From flying sharks to Mayan predictions, these disaster movies have it all (2025)

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12. Sharknado (2013)

There’s something thrilling and comforting about watching a movie you know isn’t very good. Campy, cringy disaster movies like Sharknado are perfect situations for popcorn munching and relaxing with friends and family on a summer night. Ian Ziering stars as the protagonist who is placed in a version of Los Angeles overwhelmed with hurricanes made up of sharks. The plot is as ridiculous as it sounds, but if you have the right mindset going in, you’re sure to enjoy this film as it never takes itself too seriously. Five sequels followed on the SyFy channel in the years after this 2013 original.

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11. 2012 (2009)

Remember at the beginning of the 2010s when we were all worried the world was going to end in on December 21, 2012, because that’s what the Mayans predicted in about 600 B.C.? This movie uses that bit of paranoia to throw a whole lot of disaster movie tropes at the audience. John Cusack plays a family man who tries his best to escape the chaos ensuing around the planet with his family in tow. The special effects in this film are top-notch, especially for the time period.

10. Don't Look Up (2021)

More of a political commentary than a true disaster movie, Don’t Look Up is filled to the brim with some of the biggest names in Hollywood today. Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep are just two of the stars who litter the cast list. The plot follows a potential doomsday threat that nobody actually believes is going to occur despite the warnings from scientists who have knowledge of the threat. A release that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic helped to make the satire in this film even sharper, as the virus was a real world-changing time period that many people refused to believe was a danger to society.

9. Contagion (2011)

Want an even more on-the-nose depiction of COVID-19-like events in fiction? Contagion is about as close to the real deal as it gets. Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon are two of the big names in this film about a virus that takes hold of the planet and won’t let go. Humanity’s reaction to the event is foreboding and helped to create insight into what we would really act like in the event something like this occurred, and then it obviously did.

8. Twister (1996)

A disaster movie that doubles as a comedy of remarriage, Twisterfollows two storm chasers, or one storm chaser and one reformed storm chaser, as they track the storm of the century. All that spurs the plot into motion is one man trying to get his divorce finalized, but the result is a wonderful action adventure that features dynamite central performances from Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt.Twisteris not a heavy, serious movie. It’s mostly pretty light on its feet, and while not all of the effects hold up, the vibes that the movie elicits absolutely do.

7. Deep Impact (1998)

If you want a space disaster movie with a far-fetched premise that still has some scientific truth to it, Deep Impact is the answer. Scientists detect a comet approaching Earth and try their best to rid it before it destroys humanity’s only home. Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall turn in stellar performances.

6. Armageddon (1998)

With a similar premise to Deep Impact but with a lot more fluff, Armageddon came out during the same summer as Mimi Leder’s film and made a lot more money. Bruce Willis is a NASA scientist who tries to take out an asteroid about to crash into the planet. The presence of Michael Bay meant not much adherence to science and a lot of special effects to get his point across.

5. Take Shelter (2011)

Take Shelteris either a movie about an impending disaster or a man suffering from severe mental illness, but part of the movie’s point is that those two things can feel remarkably similar. Starring Michael Shannon as a man who begins to have dreams that he feels are prophetic,Take Shelteris about a family that slowly falls apart as he becomes convinced that the apocalypse is coming. Jessica Chastain matches Shannon beautifully, and while nothing all that disastrous happens during the runtime of Take Shelter, the movie hinges on the question of whether it eventually could.

4. Everest (2015)

Climbing Mount Everest is one of the world’s largest physical and mental undertakings. Everest is based on the unfortunate 1996 Mount Everest climbing season that saw many adventurers perish on the mountain. The interpersonal relationships between the characters add to the already-rich drama. John Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air gives more details about the people and events in this movie.

3. This Is the End (2013)

Sometimes disaster movies try too hard to be prophetic or impactful. This Is the End makes sure to rib the movie producers who decide to make these types of films by taking advantage of the chemistry between Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Jonah Hill as they try to escape Los Angeles in the middle of the apocalypse comedically. This comedy remains a fixture on Netflix today because of its sharp humor and unique tone.

2. The Birds (1963)

Classics are always worth returning to, and Alfred Hitchcock knew how to depict horror better than anyone in the 1960s and beyond. The Birds creates an end-of-world scenario where birds mysteriously and incessantly attack a Californian community. The movie makes an otherwise mundane and weird scenario much more defined and refined than the plot synopsis makes it out to be.

1. Titanic (1997)

The ultimate romance movie of the 1990s and beyond is the second highest-grossing movie ever for a reason. People love the poignant portrayal of love and loss in Titanic, and the disastrous glacier that ruined the real ship’s maiden voyage still captivates people endlessly all these decades later. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s chemistry is remarkable in the three-plus-hour story.

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