Ultimate Post-Apocalyptic Movie List
by Cine-Maniacal | created - 14 Jan 2018 | updated - 02 Jul 2018 | PublicAn aggregate, unranked list of the best movies about the End of the World. Ever. Period.
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1. The Book of Eli (2010)
R | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Gary Oldman
Votes: 297,628 | Gross: $94.84M
2. The Road (I) (2009)
R | 111 min | Drama
In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.
Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall
Votes: 226,200 | Gross: $0.06M
3. World War Z (2013)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatens to destroy humanity itself.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale
Votes: 610,482 | Gross: $202.36M
4. I Am Legend (2007)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
Director: Francis Lawrence | Stars: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Salli Richardson-Whitfield
Votes: 696,892 | Gross: $256.39M
5. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 610,482 | Gross: $100.21M
6. Oblivion (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.
Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko
Votes: 492,072 | Gross: $89.02M
7. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 1,708,309 | Gross: $171.48M
8. Night of the Comet (1984)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
Director: Thom Eberhardt | Stars: Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Sharon Farrell
Votes: 18,984 | Gross: $14.42M
9. The Postman (1997)
R | 177 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A nameless drifter dons a postman's uniform and bag of mail as he begins a quest to inspire hope to the survivors living in post-apocalyptic America.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams
Votes: 69,705 | Gross: $17.63M
10. Waterworld (1995)
PG-13 | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw "smokers," and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.
Director: Kevin Reynolds | Stars: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dennis Hopper, Tina Majorino
Votes: 184,300 | Gross: $88.25M
11. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 806,720 | Gross: $38.40M
12. The Omega Man (1971)
PG | 98 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Biological war has decimated life on Earth. Los Angeles is a windswept ghost town where Robert Neville tools his convertible through sunlit streets foraging for supplies.
Director: Boris Sagal | Stars: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo
Votes: 29,343 | Gross: $8.72M
13. The Last Man on Earth (1964)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
When a disease turns all of humanity into the living dead, the last man on earth becomes a reluctant vampire hunter.
Directors: Ubaldo Ragona, Sidney Salkow | Stars: Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi Stuart
Votes: 18,014
14. Independence Day (1996)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
Votes: 534,043 | Gross: $306.17M
15. War of the Worlds (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
An updated version of H.G Wells' seminal sci-fi classic about an alien invasion threatening the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto
Votes: 421,065 | Gross: $234.28M
16. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
A man's uneventful life is disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 519,406 | Gross: $13.54M
17. 28 Days Later... (2002)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Alex Palmer
Votes: 381,893 | Gross: $45.06M
18. Zombieland (2009)
R | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search or the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 527,318 | Gross: $75.59M
19. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
R | 101 min | Action, Horror
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber
Votes: 238,311 | Gross: $59.02M
20. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Unrated | 127 min | Horror, Thriller
Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team members, a traffic reporter, and his television executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Votes: 112,838 | Gross: $5.10M
21. The World's End (2013)
R | 109 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike
Votes: 263,428 | Gross: $26.00M
22. Damnation Alley (1977)
PG | 91 min | Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic world, a group of survivors travel and find other settlements in huge custom designed all terrain vehicles.
Director: Jack Smight | Stars: Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, Dominique Sanda, Paul Winfield
Votes: 4,917 | Gross: $8.72M
23. Scorched Earth (2018)
R | 96 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A bounty hunter named Attica Gage tracks down criminals in a post-apocalyptic Earth.
Director: Peter Howitt | Stars: Gina Carano, Ryan Robbins, John Hannah, Dean Jagger
Votes: 2,758
24. Hostile (I) (2017)
TV-MA | 83 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Juliette, a lone survivor of an apocalyptic era, fights to survive against hunger, thirst, a broken leg and strange, disturbing creatures that only come out at nighttime.
Director: Mathieu Turi | Stars: Brittany Ashworth, Grégory Fitoussi, Javier Botet, Jay Benedict
Votes: 4,299
25. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
Votes: 900,919 | Gross: $154.06M
26. The Stand (1994)
Not Rated | 361 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
After a deadly plague kills most of the world's population, the remaining survivors split into two groups - one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a malevolent being - to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 33,764
27. Reign of Fire (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.
Director: Rob Bowman | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Izabella Scorupco, Gerard Butler
Votes: 127,756 | Gross: $43.06M
28. After Earth (2013)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Jaden Smith, David Denman, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo
Votes: 193,242 | Gross: $60.52M
29. Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
Approved | 93 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A family leaves L.A. for a camping trip - just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As the city descends into chaos, the father must fight to keep his family alive.
Director: Ray Milland | Stars: Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel
Votes: 3,789
30. Daylight's End (2016)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Following an outbreak that turned most of mankind into vampire-zombie-like creatures, the few survivors have to fight the creatures and marauders.
Director: William Kaufman | Stars: Johnny Strong, Lance Henriksen, Louis Mandylor, Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Votes: 5,252
31. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man and his telepathic dog wander a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Director: L.Q. Jones | Stars: Don Johnson, Jason Robards, Susanne Benton, Tim McIntire
Votes: 16,784 | Gross: $6.90M
32. The Quiet Earth (1985)
R | 91 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A man named Zac Hobson awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith, Anzac Wallace
Votes: 24,813 | Gross: $2.12M
33. Blast from the Past (1999)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A naive man comes out into the world after spending 35 years in a nuclear fallout shelter.
Director: Hugh Wilson | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek
Votes: 60,448 | Gross: $26.49M
34. Extinction (2015)
R | 112 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
And suddenly, overnight, the world came to a halt. Two men, two survivors, one kid, and hatred that separates them. A place forgotten by everyone, including the creatures that inhabit the Earth... until now.
Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas | Stars: Matthew Fox, Jeffrey Donovan, Quinn McColgan, Clara Lago
Votes: 16,199
35. Maggie (I) (2015)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A teenage girl in the Midwest becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that slowly turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father stays by her side.
Director: Henry Hobson | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin, Joely Richardson, Laura Cayouette
Votes: 42,462 | Gross: $0.19M
36. Mortal Engines (2018)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
In a post-apocalyptic world where cities ride on wheels and consume each other to survive, two people meet in London and try to stop a conspiracy.
Director: Christian Rivers | Stars: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae
Votes: 113,320 | Gross: $15.95M
37. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
R | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.
Director: Lorene Scafaria | Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt
Votes: 108,472 | Gross: $6.62M
38. On the Beach (1959)
Approved | 134 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins
Votes: 12,131 | Gross: $11.00M
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