Last Updated on 9 February 2025

The following list is a snapshot of society’s current opinions of the 150 best survival movies of all time.

I found 21 different ranked lists online of “best survival movies of all time” and pulled them all into Excel and merged them all to get this definitive compilation. See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including links to all 12 lists that were averaged. Below is a checklist you can print to track which ones you’ve seen, followed by the ranked list with links to IMDb.

Best Survival Movies – Viewing ChecklistDownload
  1. Cast Away (2000)
  2. The Revenant (2015)
  3. 127 Hours (2010)
  4. The Martian (2015)
  5. Into the Wild (2007)
  6. The Grey (2011)
  7. Life of Pi (2012)
  8. The Road (2009)
  9. Gravity (2013)
  10. Apollo 13 (1995)
  11. Kon-Tiki (2012)
  12. Alive (1993)
  13. The Edge (1997)
  14. The Way Back (2010)
  15. Jaws (1975)
  16. Alien (1979)
  17. Touching the Void (2003)
  18. All Is Lost (2013)
  19. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
  20. Predator (1987)
  21. Rescue Dawn (2006)
  22. Buried (2010)
  23. A Quiet Place (2018)
  24. The Impossible (2012)
  25. 28 Days Later (2002)
  26. The Wages of Fear (1953)
  27. Everest (2015)
  28. Deliverance (1972)
  29. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  30. Children of Men (2006)
  31. I Am Legend (2007)
  32. Jungle (2017)
  33. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
  34. Lone Survivor (2013)
  35. The Pianist (2002)
  36. Society of the Snow (2023)
  37. Eight Below (2006)
  38. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
  39. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
  40. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
  41. No Escape (2015)
  42. Old (2021)
  43. The Endless Trench (2019)
  44. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
  45. Aliens (1986)
  46. Green Room (2015)
  47. This Is the End (2013)
  48. Dunkirk (2017)
  49. Wild (2014)
  50. Unbroken (2014)
  51. Captain Phillips (2013)
  52. The Shallows (2016)
  53. North Face (2008)
  54. Open Water (2003)
  55. Southern Comfort (1981)
  56. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
  57. Lifeboat (1944)
  58. The Book of Eli (2010)
  59. Swiss Army Man (2016)
  60. 1917 (2019)
  61. The Omega Man (1971)
  62. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
  63. Meek’s Cutoff (2010)
  64. Apocalypto (2006)
  65. The Mountain Between Us (2017)
  66. The Naked Prey (1965)
  67. Titanic (1997)
  68. 65 (2023)
  69. A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
  70. Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
  71. Deep Water (2022)
  72. Walkabout (1971)
  73. The Wild Robot (2024)
  74. The Descent (2005)
  75. The Rescue (2021)
  76. Quest for Fire (1981)
  77. The Snow Walker (2003)
  78. Don’t Move (2024)
  79. The Wave (2015)
  80. The Perfect Storm (2000)
  81. Train to Busan (2016)
  82. Room (2015)
  83. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
  84. Lord of the Flies (1990)
  85. World War Z (2013)
  86. Gerald’s Game (2017)
  87. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
  88. Bird Box (2018)
  89. A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
  90. Man in the Wilderness (1971)
  91. The Towering Inferno (1974)
  92. Utoya: July 22 (2018)
  93. Panic Room (2002)
  94. Mad Max (1979)
  95. The Last Man on Earth (1964)
  96. The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
  97. Papillon (1973)
  98. The Mist (2007)
  99. Behind Enemy Lines (2001)
  100. Cloverfield (2008)
  101. The Hunger Games (2012)
  102. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
  103. Pitch Black (2000)
  104. Ready or Not (2019)
  105. Speed (1994)
  106. First Blood (1982)
  107. Hell in the Pacific (1968)
  108. The Road Warrior (1981)
  109. Prey (2022)
  110. Reign of Fire (2002)
  111. Defiance (2008)
  112. Fires on the Plain (1959)
  113. Lord of the Flies (1963)
  114. Letter Never Sent (1960)
  115. Outside (2024)
  116. Triangle of Sadness (2022)
  117. Zombieland (2009)
  118. The River Wild (1994)
  119. The Postman (1997)
  120. The Red Turtle (2016)
  121. The Sea Wolf (1941)
  122. War of the Worlds (2005)
  123. Double Jeopardy (1999)
  124. The Black Phone (2021)
  125. Air Force One (1997)
  126. Mysterious Island (1961)
  127. Castaway on the Moon (2009)
  128. Kon-Tiki (1950)
  129. Never Let Go (2024)
  130. The Platform (2019)
  131. Cold Meat (2023)
  132. Riddick (2013)
  133. Breathe (2024)
  134. Waterworld (1995)
  135. The Hunt (2020)
  136. Das Boot (1981)
  137. The Naked Jungle (1954)
  138. Surviving the Game (1994)
  139. The Day After (1983)
  140. Duel (1971)
  141. Frozen (2010)
  142. The Outlaw and His Wife (1918)
  143. The Pelican Brief (1993)
  144. Crawl (2019)
  145. Unstoppable (2010)
  146. Cube (1997)
  147. Robinson Crusoe (1954)
  148. Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
  149. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
  150. White Squall (1996)

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