Mars Movies

There exist a number of science fiction movies with a Mars theme as well as a number of non-fiction documentary films related to Mars. A select list of the best known Mars Science Fiction movies is provided in the table below. The table is sortable chronologically, by Cumulative World-wide Gross earnings or by the ranking of the movies provided by Imdb members. A zero is entered in rows for which either or both of Gross Earnings or Imdb ratings are not given at the Imdb site [1].

There is an extensive listing and summary of these and other movies at the marsmovieguide site maintained by Gerry Williams of the TMS-SD chapter.

Film	Year	Imdb Rating	Cum. Worldwide Gross $M	Description
2036 Origin Unknown	2018	4.5	0	After a failed mission to Mars, A.I./ARTI is now used for the 2036 mission with a few human supervisors. A monolith of unknown origin is found there. It will have a big effect on Earth.
A Trip to Mars	1910	0	0	The short film, 4 minutes in length, stars a professor who uses an antigravity powder to float to Mars, where he encounters aggressive trees and a giant creature. The creature then sends him back to Earth, but the powder spills and the whole laboratory flies in the sky.
A Trip to Mars	1918	6.6	0	An adventurer travels to Mars in a ship of his own construction, and finds the planet’s inhabitants living harmoniously.
Aelita	1924	6.5	0	In the silent film, a man travels to Mars and leads a popular uprising against the authorities and attracts the love of Queen Aelita.
Christmas on Mars	2008	5.4	0	The film tells the story of experiences during the first Christmas on a newly colonized Mars.
Conquest of Space	1955	5.7	0	A team of American astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie	2001	7.9	0	The feature film spin-off of the Japanese anime series is set on Mars.
Doom	2005	5.2	56	Based on the video game series Doom, a group of Marines embark on a search-and-rescue mission after a research facility on Mars is attacked.
Escape from Mars	1999	4.7	0	Five astronauts make the first human trip to Mars.
Flight to Mars	1951	5.2	0	A human expedition team lands on Mars and discovers an underground civilization that is dying out.
Ghosts of Mars	2001	4.9	14	On a mostly terraformed Mars, a team of police officers search for missing miners and discover that they have been possessed by spirits from an ancient Martian civilization.
It! The Terror from Beyond Space	1958	6.1	0	At the beginning of the film, the sole survivor of a human mission to Mars is recovered by a second rocket ship, but a monster stows away on board for the trip back to Earth.
John Carter	2012	6.6	284	Based on the 1912 novel A Princess of Mars, former American Civil War Confederate Army captain John Carter is transported to Mars and becomes involved in a conflict between its inhabitants.
Just Imagine	1930	5.4	0	A young man is in love with a woman and must impress government officials to marry her. To do this, he travels to Mars with this best friend, and they are accompanied by a stowaway.
Life	2017	6.6	100	Horror movie with little Mars content. The film follows a six-member crew of the International Space Station that uncovers the first evidence of life on Mars.
Mars Needs Moms	2011	5.4	39	In the animated film, a boy’s mother is abducted by Martians, and he pursues them back to Mars to rescue her.
Martian Land	2015	2.3	0	The direct-to-video science fiction film is set on Mars in the future, and humans live in domed cities that become threatened by sandstorms.
Mission Mars	1968	4.5		Three astronauts travel to Mars on an expedition but encounter strange forces on the planet.
Mission to Mars	2000	5.7	111	A rescue mission is sent to Mars to recover the sole survivor of a scientific expedition, and the astronauts learn that Mars is not a dead planet.
Princess of Mars	2009	3.1	0	In a modern-day update of the 1912 novel A Princess of Mars, the direct-to- DVD film features former U.S. Army sniper John Carter being transported to Mars and becoming involved in a conflict between its inhabitants.
Red Planet	2000	5.7	33	When a terraforming project on Mars goes awry, a rescue mission is sent to fix the system but crash-lands on the planet.
Robinson Crusoe on Mars	1964	6.5	0	The film, based on the survival story Robinson Crusoe, features an astronaut stranded on Mars.
RocketMan	1997	5.9	15	In the comedy film, a substitute astronaut joins the first human mission to Mars with the goal of finding fossils.
Rocketship X-M	1950	4.9	0	Rocketship Expedition-Moon is accidentally hurtled beyond Luna on a trajectory towards Mars. Ship and crew touch down briefly on the Red Planet, where they encounter the survivors of a nuclear war.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians	1964	2.6	0	In the comedy film, Martians kidnap Santa Claus and two children and bring them back to Mars.
Special Report: Journey to Mars	1996	5.1	0	The first mission to Mars is accompanied by a reporter that does regular television reports. The commander of the mission is discovered to have been infected by a group against the mission. He survives and in the last scene he sees something on the surface of Mars that is not shown to the audience.
Species II	1998	4.4	19	In the science fiction horror film, the beginning shows a human mission to Mars in which alien ooze infects the first American man to walk on Mars. The astronaut unknowingly brings the infection back to Earth, where it spreads to others.
Star Crystal	1986	3.5	0	The science fiction film introduces an expedition to Mars, from which scientists recover an alien egg and take to their ship.
Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars	2017	5.5	0	The computer-animated science fiction film, one of several in the Starship Troopers franchise, features a demoted general stationed on Mars who has to train poorly-performing troopers. The military has to confront alien bugs that decide to target Mars.
Stranded(Spanish: Náufragos)	2001	5.4	0	A human mission to Mars crash-lands on the planet, stranding the crew.
The Angry Red Planet	1959	5.3	0	Astronauts who return to Earth after a human flight to Mars recount encountering hostile creatures, with only two surviving the encounter.
The Last Days on Mars	2013	5.5	0.2	On the first human mission to Mars, a crew member discovers fossil evidence of bacterial life. When contact is lost with him, the rest of the crew investigates and learns that there is still life on the planet.
The Martian	2015	8	630	A human mission to Mars goes awry, and an astronaut is presumed dead and left behind on the planet by his crew. He fights to survive in the harsh environment and to signal to others that he is still alive. Upon discovering his signal, NASA, scientists all around Earth, and his crew members collaborate to find a way to rescue him.
The Space Between Us	2017	6.4	15	In the science fiction film, humanity successfully colonizes Mars, and a colonist gives birth to a boy who ultimately travels back to Earth.
The Wizard of Mars	1965	3.4	0	A rocketship crew is stranded on Mars, and they travel through a ruined civilization before they find a yellow road that leads to a Martian city and a wizard who can help them.
Total Recall	1990	7.5	261	Loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”, a man recovers the memory of being a secret agent and travels to Mars to figure out his true identity.
Total Recall	2012	6.3	198	Remake of the 1990 movie
Watchmen	2009	7.6	185	In the superhero film mainly set on Earth, the superpowered being Dr. Manhattan exiles himself to Mars after being accused of causing cancer in those in his company.