# What is the best space opera movie of all time?

> 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!

*By YPB Team · Published June 3, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-space-opera-movie-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **The Empire Strikes Back (1980)** — score 1000/1000
   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.
2. **Galaxy Quest (1999)** — score 652/1000
   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Star Trek parody in which actors from a cancelled sci-fi show are recruited by actual aliens who watched it as a historical document — beloved by fans and critics alike.
3. **Flash Gordon (1980)** — score 652/1000
   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.
4. **Dune: Part One (2021)** — score 503/1000
   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.
5. **Return of the Jedi (1983)** — score 391/1000
   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.
6. **Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)** — score 391/1000
   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.
7. **Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)** — score 391/1000
   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.
8. **The Fifth Element (1997)** — score 235/1000
   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.
9. **Interstellar (2014)** — score 235/1000
   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.
10. **Avatar (2009)** — score 235/1000
   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.
11. **Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)** — score 1/1000
   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.
12. **2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)** — score 1/1000
   Stanley Kubrick's transcendent philosophical space epic — the bone, the spacecraft, HAL 9000, the stargate sequence — redefined what science fiction film could be.
13. **Dune: Part Two (2024)** — score 1/1000
   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.
14. **Serenity (2005)** — score 1/1000
   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.

Tags: movies, sci-fi, space, classics