.02 · 74 titles
- 2010s3.86 · 148 titles
- 2020s3.86 · 66 titles
1970s
- 1
- 2
- 3
1980s
- 1
- 2
- 3
1990s
- 1
- 2
- 3
2000s
- 1
- 2
- 3
2010s
- 1
- 2
- 3
2020s
- 1
- 2
- 3
How we worked this out
Originality is one of our ten attributes, scored 0 to 5 (higher is fresher). Films carry TMDB's Science Fiction genre; decades need at least 10 scored films. Picks have a TMDB rating of at least 6.8 from 500 or more votes. Our pool is the best-known, best-rated titles in the Boxlist catalogue, so averages describe the sci-fi people still watch, not everything released.
Scores and catalogue data as of 8 November 2026; streaming availability checked on 8 November 2026. Line-ups change, so check a title's page for where it streams today. How we score films and shows