Best Movies About the End of the World

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

10. Planet of the Apes (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (172,247 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (119,124 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (59 reviews)
> Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner

Based on a French novel, the original “Apes” film follows three astronauts who awaken from deep space hibernation while traveling across the universe. They crash-land on an unknown planet and learn that they have been asleep for over 2,000 years. On the planet, humans seem unintelligent and unable to communicate while primates can speak and have formed an advanced society.

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (422,887 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (204,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (315 reviews)
> Directed by: Matt Reeves

The second film in the rebooted franchise portrays a planet where a virus has left the majority of humans dead and society in collapse. Meanwhile, apes that have been in imbued with advanced intelligence are immune to the virus. The two groups come into conflict as they try to survive.

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

8. Delicatessen (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (85,313 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (25,000 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet

“Delicatessen” is a French post-apocalyptic black comedy about the inhabitants of an apartment building living through desperate times. On the ground floor is a butcher’s shop that secretly lures in job seekers and slaughters them to sell their flesh as meat. However, one such job seeker turns out to be a great employee and starts a romantic relationship with the butcher’s daughter.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

7. Children of Men (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (479,501 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (531,198 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (255 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Women have lost the ability to have children, leading to a society completely unraveling and descending into chaos. The film combines beautiful cinematography with deep philosophical questions about why humanity keeps going. Critic David Edelstein simply said “it’s a wow.”

Source: Courtesy of Universal Studios

6. 12 Monkeys (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (595,919 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (391,252 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (72 reviews)
> Directed by: Terry Gilliam

This is a time-bending psychological thriller in which humanity has been decimated and forced underground by a deadly human-made virus in the year 2035. Prisoner James Cole is selected to travel in time back to 1996 to find the original virus and help scientists create a cure. As he skips through time, he begins to unravel the mystery of humanity’s downfall. Actor Brad Pitt was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.