Some of the greatest movies of this era are science fiction films that have romantic elements, with some films focusing on displaying what happens when love and technology (and often, fantasy) mix. Fans looking for romantic sci-fi movies to watch during date night or just on a chill day can turn to award-winning classics and underrated gems that blend these two genres flawlessly.

The best sci-fi romance films explore novel and often fantastical concepts and how they influence, create, and change the way people (and other sentient beings) love each other. The ones fans of the genre shouldn’t miss include classics like Blade Runner and even animated films like Wall-E.

15 'Vanilla Sky' (2001)

Director: Cameron Crowe

One of the most iconic movies to use the overdone trope, "it's all a dream," Vanilla Sky revolves around the wealthy publisher David Aames (an underrated Tom Cruise character), whose life is forever changed after a disastrous car accident. A facial disfigurement and an encounter with a beautiful woman, Sofia Serrano (Penélope Cruz), force him to rethink and rebuild his once-perfect life. In the process, he realizes that his reality may not be as real as he thought.

An eccentric blend of mystery, sci-fi, and romance, Vanilla Sky heavily relies on David and Sofia's relationship to highlight the inconsistencies in the protagonist's bizarre reality. It's his experiences with Sofia that compel David to delve deeper into the strange occurrences around him, which soon lead to the big twist ending.

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14 'Passengers' (2016)

Director: Morten Tyldum

Director Morten Tyldum’s Passengers takes place on an interstellar ship carrying people to a colony. When two people – Jim Preston (Chriss Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) – mysteriously wake up from hibernation 90 years earlier than they should have, their quest to discover what went wrong leads to a dark truth about their fates. The two must come to terms with their new path and eventually find romance in their unexpected situation.

While Passengers is far from being a perfect film, it does manage to blend together science fiction, romance, comedy, drama, and even survival thriller genres in a commendable way. Jim and Aurora’s relationship is exciting thanks to the striking backdrop that is space and the intriguing challenge they must face, with their main enemy being time itself.

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13 'Another Earth' (2011)

Director: Mike Cahill

A grossly underrated sci-fi movie, director Mike Cahill's Another Earth follows the story of Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a young woman whose life is turned upside down after she causes a car accident that kills a mother and her child. After her time in prison, Rhoda obsesses over the other Earth – the appearance of which partly caused the accident – and enters an essay contest where the winner gets a ticket to the planet. Along the way, Rhoda tries to make peace with her past by reconciling with the man who lost his wife and child in the accident.

What Rhoda (and likely viewers) never expects is to fall for the man, John Burroughs (William Mapother), and she's soon caught in a romantic relationship built on a lie. The complexity and emotional depth of this relationship make everything else fade into the background. Another Earth manages to use the grand sci-fi element of a duplicate planet appearing out of nowhere as a backdrop for an intimate and brilliantly twisted love story.

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12 'The Lobster' (2015)

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster is a bizarre and beautiful film (and among the best dystopian romance movies) that takes place in a bleak future where people who are single are sent to a hotel and given 45 days to find a partner – those that don’t are turned into an animal of their choice and sent into the woods. Amidst the pressure and stressful environment, David (Colin Farrell) finds himself falling for someone he shouldn’t.

After he meets someone simply called the “Short Sighted Woman” (Rachel Weisz), they bond over their mutual vision impairment. What transpires between them is nothing short of a wacky, comedic, and heartfelt ride that’s intertwined with the very systems they’re trying to destroy. The duo must overcome their differences in The Lobster to survive the strange dystopian world that just won't let their kind of love thrive.

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11 'I Origins' (2014)

Director: Mike Cahill

I Origins is centered on the molecular biologist, Ian Gray (Michael Pitt), who is obsessed with studying everything there is to know about the human eye. When he meets the carefree model Sofi Elizondo (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), the two fall in love. A tragic accident leaves her dead and Ian embarks on a mission to prove the one thing Sofi always believed in (and that the two disagree on) – reincarnation is real.

Directed by Mike Cahill, I Origins is a beautiful attempt at merging science, romance, and spirituality – the film manages to highlight the importance of love and connection on a grand scale. While its message gets a little murky, and the film definitely doesn't base on actual science, it does manage to be a moving portrait of love and loss, as well as the lengths people will go to in the face of incomprehensible heartache.

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10 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' (2006)

Director: Mamoru Hosoda

Among the best non-Ghibli animated movies, director Mamoru Hosoda's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time tells the story of an average high school student, Makoto Konno, whose life becomes spectacular when she discovers she can time travel. Using her newfound power without much thought, Makoto sets out to fix her past mistakes and improve the lives of those around her. When she finds herself falling for her best friend, Chiaki Mamiya, things get complicated.

Makoto and Chiaki's messy relationship is inextricably linked with the film's take on the popular sci-fi topic, time travel. Several twists and turns centered on their romance are based on time-traveling mistakes the duo makes over the course of the film. This all culminates in a satisfying ending that makes the entire twisty fiasco worth watching.

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9 'About Time' (2013)

Director: Richard Curtis

About Time is an often-overlooked film about time travel. Directed by Richard Curtis, it follows Tim Lake’s (Domhnall Gleeson) experiences after learning that the men in his family can travel back through time. He soon has fun figuring out what he can do to change his past, but soon learns that every action has unpredictable consequences for the future.

Through it all, Tim discovers numerous things about time travel with Mary (Rachel McAdams), a woman he quickly falls in love with after a chance encounter. As Tim and Mary’s relationship progresses, the protagonist begins to understand that time travel doesn’t make him (and those he loves) invincible. About Time focuses on these profound and emotional moments that make life worth living, as well as the small romantic things that make up a great relationship.

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8 'Edward Scissorhands' (1990)

Director: Tim Burton

Often cited alongside the most iconic 90s movies, Edward Scissorhands is an award-winning classic directed by Tim Burton. It tells the tale of the eponymous protagonist (played by Johnny Depp), who was left unfinished by his creator and finds himself welcomed into the suburban home of a well-meaning family.

Directed by Tim Burton, the romance that blossoms between Edward and the family’s daughter Kim is critical to the story. His relationship with her further emphasizes both his astounding strengths and unique shortcomings. He may be an incomplete science experiment, but Edward is just as capable of love as an ordinary person. Edward Scissorhands is not just an eccentric love story, but an ode to being different.

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7 'Arrival' (2016)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Director Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival revolves around Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist who is chosen by the government to assist them in communicating with aliens. The extraterrestrial creatures have complex language, which governments from around the globe are raising to decipher as tensions rise between world leaders. Alongside Louise through this journey is the physicist, Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), as the two of them courageously work with the aliens to understand what they want.

A shockingly brilliant twist soon reveals there’s more to their relationship than meets the eye, with their romance inextricably linked to a tool that can change the planet. It's impossible to talk about their love story in Arrival without spoiling a crucial part of the plot, but audiences can go into the film confident that it will deliver the unexpected.

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6 'Gattaca' (1997)

Director: Andrew Niccol

Gattaca’s world is one where eugenics has been normalized and people’s DNA defines their future. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the widely acclaimed movie follows Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), one of the numerous born as “In-Valids.” Since he isn’t a “Valid,” Vincent has little to no hope of fulfilling his lifelong ambition to go to space. While coming up with a way to make his dream come true, he meets the Valid, Irene Cassini (Uma Thurman). She may be a Valid, but she’s hindered by a mistake from before she was born that increases her chances of heart failure.

Their budding romance isn’t just engrossing, but it also further underscores the messed up injustices that Vincent and Irene go through on a daily basis. Their love story is infused with tragedy and a technology that's far too plausible, making it even more terrifying. Hawke and Thurman are an unlikely pair, but nevertheless work as a mesmerizing duo on the big screen.

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5 'Avatar' (2009)

Director: James Cameron

Director James Cameron's Avatar is an epic sci-fi movie that sparked the massive franchise beloved by fans from around the world today. The original movie sees Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine, take part in a mission on the alien planet of Pandora. His goal is to infiltrate and gain the trust of an alien race, the Na'vi, but soon finds himself falling for a local woman, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Jake soon realizes how terrible humans are to the Na'vi and decides to fight alongside Neytiri, depending their romantic bond in the process.

Avatar is a lot of things – an action-packed movie, a commentary on the environment, and a CGI marvel – but, at its core, it is about Jake and Neytiri's unforgettable love story. It's Cameron's take on the tried and tested enemies-to-lovers film trope set against incredible futuristic technologies and a strikingly gorgeous planet.

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4 'Blade Runner' (1982)

Director: Ridley Scott

Blade Runner is a classic 80s movie that’s set in a dystopian future where the nefarious Tyrell Corporation manufactures synthetic humans to work in space colonies. Directed by Ridley Scott, it follows the story of the disillusioned detective Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who’s tasked with finding a group of rebellious replicants led by Roy Batty.

The protagonist’s encounter and subsequent romantic relationship with the replicant Rachael (Sean Young) is crucial to the story. Rachael initially thinks that she’s actually human, which eventually transforms the way Deckard sees replicants. Although it isn't the most talked about aspect of Blade Runner, Deckard and Rachael's romantic entanglement has a huge role to play in the way the story unfolds. Their powerful connection is something that still haunts Deckard in Blade Runner 2049.

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3 'Her' (2013)

Director Spike Jonze’s Her follows the lonely letter-writer, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), who tries out a new operating system after a painful breakup. He meets the AI, Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), who is unbelievably fun, witty, and sweet. She transforms him in ways he never expected a virtual character could.

Lauded for being groundbreaking and provocative when it was first released, the film is still worth watching again just to see the strange but fascinating relationship between Theodore and Samantha. It’s both an intimate and somber portrait of a soft dystopia and an expansive and philosophical film that can delight and move audiences with its quiet emotional moments.

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2 'Wall-E' (2008)

Director: Andrew Stanton

Pixar’s Wall-E is a movie that needs no introduction. Directed by Andrew Stanton, the animated film is centered on the eponymous robot protagonist, who is left alone on a trash-covered earth with his friend cockroach. His mundane daily routines are interrupted when Eve arrives from outer space and soon, the two robots embark on an exhilarating journey that defines humankind’s future.

Eve and Wall-E are an iconic couple in large part because of the impressive way they display humanlike emotions and romantic gestures (like handholding). Pixar excels in conveying incredible human emotions through its non-human animated characters, with Wall-E and Eve being no exception. Plus, the film's adventure narrative makes it it’s impossible not to root for the adorable Wall-E and feel excitement when Eve begins to like him back.

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1 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)

Director: Michel Gondry

Director Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a cult classic that takes place in a world where the technology to erase memories exists. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) angrily decides to remove any trace of his ex-girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) from his mind, as he finds out that she has done the same to him. What follows is a mind-bending journey inside Joel’s mind, as he is forced to relive his experiences with Clementine starting from the most recent (worst) ones to the oldest (loving) moments.

The legendary film takes viewers on an original trip through the subconscious while serving as a reminder that love and heartbreak aren’t as different in value as they seem. Eternal Sunshine has a non-linear narrative structure that perfectly complements its grounded sci-fi love story, with Joel and Clementine's complicated relationship being painfully relatable.

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NEXT: The Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked