What is the best space opera movie of all time?

By YPB Team

Galaxy-spanning epics, intimate human stories set against the cosmic backdrop, and some of cinema's most technically ambitious productions — from the films that invented the genre to those that reinvented it. Cast your vote!

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Irvin Kershner's darker, richer sequel deepening every character and delivering 'I am your father' — widely considered the greatest sequel ever made and the pinnacle of the Star Wars saga.

1000pts

Flash Gordon (1980)

Mike Hodges's campy, Queen-scored cult classic adapting Alex Raymond's comic strip — Max von Sydow's Ming the Merciless, Brian Blessed's winged Vultan — joyously excessive.

749pts

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Dean Parisot's affectionate Star Trek parody in which actors from a cancelled sci-fi show are recruited by actual aliens who watched it as a historical document — beloved by fans and critics alike.

749pts

Dune: Part One (2021)

Denis Villeneuve's breathtaking first half of Frank Herbert's novel — Paul Atreides arrives on Arrakis — the most visually majestic science-fiction film in decades.

642pts

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

George Lucas's universe-building original — the Millennium Falcon, lightsabers, John Williams's score, and the Death Star trench run — the film that defined the space opera genre for a generation.

562pts

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

James Gunn's irreverent Marvel space opera transforming a B-list comic team into a beloved cultural phenomenon, blending cosmic adventure with 70s mixtape nostalgia.

562pts

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Richard Marquand's concluding chapter of the original trilogy — the Ewok controversy aside — completing Luke Skywalker's arc and delivering the redemption of Darth Vader.

562pts

Interstellar (2014)

Christopher Nolan's emotional and scientifically rigorous epic about a crew of astronauts who travel through a wormhole to find humanity's new home, anchored by a father's love across time.

449pts

The Fifth Element (1997)

Luc Besson's exuberantly designed pop-art space opera set in 23rd-century New York, with Bruce Willis's cab driver, Milla Jovovich's divine being, and Gary Oldman's opera-loving villain.

449pts

Avatar (2009)

James Cameron's revolutionary 3D spectacle set on the bioluminescent moon Pandora, the highest-grossing film of all time and a visual milestone regardless of its narrative simplicity.

449pts

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubrick's transcendent philosophical space epic — the bone, the spacecraft, HAL 9000, the stargate sequence — redefined what science fiction film could be.

281pts

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Luc Besson's staggeringly imaginative adaptation of the French bande dessinée — the Big Market sequence alone is one of the most inventive things put on screen in the 2010s.

281pts

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Villeneuve's complete and shattering continuation — Paul embraces his destiny as the Lisan al Gaib — delivering one of the greatest sci-fi films ever committed to screen.

0pts

Serenity (2005)

Joss Whedon's theatrical continuation of the cancelled Firefly series, giving the crew of the Serenity their big-screen moment and revealing the horrifying secret behind the Reavers.