Dystopia. A concept that anybody who took a literature class should be more than a little familiar with. To put it simply for those who are unfamiliar with the term, a dystopia is the antithesis of a utopia. Where a utopia is a perfect society where every problem has been solved, a dystopia is a perfect society that is operated by those problems, often creating an oppressive environment for the less fortunate. The concept is omnipresent in stories like1984,Fahrenheit 451,Brave New World, and more. Given that those three examples alone are some of the most influential pieces in modern storytelling, it’s no surprise that many movies have taken inspiration from dystopic stories.
Netflix in particular has played around with dystopian ideas in its various hit shows, with the most obvious example beingBlack Mirror. The science fiction anthology series consistently explores not just the dangers of new technology, but the human people who seek to abuse it. The show even explored the topic of AI in filmmaking and television in a Season 6 episode, which is something that isa major point of contention in the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
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The Giver (2014)
Release Date:June 09, 2025 |Run Time:1 hour 37 minutes |Director:Phillip Noyce
Starring:Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Odeya Rush, and Cameron Monaghan
What better way to start off a list of dystopian movies than a film based on a wildly popular dystopian book? Based on theLois Lowrynovel of the same name,The Giveris a high-concept drama that sees a seeming utopia begin to unravel due to a young boy named Jonas (Brenton Thwaites). His community chooses Jonas to be the next Giver, a spot currently held by an old man (Jeff Bridges) whom Jonas befriends. The job of The Giver is to hold onto the emotions and memories of the community to maximize efficiency, all in the closet of losing their own humanity.
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Don’t Look Up (2021)
Release Date:August 02, 2025 |Run Time:2 hours 18 minutes |Director:Adam McKay
Starring:Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, and Ariana Grande
Though a bit more modern than your average dystopian story,Adam McKayemploys the satirical lessons learned fromThe Big ShortandViceto deliver a biting social commentary withDon’t Look Up. Two respected astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Dr. Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discover that a massive comet capable of annihilating all life on Earth is hurling towards the planet. Despite relaying this information to their colleagues, the media, and even the President of the United States (Meryl Streep), they learn the hard way that even the globe’s elite would rather put lives at risk to make a quick buck.
Starship Troopers (1997)
Release Date:June 10, 2025 |Run Time:2 hours 9 minutes |Director:Paul Verhoeven
Starring:Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, and Clancy Brown
IsStarship Troopersan unbelievably silly movie about space marines fighting alien bugs? Absolutely. Is it also a secretlyvery clever commentary on fascism and the human need to conquer and control? Certainly. Clever themes in sci-fi blockbusters is a specialty thatRobocopdirectorPaul Verhoevendisplays inStarship Troopers, with various soldiers quickly learning that there are worse things in the universe than the Klendathu Arachnids.
Dune (1984)
Release Date:June 06, 2025 |Run Time:2 hours 17 minutes |Director:David Lynch
Starring:Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Brad Dourif, Linda Hunt, Everett McGill, Patrick Stewart, and Sting
Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 renditionDuneis better thanDavid Lynch’s ill-fated 1984 version in every way. Still, the 1984 film does stay relatively true to the epic Shakespearian story of House Atreides. Young Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) finds himself becoming the leader of his house when they enter a war with the dreaded Harkonens, each of whom is vying for control on the desert planet of Arakis. The more Paul trains to become a hero, the more he risks descending into villainy.
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
Release Date:July 10, 2025 |Run Time:1 hour 54 minutes |Directors:Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Starring:Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Eric André, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, and Beck Bennett
Probably the most family-friendly a movie with dystopian elements can get,The Mitchells vs the Machinesis a brilliant exploration of the family unit and how advances in technology have affected it. Young Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) is eager to find her own place in college, but her controlling dad Rick (Danny McBride), overprotective mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), and awkward little brother Aaron (Michael Rianda) want to take her to school on a cross-country road trip. They’ll need to put aside their differences soon, as a cellphone AI named PAL (Olivia Colman) has decided to take over the world with her army of robots. Now, only the Mitchells can stop her.
Gamer (2009)
Release Date:July 02, 2025 |Run Time:1 hour 35 minutes |Directors:Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Starring:Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Ludacris, Amber Valletta, Kyra Sedgwick, Logan Lerman, Alison Lohman, and Terry Crews
Gamertakes violence in video games to a whole new level. As punishment for their alleged crimes against humanity, convicts in the world ofGamerare thrust into a gladiator-type arena and fight to the death for the amusement of others. The twist comes in when these convicts' movements are controlled by pilots on the outside, leading the convict named Kable (Gerard Butler) to put his faith in a young teen controller named Simon (Logan Lerman).
Nimona (2023)
Release Date:July 19, 2025 |Run Time:1 hour 41 minutes |Directors:Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Starring:Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, and RuPaul
Netflix really struck gold with their recent animated hit,Nimona- a gorgeously animated fantasy-science fiction hybrid complete with brilliant characters. A young shapeshifter Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz) hopes to become a supervillain and seeks out the notorious criminal knight Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed). It’s only after she meets Ballister that she learns the noble knight is completely innocent, and the two form an indelible partnership to prove that to the world.
Okja (2017)
Release Date:June 03, 2025 |Run Time:2 hours |Director:Bong Joon Ho
Starring:Seo-hyun Ahn, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, and Jake Gyllenhaal
Classism has always been something that Parasite director Bong Joon Ho has explored, and we see that in a slightly more science fiction sense with the sometimes adorable and sometimes horrificOkja. It’s the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s take on the classic “kid and their magical/scientific creature” plot line, where a young girl Mija (Seo-hyun Ahn) forms an unbreakable bond with a genetically enhanced super-pig. When the creators of the pig come to collect their property, Mija learns first-hand just how cruel humans can be.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Release Date:June 24, 2025 |Run Time:2 hours 17 minutes |Director:James Cameron
Starring:Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, and Joe Morton
The originalThe Terminatoris great, butTerminator 2: Judgment Dayis an action-sci-fi masterpiece. The saga of Skynet’s crusade continues (and probably should have ended), as they have now sent an advanced liquid T-1000 (Robert Patrick) to go back in time and assassinate future resistance leader John Connor (Edward Furlong). To combat this, the future resistance reprograms an older T-800 model (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to go back in time to protect the boy, as well as prevent the creation of Skynet.
Annihilation (2018)
Release Date:August 13, 2025 |Run Time:1 hour 55 minutes |Director:Alex Garland
Starring:Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Benedict Wong, and Oscar Isaac
Nature and science collide within the mind-bending thrills ofAnnihilation. When biologist Lena (Natalie Portman) sees her soldier husband Kane (Oscar Isaac) come home sick and changed, she is contacted by the government. Kane and his squad were sent into a mysterious anomaly zone that is changing the DNA and characteristics of life on Earth. Along with a ragtag team of fellow scientists, Lena goes in to solve the mystery of this place and cure her husband.
