When it comes to science fiction, audiences love to have their minds blown as they are transported to unimaginable worlds with unthinkable scenarios. Whether lost in space or racing for safety from zombies, sci-fi films have provided audiences with a thrill for decades. Wherever the film takes us, it serves as an escape from the here and now.

io9 picks its favorite genre movies of the year, including 'KPop Demon Hunters,' 'Superman,' 'Bugonia,' and more. It’s that time of the year again. The time of year when we look at all of the movies we watched over the past 12 months and pick the best of the best. Welcome to the best sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies of 2025.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, one of 2025’s very best sci-fi movies, is available to watch in cinemas right now. The movie is the third entry in the legendary writer-director James Cameron’s Avatar franchise. The film series is set in the mid-22nd century and revolves around humanity’s attempted colonisation of the alien moon Pandora.

Conversely, many classic Christmas movies are not explicitly sci-fi, yet several of them have science fiction elements. In a certain sense, any movie involving Santa or miracles falls into the science fiction or fantasy genre. Some classics have even more sci-fi elements, even though they were not intended to be part of the genre at all.