Apocalypse Now and Forever! The 26 Best End-of-the-World Movies

The end of the world is a terrifying prospect—but watching the ultimate worst-case scenario unfold on film can be a thrilling, cathartic experience. Case in point: It’s no wonder that the pandemic drama Contagion (which claims Gwyneth Paltrow as an early victim) was everyone’s must-watch rental in 2020, as the movie helped us process the real-life catastrophe.

Pandemics are, in fact, a frequent theme in end-of-the-world movies, as are climate-change catastrophes, zombie hoards, aliens bent on world domination and meteors hurling towards Earth. And yet, many of the best films about the apocalypse make their impact with quieter moments: a curious robot watches a seedling grow in an abandoned landfill; a terrified family eats a dead-silent dinner; the last pregnant woman on Earth rows a boat towards a hopeful future. For every nightmare-inducing disaster film about the end times, there’s another that finds humor or beauty in the idea that humanity’s time is up and doomsday is near.

From all-ages animation to pitch-black drama, here are 26 of the best movies about the end of the world.

Best End of the World Movies

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

The dystopian future has never been more thrilling than it is in George Miller’s gorgeously shot action film. Set in a desert wasteland where survivors fight for water and gasoline in monstrous customized vehicles, it’s by far the best installment of the Mad Max saga, with a series of dazzling set pieces anchored by Charlize Theron’s towering performance as heroine Imperator Furiosa.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

The directorial debut of Hustlers writer-director Lorene Scafaria begins with the news that a meteor will destroy all life on Earth in three weeks. Inspired by her own experiences after September 11, Scafaria uses the imminent end of the world to explore the way people think about love and relationships, through the eyes of two strangers who are thrown together: Steve Carrell as a middle-aged man whose wife has abruptly left him, and Keira Knightley as a restless young woman desperate to reunite with her family in England.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Maybe the first sign of the end times is that your partner isn’t acting like themselves. Philip Kaufman’s effectively chilling remake of the 1956 “pod people” classic proposes a very different kind of pandemic: one in which people are slowly replaced by their identical doubles while they sleep, making it impossible to tell friends and loved ones from invaders. Younger generations will know this horror film best from the popular GIF of star Donald Sutherland pointing and screaming.

Little Shop of Horrors: The Director’s Cut (1986)

Frank Oz’s musical-comedy classic premiered in theaters with a happy ending… after test audiences revolted against the original ending, in which the puppet plant Audrey II brings about the literal destruction of the world. The apocalyptic version (officially remastered and released as The Director’s Cut in 2019) was arguably the better one all along, featuring two additional songs and an epic finale with giant Audrey IIs destroying Manhattan. Don’t feed the plants y’all.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

Directed in a dazzling style that combines 2D and 3D animation, this Netflix original film takes a singularly terrifying concept—the moment when our increasingly-intelligent phones decide to destroy humankind—and delivers a heartwarming, hilarious story about the mostly functional family (including Maya Rudolph as a first-grade-teacher mom and Abbi Jacobson as her queer daughter) who become Earth’s only hope.

Deep Impact (1998)

Released the same summer as Michael Bay’s cheesy mega-blockbuster Armageddon, Mimi Leder’s disaster film has essentially the same plot: a meteor is hurtling towards Earth and threatens to knock out the entire human race unless a group of heroic astronauts can save it. Bay’s film is big, goofy, popcorn-eating fun, and has that Aerosmith song. But if you’re interested in how an “extinction-level event” might actually go down, Leder’s film is more accurate, bringing strong character drama and real science to the big explosions and space scenes. It’s also notable as the first film in which Morgan Freeman plays the President of the United States.

Related: Morgan Freeman Talks Faith, the Afterlife and The Story of God

Children of Men (2006)

Alfonso Cuarón’s tense and elegant thriller, a critical darling and triple Oscar nominee, brought prestige to the post-apocalyptic sci-fi genre. In the hellscape that London has become after a worldwide infertility crisis, a jaded former activist (Clive Owen) must protect the first pregnant woman in eighteen years (Clare-Hope Ashitey) as she attempts to flee the country.

Take Shelter (2011)

At what point does preparing for the worst become a psychosis? Michael Shannon gives one of his most haunting performances as a blue-collar dad who becomes obsessed with building the perfect storm shelter after experiencing dreams and hallucinations about a coming climate catastrophe. Whether you’re a doomsday prepper or an optimist, the ending will knock the wind out of you.

Melancholia (2011)

For people suffering from depression, the world can feel like it’s always on the verge of ending—and worse, everyone else seems oblivious. Kirsten Dunst gives a barnburner of a performance as a young bride battling depression while a planet called Melancholia threatens to collide with Earth in Lars Von Trier’s lush, operatic drama.

The Day After (1983)

As the Cold War ramped up during the Reagan era, a number of films tried to realistically portray the worst-case scenario of an imminent nuclear attack. Among the films that traumatized a generation are the horrific Threads (1984) and the emotional family drama Testament (1983)—but the most impactful, far and away, was this made-for-television drama from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer. Nearly 100 million viewers tuned in to watch the bombs fall on a cast of middle American characters, and the film reportedly influenced Reagan’s nuclear policies.

12 Monkeys (1995)

Bruce Willis is the star, but Brad Pitt steals the film as Jeffrey Goines, a charismatic, mentally ill conspiracy theorist who may hold the secret to preventing a deadly plague, in Terry Gilliam’s wild, tragic sci-fi drama.

Related: Brad Pitt Gets Candid About Sobriety, Revealing It Was 'Freeing to Expose the Ugly Sides' of Himself 

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Both the original and rebooted Planet of the Apes franchises offer plenty of apocalyptic delights, including the famous last shot of the 1968 film and the clever role-reversal of 1971’s Escape from the Planet of the Apes (in which intelligent apes land on a human-occupied Earth, rather than vice-versa). But the most unforgettable cinematic portrayal of our post-human future can be found in Matt Reeves’ second Apes film, in which stunningly realistic motion-capture primates (including Andy Serkis as Caesar the chimpanzee) wage war with the few remaining humans in decimated San Francisco.

Wall-E (2008)

Pixar’s unique sci-fi film unfolds in a desolate setting: the trash heaps that remain on Earth after humanity has destroyed the natural world and fled. The robot of the title finds his soul through an abandoned VHS copy of the film Hello, Dolly! and eventually gets drawn into a space-hopping adventure—but it’s the film’s near-wordless opening sequence that stays with you.

Noah (2014)

Darren Aronofsky got a lot of flack for his bold take on one of humanity’s original end-of-the-world stories: the tale of Noah’s ark. The writer-director is mostly faithful to the ancient Hebrew text (including odd details like Noah’s drunkenness), layering on spectacular visual effects and the conflicted inner lives of the patriarch (Russell Crowe) and his isolated family. It won’t please everyone, but as filmed biblical epics go, it’s one of the most engaging.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

This is how the world ends: not with a bang, but with an abandoned shopping mall in Pittsburgh. Zombie auteur George Romero’s long-gestating sequel to Night of the Living Dead, in which a small group of survivors attempt to fend off an undead invasion while enjoying what’s left of the mall, is a bloody entertaining satire with a strong critique of consumerism. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to find right now than Zack Snyder’s inferior 2004 remake. (Hint: search YouTube.)

The World’s End (2013)

A dark comedy about the dangers of living in the past, Edgar Wright’s film follows a group of high school friends (including Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who reunite for one last pub crawl in their dead-end hometown—only to find themselves caught up a sinister extraterrestrial takeover.

Contagion (2011)

Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic drama achieved a new resonance 2020, but it was terrifying to begin with—a haunting chronicle of complete societal collapse that takes its all-star cast to hell and back. (The director is reportedly working on a sequel.)

Annihilation (2018)

Deeply mysterious and disturbing, Alex Garland’s haunting sci-fi horror film sends a group of female soldiers (Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny) into a vision of the world’s end like no other: an alien zone called the “Shimmer,” where plants take over human bodies, animals mutate into deadly hybrids, and anyone who enters will end up facing their darkest selves (literally).

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The best of the four films adapted from Suzanne Collins’ YA trilogy, Catching Fire presents the end of the world as a reality-TV nightmare, an endless competition thick with manipulation where no one ever truly wins. Jennifer Lawrence is riveting as Katniss Everdeen, the girl who challenges her country’s tradition of forcing peasants into a deadly spectator sport—and uses a really great dress to foment a revolution.

Related: Jennifer Lawrence Didn't Diet or Work Out for The Hunger Games or X-Men

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Inspired by a very particular time and place in U.S. history, Stanley Kubrick’s bleak, hilarious satire seems to grow more relevant with every decade. A frantic chronicle of military and political officials scrambling to prevent (or capitalize on) an accidental nuclear war, this comedy (starring Peter Sellers in a legendary triple-role performance) captures not just the anxiety and paranoia of the Cold War, but the absurdity.

28 Days Later (2002)

Danny Boyle’s empathetic horror drama begins 28 days after a zombie virus is unleashed on the world, with a hospitalized Cillian Murphy waking up to a decimated, abandoned London. Upon its release, the movie was embraced as a cinematic response to the trauma of September 11, a day that really did feel like the end of the world for many Americans. Although the British film ushered in a whole new era of zombie entertainment, it stands apart for its believable characters and surprisingly hopeful conclusion.

Snowpiercer (2013)

Seven years before winning the best picture and best director Oscars for his Korean-language thriller Parasite, director Bong Joon-ho brought us this fast-paced action film with a novel vision of the world’s end. After scientists trying to stop global warming inadvertently trigger a new ice age, the world’s remaining humans are confined to an enormous train that runs endlessly around the globe, where they are rigidly divided by class. Chris Evans stars as a passenger who leads a revolution from the poorest section of the train, but it’s Tilda Swinton’s offbeat performance as the train’s official spokesperson that steals the film.

Related: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Chris Evans

A Quiet Place (2018) & A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

What does it feel like to be the last family in the world? John Krasinki’s anxiety-inducing thriller gives us a pretty good idea. Starring the Office alum and his real-life wife Emily Blunt, the surprise-hit horror film takes place in a near-future where most of humankind has been killed by monstrous alien invaders, who are blind but have supersensitive hearing. To survive in abandoned upstate New York, the couple and their children attempt to live in complete silence—even during the harrowing birth of a new child. In the sequel, the family must flee their farm and venture to an island where they think they can find safety, battling monsters along the way.

Cloverfield (2008)

A chilling vision of the apocalypse shown entirely through found footage, Matt Reeves’ alien-invasion thriller (produced by J.J. Abrams) gets terrific mileage from the Jaws technique of keeping its monster largely unseen. The shaky-cam can make a person woozy, but the striking images of New York City under siege—the Statue of Liberty’s head rolling into the street, the Brooklyn Bridge collapsing—will stay with you.

This is the End (2013)

This true Hollywood oddity portrays the biblical end times occurring during a celebrity-studded party at James Franco’s Hollywood home. All the actors (including co-director and screenwriter Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, and Craig Robinson) play cringe-y versions of themselves, as the apocalypse drives them to cannibalism, murder and drinking their own pee. If you can make it to the end, you’re rewarded with a vision of heaven that any ‘90s pop fan will appreciate.

Don't Look Up (2021)

Adam McKay's (The Big Short, Anchorman) apocalyptic satire film (that some have pointed out seems closer to reality than satire), stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as astronomers who embark on a media tour to warn the world of a comet coming that will destroy Earth. There are some cringe-laughs with Meryl Streep playing the president and Jonah Hill playing her son/Chief of Staff—as they refuse to take the warnings seriously.

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