If You Loved Interstellar, Watch These 8 Next. Yes, Even the Slow One.

You cried at the video messages. You argued about the bookshelf. Here's where to point that energy next, ranked, with zero physics homework required.

Number one is the movie Interstellar borrowed from, and it's slower.

1. 8
   Aliens (1986)9.4

   Space is scarier when the crew actually has a plan.

   Same lonely-crew-far-from-Earth dread, plus Sigourney Weaver doing everything right. A 9.4 movie.guru score on an $18.5M reported budget. Interstellar has TARS; this one has Lance Henriksen.
2. 7
   Back to the Future (1985)9.5

   The best time-travel movie never needed a physics lecture.

   Time is the villain and family is the stakes, just like Interstellar. Zero equations, a 9.5 movie.guru score, $19M reported budget. Nolan could take notes on pacing.
3. 6
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)9.0

   The best sci-fi tearjerker barely leaves the suburbs.

   Interstellar wrecked you with a kid and a goodbye. Spielberg did it first with a bike and a glowing finger. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, A+ CinemaScore.
4. 5
   Project Hail Mary (2026)9.2

   Gosling saving Earth is funnier than Interstellar ever tried.

   Same last-hope-for-humanity mission, now with actual jokes. 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, $684.5M worldwide. The catch: a $248M reported budget keeps it playing safer than it should.
5. 4
   The Martian (2015)9.0

   Interstellar with the homework shown and the crying removed.

   Stranded astronaut, science that matters, Jessica Chastain on both payrolls. $630.6M worldwide and a 9.0 movie.guru score. It's the sunnier sibling, maybe a little too sunny.
6. 3
   The Empire Strikes Back (1980)9.4

   The bleakest middle chapter in space is still the best one.

   A space epic that opens on an ice planet and lets the heroes lose ground, very Interstellar. 9.4 movie.guru score, A+ CinemaScore, made for a reported $18M.
7. 2
   Inception (2010)8.3

   Nolan's better movie, and Interstellar fans secretly know it.

   Same director, same time-bending rules explained by very worried people. $839.8M worldwide, 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Weakness: the heart is thinner than a dad crying at a monitor.
8. 1
   2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)9.3

   Interstellar is the cover song. This is the original.

   Same silent space, same AI on the crew, same trip past human understanding. 9.3 movie.guru score from 1968. Yes, it's slow. Interstellar fans forfeited the right to complain about slow.

$1,489 says someone in the comments types "where's Arrival" before scrolling past #8.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it