Don’t know about you, but there’s something about disaster movies that attracts me like nothing else. Maybe it’s the strange feeling they leave me with, thinking that Earth could one day decide it’s sick and tired of us and wipe us out for good. Or maybe I love to imagine how it could happen, what life would be like afterward, and what kind of people would survive. After all, the best post-apocalyptic movies and books often focus on humanity’s resilience in a crisis and our ability to rebuild what was lost.
An excellent disaster movie has the same basic formula. First, you need a group of relatable characters from different walks of life. Then, throw in a catastrophic event or an extraterrestrial threat, add in some dope special effects and one-liners, and you’ve got a blockbuster.
With fall movies hitting screens, disaster flicks are the perfect addition to your cozy autumn movie lineup. Whether you’re bracing for Mother Nature’s wrath or just enjoying from your couch, these films remind us how small we are when faced with nature’s fury!
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#1 Twister
1996 | 1h 53m | Directed by Jan De Bont
Starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, and Cary Elwes
A group of storm chasers tries to perfect their data-gathering instruments amid a series of intense storms. The flying cow was perhaps the most memorable scene of the film! The whole movie is full of awesome special effects, even if it does manage to find time to explore the awkward romance between the main characters who are on the brink of divorce. Still, it's also a well-told story about the dangers of obsession.
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74points
#2 Deep Impact
1998 | 2h | Directed by Mimi Leder
Starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, and Elijah Wood
On the eve of the 20th century, a 7-mile-wide comet is discovered. It's too late to stop it from hitting Earth, but one team of astronauts manages to launch a last-ditch mission to deflect it. If they fail, the comet will wipe out all life on the planet. Deep Impact was made around the same time as Armageddon, another comet disaster flick, but astronomers consider Deep Impact much more grounded and scientifically accurate.
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73points
#3 Independence Day
1996 | 2h 25m | Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum
One of the most expensive movies ever made at the time of release, this is a classic disaster movie with a sci-fi twist. Alien invaders from outer space threaten the Earth, and only Will Smith's hotshot pilot can save the day. It has enough action, humor, and disaster to entertain viewers for hours! According to producer Dean Devlin, the U.S. military had agreed to support the film by allowing the crew to film at military bases, also consulting the actors who have military roles, but withdrew their support after learning about the Area 51 references in the script.
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70points
#4 The Day After Tomorrow
2004 | 2h 4m | Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ian Holm
This epic disaster movie is a must-watch! It's a combination of sci-fi and action, which is great for those who love both genres. The story revolves around paleoclimatologist Jack Hall. Jack discovers that the melting ice caps are causing a sudden climate change, which will result in extreme weather conditions all over the world and lead to a new ice age. It received mixed reviews from critics but was very popular with moviegoers and ranked 6th among the highest-grossing movies of 2004 in North America.
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67points
#5 Contagion
2011 | 1h 46m | Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet
Contagion, directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a terrifying medical thriller following the world in the middle of a deadly pandemic that could wipe out most of humanity. But it's also an excellent film, with an all-star cast that includes Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. Even if extinction movies are not your cup of tea, it's worth watching.
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67points
#6 Outbreak
1995 | 2h 7m | Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, and Morgan Freeman
A deadly virus from the jungles of Zaire has hit a small town in California and is spreading rapidly. Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo play scientists who try to stop the pandemic before it reaches worldwide epidemic proportions. The film became topical when a real-life Ebola virus outbreak occurred in Zaire when the film was released. An excellent cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Patrick Dempsey makes this movie a must-see.
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66points
#7 Dante's Peak
1997 | 1h 48m | Directed by Roger Donaldson
Starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, and Charles Hallahan
Volcanoes are the focus of Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan as a volcanologist who has to convince a small town that their local volcano is about to erupt. A distribution race broke out with 20th Century Fox, which was producing the movie Volcano at the time. Dante's Peak producers decided to speed up the schedule because of it: the movie reached theaters almost three months earlier than Volcano and beat it at the box office.
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61points
#8 28 Days Later
2002 | 1h 53m | Directed by Danny Boyle
Starring Cillian Murphy, Noah Huntley, and Naomie Harris
The plot depicts the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus. It focuses on the struggle of a group of survivors to cope with the destruction of the life they once knew. The success of 28 Days Later led to a 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later. A third film, 28 Months Later, has been rumored to be in development for years but has been repeatedly delayed.
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60points
#9 The Perfect Storm
2000 | 2h 10m | Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and John C. Reilly
The year 2000 was a big one for disaster movies. Wolfgang Petersen opted for the unforgiving power of the sea. The movie is inspired by the real-life 1991 Perfect Storm that claimed the crew's lives on the Andrea Gail, and their story is told here through a fine ensemble cast including George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. The Perfect Storm is well worth checking out.
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56points
#10 The Poseidon Adventure
1972 | 1h 57m | Directed by Ronald Neame and Irwin Allen
Starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters
The plot centers on the SS Poseidon, an ocean liner on her final voyage from New York City to Athens before being sent to the scrapyard. On New Year's Eve, she is overturned by a rogue tidal wave. Red Buttons and Carol Lynley's characters fall in love during the movie, but the actors actually despised each other. Ironically, after years of being constantly reminded of this, the two became great friends.
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55points
#11 2012
2009 | 2h 38m | Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Amanda Peet
In this disaster film, John Cusack plays a struggling novelist who tries to reconnect with his kids as the world prepares to end in 2012. Meanwhile, Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a geologist trying to convince the government that catastrophic earthquakes are going to wipe out everything. The movie was banned in North Korea because 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leader Il-Sung Kim. Many fans of the movie were arrested for watching pirated copies.
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54points
#12 Armageddon
1998 | 2h 31m | Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Liv Tyler
Armageddon has got a little bit of everything: an asteroid the size of Texas, an oil rig crew saving the world, space shuttles, and so much more. The movie stars Bruce Willis as an oil drilling company owner recruited by NASA. Together with his team, he'll have to drill the asteroid and plant a nuclear bomb to split it before it hits Earth. The real-life NASA shows this movie during their management training program. New managers are tasked to spot as many inaccuracies as possible: at least 168 errors have been found.
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53points
#13 Tremors
1990 | 1h 36m | Directed by Ron Underwood
Starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and Finn Carter
Tremors is a small-town horror film that defies expectations at every turn. The movie follows two handymen who try to save a town from underground monsters and, in the process, become unlikely heroes. Kevin Bacon is excellent as the leading man, and co-star Fred Ward is equally entertaining. Tremors is far more humorous than it should be considering the genre but also features enough scares to satisfy horror movie fans.
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52points
#14 Backdraft
1991 | 2h 17m | Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh
With an impressive cast, Backdraft is the story of two brothers, played by Kurt Russell and William Baldwin, who operate as firefighters in Chicago. Despite not getting along, they decide to work together to investigate a string of arsons. This movie is full of great action scenes and lots of drama, not to mention Robert De Niro's outstanding performance.
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49points
#15 The Birds
1963 | 1h 59m | Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, and Suzanne Pleshette
Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror revolves around the sudden, inexplicable violent attacks of birds against the people living in a small town in California. Unlike other creatures of destruction, the birds have no ulterior motive. They're just furious! The Birds was deemed culturally significant in 2016 and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
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48points
#16 Volcano
1997 | 1h 44m | Directed by Mick Jackson
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, and Gaby Hoffmann
Who doesn't love Tommy Lee Jones? He plays Mike Roark, the man handling a brewing volcano in Los Angeles. The movie features plenty of lava and scenes with Jones trying to avoid falling into rivers of molten rock, which is always good for a laugh. However, it also has an inspiring message: when disaster strikes, people aren't scared; they're angry. And when they get angry, they come together to fight back.
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47points
#17 The Towering Inferno
1974 | 2h 45m | Directed by John Guillermin and Irwin Allen
Starring Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and William Holden
The 1970s were the heyday of disaster films, and The Towering Inferno is one of the best. It's got a solid dramatic plot involving a colossal building that catches fire at its opening party, an all-star cast (including Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, and Fred Astaire), and even a bit of humor. It was produced by Irwin Allen, known for disaster movies in the '70s, including The Poseidon Adventure and The Swarm.
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44points
#18 World War Z
2013 | 1h 56m | Directed by Marc Forster
Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, and James Badge Dale
In addition to being a well-rounded zombie apocalypse film, World War Z is an intense and compelling thriller. The plot is gripping, the pacing superb. There are some genuinely terrifying moments. The cast is great, with Brad Pitt turning in an excellent performance as protagonist Gerry Lane, who travels the world trying to find a cure for the zombie plague that has infected almost every human on Earth. Definitely a must-watch for disaster movie fans.
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44points
#20 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
1978 | 1h 55m | Directed by Philip Kaufman
Starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy
In one of the most successful remakes of all time, director Philip Kaufman takes the concept of mind control on a large scale and invigorates it with a heady dose of paranoia and some dark humor. Donald Sutherland's character does his best to convince the world that people are being replaced by emotionless clones, but no one believes him until it's too late. One of the best disaster movies of all time.
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42points