There’s definitely a lack of quantity among the sci-fi movies on HBO Max. But at least the films that are there are pretty good.
This month, HBO Max is the beneficiary of a deal with Disney’s 20th Century Studios that brought a pair of movies from two of the studios’ most iconic science fiction properties.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best movies in that franchise, while Alien: Covenant … exists.
You can find both of these films among the Watch With Us team’s picks for the must-watch sci-fi movies on HBO Max right now.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the Best New Movies on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and More, the Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now, the Best Movies on Hulu Right Now and Best Movies on Netflix Right Now.
‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ (2011)
It was probably inevitable that James Franco — or a character played by Franco — would cause the end of the world as we know it. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the origin story for Caesar (Andy Serkis), an intelligent ape adopted by Dr. Will Rodman (Franco) after his Alzheimer’s research led to some unexpected results.
Will only wanted to help people and he treated Caesar like a son. However, Caesar doesn’t fit in with humans or apes. And as a deadly pathogen is set loose among the humans, Caesar sees his chance to remake the world in his image thanks to Will’s research.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Alien: Covenant’ (2017)
Alien: Covenant is a weird hybrid of a sequel to Prometheus and a prequel to Alien. There are better Alien movies, of course, but it’s the only one on HBO Max, and it’s still better than most of the other sci-fi films streaming there.
Michael Fassbender has a dual role in this film as the malevolent android David from Prometheus and his more heroic counterpart, Walter. A decade after the Prometheus disappeared, Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Walter and the crew of the Covenant stumble across a world that once belonged to the Engineers. Thanks to David, this planet is now overrun by xenomorphs, and the chances of the crew’s survival are rapidly dropping.
Alien: Covenant is streaming on HBO Max.
‘In Time’ (2011)
In Time imagines a world where time itself has replaced money as the currency of choice. Naturally, the rich hoard time and remain eternally young while the poor barely have enough time to survive. Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) belongs to the latter group until a chance encounter with Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) leaves him flush with time.
Timekeeper Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) mistakenly believes that Will has murdered Henry. Instead, Henry gave Will a chance to bring down the entire economic system, and he doesn’t intend to waste it.
In Time is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Fahrenheit 451’ (2018)
The name of Fahrenheit 451 comes from the temperature that books burn, and it was written by the late Ray Bradbury as a cautionary tale about a possible future. Michael B. Jordan leads this HBO original adaptation as Guy Montag, a fireman whose only job is to burn books.
A young woman named Clarisse McClellan (Sofia Boutella) changes Guy’s perspective and makes him want to save books from being burned. That’s not going to sit well with Guy’s boss, Captain John Beatty (Michael Shannon), and there are always consequences fro going up against the system.
Fahrenheit 451 is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Mickey 17’ (2025)
Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is willing to do anything to go to space and be a part of a new colony world. Unfortunately for the title character of director Bong Joon Ho‘s Mickey 17, that usually means doing all of the dirty work of space travel. And that often results in Mickey’s death.
Although he suffers some horrible fates, Mickey’s never been happier after he’s continuously cloned and restored. Mickey may even find love with Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie), one of the security agents on the mission. Everything’s turning up roses until one of Mickey’s clones returns after a seemingly fatal mission. Now, the two Mickeys will have to determine which of them should survive.
Mickey 17 is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Inception’ (2010)
Christopher Nolan‘s Inception has an ending that’s still being debated 15 years after its release. That wouldn’t happen if the story surrounding the film wasn’t equally compelling. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, who makes his living stealing insider secrets from corporate victims by going into their dreams and navigating their subconscious.
Cobb’s latest client, Saito (Ken Watanabe), makes an offer he can’t refuse to infiltrate the mind of his business rival, Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), and infect him with an idea he believes to be his own. It’s supposedly impossible for Cobb and his team to pull that off, and if anything goes wrong, they may be lost in someone else’s dream.
Inception is streaming on HBO Max.
‘The Terminator’ (1984)
James Cameron considers The Terminator to be his true directorial debut, and it turned out to be one of the all-time great sci-fi films. A young Arnold Schwarzenegger is absolutely terrifying as the T-800 terminator model who has been sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). But not before killing two other Sarah Connors just to be sure he got the right one.
Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier from the future, follows the terminator back in time to protect Sarah on behalf of her future son, John. He’s the one who gets to explain the stakes to Sarah and what will happen to humanity if John is never born. But the terminator itself is a relentless foe that will never stop coming after them unless they stop it first.
The Terminator is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Companion’ (2025)
The story of Companion‘s lead characters, Iris (Heretic‘s Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid), could have been a charming rom-com — if it were real. Iris feels she has the perfect soulmate in Josh until she learns that she isn’t really his girlfriend. Instead, Iris is an AI-powered android programmed to believe she was in love with Josh.
Iris may not be a person, but she can still feel betrayal and anger. Josh used her, but he made some critical mistakes that left Iris with the ability to manipulate and enhance her own programming. For Iris, these self-improvements aren’t just an evolution of her very being; they’re essential to her survival.
Companion is streaming on HBO Max.
‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)
Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut) and Arthur C. Clarke‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey still feels ahead of its time nearly six decades after its release. The conflict between the A.I. known as HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain) and two astronauts, David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), is especially prescient. The astronauts catch HAL in an error, and the AI becomes increasingly unhinged and paranoid about their intentions towards it.
The larger mission that David and Frank have embarked upon has implications for the past and future of humanity. An enigmatic alien monolith is broadcasting a signal to Jupiter. What awaits is one of the most mind-bending sequences ever put to film.
2001: A Space Odyssey is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Dredd’ (2012)
Dredd had a considerably smaller budget than its predecessor, the 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sylvester Stallone. That’s why the futuristic city of Mega-City One is considerably less advanced in the reboot. What this film lacks in flash and spectacle, it makes up for with action and a script that’s largely true to the British comic characters that inspired the movie.
Karl Urban gives a commanding performance as Dredd in a world where Judges have replaced police, juries and executioners. Olivia Thirlby co-stars as Cassandra Anderson, a psychic Judge on her evaluation mission with Dredd. During a routine investigation, the two Judges are locked in a massive apartment complex controlled by drug lord Madeline “Ma-Ma” Madrigal (Lena Headey). Their only way out is by fighting their way up, no matter what Ma-Ma has waiting for them on each floor.
Dredd is streaming on HBO Max.
‘The Martian’ (2015)
There’s a distinct lack of Martians in The Martian, or aliens of any kind. Instead, this Ridley Scott adaptation of Andy Weir‘s novel is a gripping story of survival about Mark Watney (Matt Damon), an astronaut on the Ares III mission to Mars who was accidentally left behind on the red planet and forced to fend for himself.
Although some dramatic liberties are taken, the film and the novel largely use real science to explain how Watney can survive long enough to be rescued. Jessica Chastain costars as Commander Melissa Lewis, the woman in charge of the Ares III mission. Lewis wouldn’t have abandoned Watney if she knew he was still alive. Once Lewis and her crew learn the truth, they have to figure out if they should obey orders and return to Earth or make an attempt to save Watney themselves.
The Martian is streaming on HBO Max.
