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| Scene from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) ranked number one post-apocalyptic film of all time. |
Welcome
to our Reel Fives pre-launch movie rankings for the best post-apocalyptic
movies of all time. Post-Apocalyptic movies had an impressive 103 published
rankings with 106 movies. Reel Fives has taken all of those rankings and
aggregated them into definitive rankings for the top post-apocalyptic movies.
For each ranked list of top movies for the post-apocalyptic movie genre we
found online we have taken the top five ranked films. The original sources of
rankings on top post-apocalyptic movies are included at the bottom of this post
and include rankings of the best movies in the genre created by movie experts
as well as rankings from polling sites, such as ranker.com.
What
happens when the world ends? Who lives? What does destruction look like? Who
has power? Post-apocalyptic films seek to answer some of these questions and
create new worlds. Power struggles are essential to post-apocalyptic films
because the ordinary rules of life no longer matter. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), the all-time best
post-apocalyptic film, showcases a power struggle between an oil rich town and
bandits. Max (Mel Gibson) defends the town from the bandits. The Road (2009), ranked second,
showcases a different power struggle. With few resources such as food, water,
and medicine, a man (Viggo Mortenson) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) head south
to get the boy help. Along the way they come across people who want their food
or their lives. Children of Men (2006),
ranked third, chronicles the miraculous journey of a pregnant woman in a world
where people are infertile. The film asks whether or not life can exist when
life has already been written off. Here the power struggle is between life and
extinction of the human race. The top three films underscore the importance of
the different struggles humans face in a post-apocalyptic world.
Humans
are not the only ones affected by a post-apocalyptic world. The film industry has
gone beyond humans to animals and nature, thus diversifying the genre. Planet of the Apes (1968), ranked
fourth, turns the tables on humans by enslaving them to the apes. The movie is
monumental because it gave power to animals; intelligent apes set the rules of
society and humans are on the bottom, not the top. Wall-E (2008), ranked eighth, follows a robot sent to clean up
Earth after humans had to abandon it. In the process, he falls in love with
another robot that was sent to Earth to see if humans can come live on it
again. This tear jerker animated children’s film has major themes of what it
means to take care of the Earth. Nature is a powerful force. Post-apocalyptic
films accept nature’s dominating power. Be it an earthquake that devastates the
California coast or the gray skies, nature determines the course. A failed
climate experiment kills most of the human race in Showpiecer (2013), ranked fourteenth. While humans attempted to
control nature, nature struck back, and harder. Post-apocalyptic films show how
humans could respond to nature and the power nature has over humanity.
The
rankings did not surprise us as most of these films are popular in the genre.
The Mad Max franchise has strong
influence in the rankings, though it does not take other top spots. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ranked twelfth
and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
ranked fifteenth. This may be due in part to the fact that Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) came out this year and most of the
sources we used were published before the movie came out. The rankings show
that audiences prefer variety and not series film. Considering The Terminator (1984) ranked sixteenth
and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
ranked twentieth, audiences and critics prefer plotlines that can conclude in
one film. The film industry continues to develop plots centering on plagues and
disease that kill humanity and we expect that to impact rankings as they master
the plot line.
| Top 106 Post-Apocalyptic Movies based on 103 published rankings | |
| Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown | |
| 1 . Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981): 53.3% | |
| 2 . The Road (2009): 35.9% | |
| 3 . Children of Men (2006): 27.1% | |
| 4 . Planet of the Apes (1968): 23.3% | |
| 5 . 28 Days Later (2002): 23.3% | |
| 6 . 12 Monkeys (1995): 23.3% | |
| 7 . The Book of Eli (2010): 20.3% | |
| 8 . WALL-E (2008): 19.4% | |
| 9 . Mad Max (1979): 17.4% | |
| 10 . I Am Legend (2007): 17.4% | |
| 11 . Dawn of the Dead (1978): 15.5% | |
| 12 . Mad Max: Fury Road (2015): 14.5% | |
| 13 . The Matrix (1999): 14.5% | |
| 14 . Snowpiercer (2013): 12.6% | |
| 15 . Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985): 11.6% | |
| 16 . The Terminator (1984): 9.70% | |
| 17 . A Boy & His Dog (1975): 9.70% | |
| 18 . Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964): 8.73% | |
| 19 . Escape From New York (1981): 8.73% | |
| 20 . Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): 5.82% | |
| 21 . Waterworld (1995): 5.82% | |
| 22 . The Omega Man (1971): 5.82% | |
| 23 . Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978): 5.82% | |
| 24 . Delicatessen (1991): 5.82% | |
| 25 . The Last Man on Earth (1964): 4.85% | |
| 26 . Akira (1988): 4.85% | |
| 27 . The Stand (1994): 3.88% | |
| 28 . Day of the Dead (1985): 3.88% | |
| 29 (tied). World War Z (2013): 3.88% | |
| 29 (tied). Damnation Alley (1977): 3.88% | |
| 31 . The Divide (2012): 2.91% | |
| 32 (tied). Threads (1984): 2.91% | |
| 32 (tied). Zombieland (2009): 2.91% | |
| 34 (tied). La Jetee (1962): 2.91% | |
| 34 (tied). Blade Runner (1982): 2.91% | |
| 36 (tied). Resident Evil (2002): 2.91% | |
| 36 (tied). The Postman (1997): 2.91% | |
| 38 (tied). The Day of The Triffids (1981): 2.91% | |
| 38 (tied). Logan's Run (1976): 2.91% | |
| 40 . Pacific Rim (2013): 1.94% | |
| 41 . Carriers (2009): 1.94% | |
| 42 (tied). The Walking Dead (2010): 1.94% | |
| 42 (tied). Oblivion (2013): 1.94% | |
| 44 (tied). Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010): 1.94% | |
| 44 (tied). After Earth (2013): 1.94% | |
| 44 (tied). Brazil (1985): 1.94% | |
| 44 (tied). Shaun of the Dead (2004): 1.94% | |
| 48 (tied). 9 (2009): 1.94% | |
| 48 (tied). Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984): 1.94% | |
| 50 (tied). Soylent Green (1973): 1.94% | |
| 50 (tied). Night of the comet (1984): 1.94% | |
| 52 . Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014): 1.94% | |
| 53 . Doomsday (2008): 1.94% | |
| 54 (tied). A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). The Day After (1983): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). A Canticle for Leibowitz (1950): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Metropolis (1927): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Things to Come (1936): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). LA Antena (2007): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Idiocracy (2006): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Take Shelter (2011): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). The Rover (2014): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Warriors Of The Wasteland (1982): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). The Mist (2007): .970% | |
| 54 (tied). Night of the Living Dead (1968): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). On the Beach (1959): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). A Clockwork Orange (1971): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). The Day After Tomorrow (2004): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). Resident Evil: Extinction (2007): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). A Wind Named Amnesia (1993): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). This is the End (2013): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). The New Barbarians (1983): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). Silent Running (1972): .970% | |
| 66 (tied). Lord of The Flies (1954): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). The City of Lost Children (1995): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1959): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). The Salute of the Jugger (aka The Blood of Heroes) (1989): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). The War of the Worlds (1953): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Equilibrium (2002): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Stalker (1979): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Zardoz (1974): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Six-String Samurai (1998): .970% | |
| 76 (tied). Watchmen (2009): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). 2012 (2009): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). The Quite Earth (1985): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). Stalker (1979): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). REC (2007): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). Turbo Kid (2015): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). Testament (1983): .970% | |
| 88 (tied). The Andromeda Strain (1971): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Contagion (2011): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Stake Land (2010): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). District B13 (2004): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). The Maze Runner (2014): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). The Hunger Games (2012): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Cloverfield (2008): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Armageddon (1998): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Panic in Year Zero! (1962): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Gattaca (1997): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). Goodbye, 20th Century! (1998): .970% | |
| 95 (tied). 1990: Bronx Warriors (1982): .970% | |
| Post-Apocalyptic Movie Ranking Sources | |
| IMDb | List of top 127 (link) |
| Indie Wire | List of top 9 (link) |
| Movie Review Query Engine | List of top 46 (link) |
| Men's Journal | List of top 14 (link) |
| Share Ranks | List of top 20 (link) |
| GQ | List of top 16 (link) |
| Nothing Uncut | List of top 20 (link) |
| List Challenges | List of top 50 (link) |
| Cheat Sheet | List of top 8 (link) |
| Sky Movies | List of top 25 (link) |
| Flick Chart | List of top 50 (link) |
| Ranker | List of top 63 (link) |
| Taste Of Cinema | List of top 10 (link) |
| Other Worlds Austin | List of top 20 (link) |
| Ebay | List of top 10 (link) |
| Entertainment Weekly | List of top 5 (link) |
| The Mad Movie Man | List of top 10 (link) |
| Forever Geek | List of top 5 (link) |
| Mubi | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Chive | List of top 17 (link) |
| Movie Pilot | List of top 10 (link) |
| Time Out | List of top 10 (link) |
| List of top 10 (link) | |
| The Lineup | List of top 8 (link) |
| Peccadillo Pictures | List of top 5 (link) |
| Top2040 | List of top 25 (link) |
| The Healing Touch | List of top 10 (link) |
| Hype | List of top 7 (link) |
| Ten Awesome | List of top 10 (link) |
| Way to Indie | List of top 12 (link) |
| Decider | List of top 10 (link) |
| O, PISH POSH! | List of top 10 (link) |
| Movie Cultists | List of top 5 (link) |
| Tech-media-tainment | List of top 30 (link) |
| Stumble Upon | List of top 10 (link) |
| TopTenReviews | List of top 10 (link) |
| JoBlo | List of top 10 (link) |
| Smell Like Infinite Sadness | List of top 20 (link) |
| The Dallas Morning News | List of top 10 (link) |
| Listal | List of top 37 (link) |
| Blastr | List of top 18 (link) |
| Entertainment Fuse | List of top 10 (link) |
| Coming Soon | List of top 10 (link) |
| Next Movie | List of top 15 (link) |
| The Busybody | List of top 10 (link) |
| Tips On Life And Love | List of top 10 (link) |
| IMDb | List of top 40 (link) |
| FanSided | List of top 5 (link) |
| ChaCha | List of top 10 (link) |
| Blogs | List of top 10 (link) |
| Coppell Student Media | List of top 10 (link) |
| EggVan | List of top 25 (link) |
| The Movie Network | List of top 5 (link) |
| Top 10 List | List of top 10 (link) |
| Abaddon Books | List of top 5 (link) |
| About Entertainment | List of top 10 (link) |
| 411 Mania | List of top 8 (link) |
| What Culture | List of top 10 (link) |
| Flux | List of top 5 (link) |
| Geek Mash | List of top 5 (link) |
| Entertainment Weekly | List of top 49 (link) |
| Blood Stained Ink | List of top 50 (link) |
| Wasteland Weekend | List of top 10 (link) |
| Ptsnob | List of top 5 (link) |
| Senscritique | List of top 25 (link) |
| Electronic Media Diaries | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Movie Network | List of top 10 (link) |
| Man, I Love Films | List of top 10 (link) |
| Pop Break | List of top 10 (link) |
| Nerds On The Rock | List of top 7 (link) |
| D-Infinity | List of top 5 (link) |
| ListVerse | List of top 10 (link) |
| Outer Places | List of top 7 (link) |
| Mubi | List of top 46 (link) |
| The Full Wiki | List of top 191 (link) |
| DC Comic Movies | List of top 10 (link) |
| Angels Fancy Dress | List of top 5 (link) |
| Examiner | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Nerd Machine | List of top 10 (link) |
| Open Air Cinema | List of top 5 (link) |
| Rusty Cab | List of top 5 (link) |
| Listly | List of top 11 (link) |
| Stuff | List of top 25 (link) |
| MSN | List of top 40 (link) |
| Godlike Productions | List of top 100 (link) |
| Iso Hunt | List of top 23 (link) |
| IMDb | List of top 5 (link) |
| Aberro Specus | List of top 5 (link) |
| Film Phonic | List of top 5 (link) |
| MTV | List of top 5 (link) |
| Nick Buraglio | List of top 5 (link) |
| Chrome + Dust | List of top 5 (link) |
| Next Wednesday Instead | List of top 5 (link) |
| Wapnor | List of top 5 (link) |
| Primera.e-Sim | List of top 5 (link) |
| Itchy Fish | List of top 5 (link) |
| Fwdder | List of top 5 (link) |
| Joblo | List of top 10 (link) |
| University Times | List of top 10 (link) |
| The Bit Maelstrom | List of top 10 (link) |
| Doug On Tap | List of top 10 (link) |
| Egg Pen | List of top 5 (link) |
| Omega Group Consultants | List of top 11 (link) |
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