The best space opera movies
The top 3 according to 106 votes from people: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) · Star Wars (1977) · Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). (Updated Feb 12, 2026.)
Galactic empires, starship battles and chosen ones: from The Empire Strikes Back and The Wrath of Khan to Dune: Part Two and Galaxy Quest, the space operas ranked by Collider and IMDb users.
Top 13
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1
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Irvin Kershner. Hoth, Dagobah and 'I am your father'.
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2
Star Wars (1977)
George Lucas. The film that defined the genre.
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3
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Nicholas Meyer. Kirk against Khan.
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4
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
James Gunn. A band of misfits and a mixtape.
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5
The Fifth Element (1997)
Luc Besson. A cab driver saves the universe.
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6
Dune (2021)
Denis Villeneuve. House Atreides arrives on Arrakis.
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7
Avatar (2009)
James Cameron. The Na'vi of Pandora.
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8
Galaxy Quest (1999)
Dean Parisot. TV actors mistaken for real heroes.
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9
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Denis Villeneuve. Paul Atreides and the Fremen war.
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10
Flash Gordon (1980)
Mike Hodges. Queen's soundtrack and Ming the Merciless.
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11
Starship Troopers (1997)
Paul Verhoeven. Soldiers against giant bugs.
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12
The Last Starfighter (1984)
Nick Castle. A video game champion recruited for a real war.
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13
Spaceballs (1987)
Mel Brooks. The parody of them all.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (1)
Galaxy Quest being on a serious space opera list is the best thing I've seen today. Never give up, never surrender!