Last Updated on 16 June 2026

I searched the Internet for lists of the best 50s sci-fi movies. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed, and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 16 lists. I took the 16 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. I averaged the rankings each movie got (there were 184 that were on at least 2 lists) and divided that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 16) were:

  • The War of the Worlds (1953) – 15 lists
  • The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) – 13 lists
  • Forbidden Planet (1956) – 13 lists
  • Them! (1954) – 13 lists
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – 11 lists
  • The Thing from Another World (1951) – 11 lists
  • The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) – 10 lists
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) – 10 lists
  • The Blob (1958) – 10 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

Best 50s SciFi MoviesDownload

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