The Top 15 Best Sci-Fi Gladiator Movies

Have you ever noticed that when we tell stories about the distant future, they tend to reflect the distant past? Perhaps it’s a lack of imagination, an innate inability to predict the unpredictable, or perhaps it’s just in our cynical nature to assume that the mistakes of the past will inevitably be repeated. Even truly disgusting mistakes like deadly gladiator games.

Gladiator arenas are most commonly associated with Ancient Rome, of course, and Oscar-winning movies like Spartacus and Gladiator, but more often than not nowadays they end up in sci-fi movies. Even the superhero sequel Thor: Ragnarok throws its title superhero, and The Hulk no less, into a coliseum to pummel each other for the sake of a roaring crowd.

Also: The Top 25 Best Serial Killer Movies Ever Made

And if it’s good enough for the God of Thunder, it’s good enough for a bunch of other movies. Some are blockbusters, some cult favorites, some truly obscure (but totally awesome). So take a look at the best films in one of our favorite subgenres! Here are our picks for The Top 15 Best Sci-Fi Gladiator Movies (actually sixteen, if you count our honorable mention).

The Top 15 Best Sci-Fi Gladiator Movies

Top Photos: TriStar Pictures / Marvel Studios / Lionsgate

William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on Canceled Too Soon and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.

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