Over the past decade, science fiction has continued to evolve, especially with new trends and technological developments like artificial intelligence. While plenty of sci-fi blockbusters have come and gone, some films have carved out something stranger, more distinct, and more enduring. These are the movies that may not have broken box office records or received the most glowing reviews, but they left a mark on some audiences, who will, in turn, influence others to discover them.

Cult classics are not born overnight: They usually start as underdogs or oddities, misunderstood or overlooked in their time. Here are by the few and have . From an Oscar-winner's time-bending action spectacle to killer AI robots, don't be surprised if these films become your favorite sometime soon.

follows Gloria (), a down-on-her-luck woman, who returns to her hometown after a rough breakup with her boyfriend, Tim (). As she tries to piece her life back together, she discovers a bizarre connection between her emotional meltdowns and a giant kaiju terrorizing Seoul. With her friends Oscar, Garth, and Joel (, , and ), she tries to figure out how she's responsible for the monster's behavior.

Colossal , making it a one-of-a-kind film like no other. Leveraging the popularity of kaiju movies in Hollywood from to , it uses the monster not for spectacle but for character development and emotions. It’s a , and that contrast makes it unforgettable. Colossal is an underrated sci-fi that's perfect for viewers who value originality. With a perfect cast led by the always reliable Anne Hathaway, this quirky, offbeat film is waiting on the sidelines to be discovered and loved by new audiences.

A wild mashup of satire, sci-fi, and Blaxploitation, starts when Fontaine (), a drug dealer, gets shot dead, only to wake up the next morning, alive. As he teams up with a pimp named Slick Charles () and a sex worker named Yo-Yo (), the trio uncovers a government conspiracy involving a shadowy lab beneath their neighborhood that's responsible for the experiment.

They Cloned Tyrone is a confident directorial debut from . It blends genre storytelling with social commentary, evoking and . With a strong leading cast, especially John Boyega in multiple characters, the film is endlessly rewatchable. Such strong qualities and cultural relevance are all . In a perfect world, people would be quoting lines and introducing the film to friends. The only thing that hinders its potential is the fact that it was released on Netflix, and with so many new titles popping up, They Cloned Tyron may be relegated to just one of the many Netflix originals.

Aptly directed by the master of disaster movies, , the moon literally falls out of orbit as advertised in . Disgraced astronaut Brian Harper () gets recruited back to NASA when strange gravitational events wreak havoc on Earth. Together with Harper's previous teammate at NASA, Jocinda Fowler (), and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (), Harper teams up to stop the moon from colliding with Earth.

Moonfall was largely dismissed by critics, but its wild premise and unapologetic absurdity are exactly the makings of a cult favorite in the near future. Emmerich leans hard into the kind of bombastic, reality-defying storytelling that’s often missing from modern sci-fi movies. It's that audiences can’t help but admire it. Future audiences will come to appreciate Moonfall not for its scientific accuracy and logic, but for its . The film also has a really wild third act and ending, so it's just the perfect popcorn cinema to be enjoyed by many.

follows Cash Green (), a Black telemarketer in alternate-reality Oakland who discovers that using a white person's voice makes him one of the most successful employees in the company. As he climbs the corporate ladder, Cash uncovers weird secrets behind his company's success, including a plan to transform workers into human-animal hybrids to boost productivity.

's directorial debut is . The film presents a world similar to ours, but with exploitation and capitalism dialed to the maximum. It is strange yet sharply satirical, and the sci-fi elements, especially the bonkers twist (which we will not spoil here), are not just shocking but bold metaphors for workers entangled in the capitalist system. The film's gorgeous visuals and genre-breaking structure are definitely going to win audiences, and the cast, including and , is all perfect in their roles. It's incredibly rare to have a film like Sorry to Bother You, capable of at the same time.

follows the Protagonist (), a nameless ex-CIA operative, who gets recruited in a covert operation to prevent a world-ending event. This war is fought through a groundbreaking technology that enables time to go backwards. He teams up with a fellow agent named Neil () to track down a Russian arms dealer named Andrei Sator () and stop him before he causes an extinction-level event.

Released during the unfortunate pandemic era, Tenet polarized audiences because of its , but its quality gives it the potential to become a cult classic. The film is endlessly watchable, invites analysis and discussion, and leaves the audience with a sense of wanting more from its universe. Tenet's complicated, mind-bending structure rewards repeat viewings, not just to decode its mechanics, but to appreciate how meticulously everything is woven together. Its striking visuals, excellent production design, and bombastic score are excellent additions to this film. It's , but sci-fi lovers will undoubtedly canonize it as a cult classic.

follows Joshua (), an ex-soldier tasked with hunting down the mysterious architect of an AI superweapon. But when he discovers the weapon is actually a childlike android named Alphie, Joshua finds himself torn between duty and compassion. Having lost a child himself, Joshua bonds with Alphie, who is capable of reshaping the entire war, while still trying to track down the Creator.

The Creator stands out as a modern sci-fi war film that feels . With a compact budget of $80 million, director crafts a visually breathtaking and emotionally resonant sci-fi epic that feels both timely and timeless. While it draws on familiar sci-fi films, The Creator carves a new path by grounding its futuristic world with a compelling story. The film’s production design is stunning on its budget, and the Southeast Asia-inspired sets are beautiful. With AI increasingly becoming more prevalent in our lives, The Creator will likely be revisited as a .

is set against the backdrop of a near-future pandemic caused by memory loss. In a world where a mysterious neurological condition slowly erases people’s memories, Emma () and Jude () fight to hold onto their relationship as Jude begins to forget. As the disease spreads and society frays, their romance becomes both their anchor and their tragedy.

Released during the COVID era, Little Fish may hit a little too close to home for some viewers, which may have caused it to fly under the radar. The film's make it stand out among other films, not just in the sci-fi genre, evoking a similar feeling to , only in a dystopian time. With the leading stars, Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell getting their acclaim respectively through and , it's only time before more and more audiences embrace Little Fish and love it. The film will likely be remembered as a poignant, .

follows Grey (), a mechanic who’s left paralyzed after a mugging that also claims his wife’s life. When a tech mogul offers him an experimental AI implant called STEM that restores his mobility and enhances his physical abilities, Grey sets out on a brutal mission to find the person who killed his wife. However, STEM begins to take more control, and Grey finds himself struggling to take control of his body.

Directed by , Upgrade is a thrilling, lean sci-fi thriller that makes use of its modest budget better than many blockbusters do with millions. It boasts a slick visual style, tight script, and inventive, iconic action choreography and camerawork, which are seen during the fight scenes that involve the AI taking over Grey's body. The film also explores themes of surveillance and body augmentation tech, . Audiences who love dark, tech-heavy sci-fi like should definitely check out this sci-fi gem.

follows the titular cyborg character played by , who’s revived in a scrapyard by kindly cyber-surgeon Dr. Ido (). She soon discovers she’s more powerful and more dangerous than she realizes. As she begins to remember her past, Alita embraces her destiny and becomes a warrior to defend the grim Iron City from the rulers of the floating city of Zalem.

After years stuck in development hell, the -produced manga adaptation grossed a respectable $400 million worldwide, but it did not immediately guarantee a sequel. The film's richly built world, kinetic action, and electric lead performance made the fans want a continuation of the story. With a passionate grassroots movement on social media united by the hashtag #AlitaArmy, Alita: Battle Angel is already a cult favorite. This devoted fanbase might influence casual viewers to discover this earnest adaptation and see the film as that's unafraid to bare its emotions.

is a robot doll invented by engineer Gemma (), who unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her orphaned niece Cady (). Overwhelmed with this new responsibility, she makes M3GAN her niece's companion. M3GAN forms a bond with the child but soon becomes overprotective to a deadly degree, even turning on her creator to defend Cady.

M3GAN expertly balances camp, horror, and sci-fi, and no film has ever been this successful at that. It has a smart critique about humans' obsession with tech and also knows how to have fun, most memorably emulated in the film's most entertaining scene, when M3GAN breaks out her dance moves before killing someone. M3GAN is the perfect modern response to classic horror icon Chucky from . As AI continues to creep further into everyday life, M3GAN will age like fine wine. Its sequel, M3GAN 2.0, only reinforces this film's impact on pop culture.

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