13 Best Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix Right Now (July 2026): ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ and More

Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) hasn’t had an easy life. She’s battling cancer, and the diagnosis isn’t good. When she accompanies her hospice group on a trip to New York City, she quickly forgets her dire health status when something unexpected happens – aliens attack the Big Apple! With NYC quickly taken over, Sam teams up with law student Eric (Joseph Quinn) and other survivors to find a way out of Manhattan without making a sound. 

Wait, noise-sensitive aliens? That can mean only one thing – A Quiet Place! Day One is a prequel that depicts how those pesky extraterrestrials first took over Earth, and it’s surprisingly better than the first two films that inspired it. While the action is intense and the sci-fi spectacle is satisfyingly epic, the reason why Day One works so well is Michael Sarnoski’s skillful direction and Nyong’o’s sensitive and soulful performance. 

Aboard the International Space Station, two teams of astronauts – one American, the other Russian – watch in horror as a nuclear conflict between their two countries erupts on Earth below. The Americans receive a message from the government that Russia has started a nuclear war, and they need to take control of the I.S.S. before the Russians do. And so begins a tense standoff where the former allies are now turned hostile enemies. Adding to the tension is the fact that the station itself is in danger of crashing, killing whoever is left standing as each astronaut questions each other’s alliances.

I.S.S. is an effective sci-fi thriller with a killer concept – what if you’re stuck in a confined space with people who want to kill you? Adding to that friction is that these astronauts used to be friends and even lovers, making their eventual conflicts and deaths all the more heartbreaking. The talented cast includes Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, stage actor John Gallagher Jr. and Based on a True Story’s Chris Messina.

Tom (Dan Stevens) is the perfect man – literally. He’s an android designed to be the perfect living companion, but he still has some kinks that need to be worked out. That’s where Alma (Maren Eggert) comes in. She’s a robotics expert tasked with spending time with Tom to see how he behaves – and whether he’s fit for mass production. But a funny thing happens to Maren when she’s hanging out with the android – she falls in love with him. That’s not what’s supposed to happen, and Maren begins to wonder if her love for him is a flaw in his programming or a hidden asset only she can enjoy.

Sci-fi rom-coms are rare, which is why I’m Your Man is such a gift. It creates a convincingly realistic near-future where robot companions are the norm and lonely people like Alma can’t help but fall in love with them. As Tom, Stevens continues to prove he’s one of the most unexpected actors working today. Whether he’s wooing high society ladies in the Downton Abbey series or terrorizing a New Mexico family in The Guest, he’s always fascinating to watch, and his Tom is yet another beguiling character in his growing repertory of oddball roles. 

While in the final stages of training for the US Army Rangers, an unnamed veteran known only as 81 (Alan Ritchson) finds himself up against a threat greater than terrorists. During a simulated training session to find and recover a classified aircraft, an unknown blast from the sky disrupts the team, leading to a UFO they believe to be part of the mission. When the team attempts to destroy the craft, it remains impervious and instead becomes a deadly walking killing machine. The team suddenly finds themselves up against an entity from another world that is intent on destroying them all.

You might not find much complex character depth or storytelling in War Machine, but you will find a charismatic action hero performance in Ritchson and a sufficiently entertaining sci-fi action thrill ride. If you’re looking for something easy and fun to watch on a lazy Friday night, you’ll likely find that War Machine proves to be a better-than-your-average streaming original with a brisk, compelling pace and some delightful blood and guts.

Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) kidnap a powerful female executive named Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), deluded by the belief that she is an alien in disguise, sent to destroy Earth. The two men hold Michelle hostage in their basement, where they shave her head and cover her body in a cream that will prevent her from communicating with her home planet. As Michelle tries desperately to bargain for her freedom — and convince them she’s not an alien — a connection between Michelle and Teddy is slowly revealed as he descends further into paranoia.

Bugonia didn’t take home any top prizes at the most recent Oscar ceremony, but its nominations were more than deserved. Bugonia is a hilarious dark comedy sci-fi; smart and strange satire of the particular brain disease gripping modern society, enhanced by compelling stylistic choices and what are possibly the best performances of both Stone’s and Plemons’ careers so far.

200 hundred years in the future, the end of the world is night as a destructive ball of fire races towards the planet. On Earth, cab driver and former special forces officer Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) becomes the key to saving the planet when a woman named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls into his cab. However, Leeloo is actually a bio-engineered humanoid that can save humanity. Dallas and Leeloo team up in search of four powerful stones that will help protect Earth.

This memorable science-fiction epic spectacle is as fun as it is a bit confusing. But the pop-art production design, eccentric characters and detailed costumes allow The Fifth Element to be a wholly original and unforgettable cinema experience that is deeply rewarding regardless of an admittedly convoluted plot. In addition to Willis and Jovovich, the ensemble cast also includes Gary Oldman, Luke Perry and Chris Tucker.

Our Times is a Spanish sci-fi rom-com starring Lucero and Benny Ibarra as a married pair of scientists, Dr. Nora Cervantes and Dr. Héctor Esquivel. In 1966, Nora is a genius, but the only way to publicize her findings is through her husband. She’s the one who successfully figured out how to time-travel, and both of them jump to the present when their experiment goes awry.

Nora loves living in 2025, as she is finally accepted by her peers and recognized for her brilliance. Héctor isn’t as thrilled about it, and he finds himself feeling increasingly jealous and bitter when his wife gets all of the adoration. When it comes time to go back to where they came from, Héctor’s ready to leave, and Nora doesn’t want to go.

Our Times is streaming on Netflix.

Before reteaming for Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy collaborated on the Netflix original film, The Adam Project. Reynolds plays Adam Reed, a time travel pilot who goes back in time from 2050 to prevent the death of his wife, Laura Shane (Zoe Saldaña). Instead of arriving at his intended destination, Adam arrives in the present and comes face-to-face with his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell).

There’s a bigger conspiracy across time than either Adam could have dreamed, and it traces back to their late father, Louis Reed (Mark Ruffalo), who died the year before. The two Adams may even get to see their dad one last time if they can stay alive long enough to reach him.

The Adam Project is streaming on Netflix.

There are four main characters in Stowaway, and that’s a problem because their spaceship can only handle three people. On a two-year mission to Mars, Zoe Levenson (Anna Kendrick), Marina Barnett (Toni Collette) and David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim) were supposed to make the trip together. Michael Adams (Shamier Anderson) was caught on board by accident.

Since Michael’s presence is endangering the mission and the lives of the crew, he’s the one who’s expected to sacrifice himself. However, Zoe wants to wait until the last possible moment before letting Michael take that step. But the crew may not have as much time as they think.

Stowaway is streaming on Netflix.

What Happened to Monday was among the first Netflix original movies before the streamer produced seemingly countless films every year. In the future, overpopulation has led to strict rules about having children. Terrence Settman (Willem Dafoe) came up with a novel solution for his seven granddaughters (all played by Noomi Rapace).

To hide the truth of their existence, only one daughter – named for her day of the week – is allowed to leave at a time. This week, Monday never came home and her sisters want to know what happened. And they’re willing to break the rules that governed their lives to solve the mystery.

What Happened to Monday is streaming on Netflix.

Oxygen may be one of the most claustrophobic movies ever made. That’s because Elizabeth “Liz” Hansen (Mélanie Laurent) wakes up in a stasis pod without her memory or any idea how she got there. The onboard A.I., M.I.L.O. (Mathieu Amalric), offers her some assistance, but even M.I.L.O. can’t open the pod without the access code.

Using only the tools she has in the pod, Liz has to jog her memory and learn who she is in the hope that she can remember what she needs to know before the oxygen runs out.

Oxygen is streaming on Netflix.

It’s lonely out in space, especially for cosmonaut Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) in Spaceman. This film has a rare dramatic turn for Sandler, whose character is emotionally crippled on his long trip to Jupiter. Mission Control won’t even tell Jakub that his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), wants to leave him.

Jakub’s only companion on this journey is an alien spider he names Hanuš (Paul Dano), which can communicate with him telepathically. Once Hanuš learns more about Jakub and humanity in general, he may not be as willing to hang around.

Spaceman is streaming on Netflix.

Get ready for all the John Boyega you can handle in They Cloned Tyrone. He both is and isn’t the title character. More accurately, Boyega is playing several characters, including Fontaine, a drug dealer whose murder is witnessed by one of his clients, Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx).

When Fontaine reappears the next day as if nothing happened, Slick convinces him and the only other witness, a sex worker named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), to help him figure out what’s really going on. Their investigation leads to uncomfortable revelations about how many clones are out in the wild, and why their neighborhood is being preyed upon.

They Cloned Tyrone is streaming on Netflix.