(Photo by Think Film /Courtesy Everett Collection)
The moon and the Earth: Name a more iconic duo in the galaxy. They’ve been around for almost as long as each other, separated by a mere 30 million years. They rotate in synchronicity. And sometimes the moon blocks the Sun for some cool Earth shade. You don’t see Jupiter and Titan being such BFFs. And we hear Oberon and Uranus aren’t even on speaking terms.
And for as long as Earth’s greatest, overachieving inhabitants have gifted themselves the invention of cinema, we humans have sought to depict the moon on screen. 1902’s A Trip to the Moon created the movies’ first iconic single image, a rocket ship face-planted in a crater, mythologizing the moon as sphere of whimsy, wonder, and fantasy. After July 20, 1969, the moon was gifted a new definition, one of scientific achievement and human triumph.
On the 50th anniversary of the moon landing by a crew of three American astronauts with the full power of NASA behind them, Rotten Tomatoes pays tribute with every moon movie to ever sprout its own Tomatometer. These are narrative movies set on the moon (H.G. Wells’ First Men in the Moon, Airplane II: The Sequel), and about going to the moon (First Man, Apollo 13), and expansive documentaries (In the Shadow of the Moon, For All Mankind). They’re also movies about the moon landing itself, like The Dish and Moonwalkers. And we’re featuring movies where the moon is significantly visited (2001: A Space Odyssey, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), or where the moon is thematically woven into the plot, such as A Walk on the Moon or Under the Same Moon.
Ready to make a spacewalk to Earth’s closest and oldest friend? Then hop in for our guide to 38 moon movies — we guarantee you’ll be over the proverbial celestial satellite!
#1
Adjusted Score: 100%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#2
Adjusted Score: 100.727%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#3
Adjusted Score: 33.066%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#4
Adjusted Score: 105.403%
Critics Consensus: Edifying and inspiring in equal measure, Apollo 11 uses artfully repurposed archival footage to send audiences soaring back to a pivotal time in American history.
Starring:
#5
Adjusted Score: 98.762%
Critics Consensus: A feel good movie without an abundance of mush.
#6
Adjusted Score: 100.804%
Critics Consensus: In recreating the troubled space mission, Apollo 13 pulls no punches: it’s a masterfully told drama from director Ron Howard, bolstered by an ensemble of solid performances.
#7
Adjusted Score: 98.242%
Critics Consensus: Director David Sington poetically interwove 20th Century’s cosmonautic history with its effect on the public’s view of their country, their heroes and their future.
#8
Adjusted Score: 104.547%
Critics Consensus: One of the most influential of all sci-fi films — and one of the most controversial — Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the ingenuity — and folly — of mankind.
#9
Adjusted Score: 97.511%
Critics Consensus: Eerily prescient in its presentation of a dystopian future, Things to Come’s special effects may be somewhat dated, but its potent ideas haven’t aged at all.
#10
Adjusted Score: 93.949%
Critics Consensus: The Last Man on the Moon takes a justifiably reverent look at a largely unexplored chapter in the history of American space exploration — and a side of astronaut’s lives that’s rarely considered.
#11
Adjusted Score: 93.364%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#12
Adjusted Score: 95.636%
Critics Consensus: Bursting with Terry Gilliam’s typically imaginative flourishes, this story of a possibly deranged Baron recounting his storied life is a flamboyant and witty visual treat.
#13
Adjusted Score: 95.873%
Critics Consensus: Boosted by Sam Rockwell’s intense performance, Moon is a compelling work of science-fiction, and a promising debut from director Duncan Jones.
#14
Adjusted Score: 88.205%
Critics Consensus: This inspirational 3D IMAX film approximates for audiences what it is like to set steps on the moon.
#15
Adjusted Score: 105.603%
Critics Consensus: First Man uses a personal focus to fuel a look back at a pivotal moment in human history – and takes audiences on a soaring dramatic journey along the way.
#16
Adjusted Score: 82.019%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#17
Adjusted Score: 25.085%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#18
Adjusted Score: 86.616%
Critics Consensus: Borrowing heavily (and intelligently) from Pixar and Looney Tunes, Despicable Me is a surprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat with a few surprises of its own.
#19
Adjusted Score: 59.619%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#20
Adjusted Score: 48.725%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#21
Adjusted Score: 67.244%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#22
Adjusted Score: 75.917%
Critics Consensus: If Under the Same Moon is often manipulative, it is also heartfelt, and features strong performances from its leads.
#23
Adjusted Score: 72.853%
Critics Consensus: An impressive showcase for Diane Lane and an assured debut from director Tony Goldwyn, A Walk on the Moon finds absorbing period drama within a family at a crossroads.
#24
Adjusted Score: 71.284%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#25
Adjusted Score: 69.499%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#26
Adjusted Score: 60.826%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#27
Adjusted Score: 59.654%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#28
Adjusted Score: 54.427%
Critics Consensus: Provides lots of laughs with Myers at the healm; as funny or funnier than the original.
#29
Adjusted Score: 43.16%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#30
Adjusted Score: 43.105%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#31
Adjusted Score: 42.61%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#32
Adjusted Score: 38.603%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#33
Adjusted Score: 42.943%
Critics Consensus: Its special effects — and 3D shots — are undeniably impressive, but they aren’t enough to fill up its loud, bloated running time, or mask its thin, indifferent script.
#34
Adjusted Score: 31.998%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#35
Adjusted Score: 37.235%
Critics Consensus: It’s undeniably visually impressive, but like its predecessor, Independence Day: Resurgence lacks enough emotional heft to support its end-of-the-world narrative stakes.
#36
Adjusted Score: 25.486%
Critics Consensus: A boring, suspense-free Paranormal Activity rip-off that feels long even at just 90 minutes.
#37
Adjusted Score: 14.28%
Critics Consensus: The Superman series bottoms out here: the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot’s going.
#38
Adjusted Score: 5.942%
Critics Consensus: The Adventures of Pluto Nash is neither adventurous nor funny, and Eddie Murphy is on autopilot in this notorious box office bomb.
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