One Of The Best Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time Has Arrived On Netflix & It's A Must-Watch

Published Sep 3, 2026, 3:54 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Netflix is the streaming service to go through this weekend for one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, which has just dropped on the streamer alongside many other exciting entries, and years later, it remains a must-watch. Sci-fi movies come in many different subgenres and formats. Some are flashier and with high concepts, while others are simpler and more straightforward. Nevertheless, there is a sci-fi corner for everyone to explore, and the genre never ceases to come up with exciting releases. In recent years, projects like Silo, Severance, Stranger Things, Dune: Prophecy, The Mandalorian, Andor, and more have led to a surge in popularity for sci-fi TV shows on streaming. That said, many iconic sci-fi movies remain worth watching. Sure, the genre has come up with intriguing releases on the big screen in recent years, like Ryan Gosling's hard sci-fi masterpiece Project Hail Mary. However, a lot of the most interesting sci-fi movies to date were released years ago. Even in the age of streaming, where there is a content churn, there are a few movies that will always remain classics of their genre. After looking at Netflix's new arrivals in September, I was glad to see that one of those, About Time, became available on the streaming service in the United States on September 1. For fans of the genre, there are few better ways to start the month on Netflix than by rewatching or finally watching for the first time what is one of the best sci-fi movies ever. Why About Time Is Worth Watching On Netflix About Time, as its title suggests, is a sci-fi movie that deals with time travel. This is a film that can appeal to those who are also not strictly sci-fi fans, as About Time's story is not about exploring how its time travel works in depth, going into the science behind it, but the romance that blossoms from making tough choices about how to spend that time. About Time follows Domhnall Gleeson's Tim Lake, who discovers that the men in his family have the power to go back in time and revisit events from the past, changing them. With that power, he sets out to change his love life, falling for Rachel McAdams' Mary. About Time is an emotional romance with a time travel twist that makes it one of the most special releases in the genre to date. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie that has now arrived on Netflix holds a high 82% audience score. Besides its gripping story, which teaches viewers about the value in the smaller, everyday moments in life, About Time is a must-watch for Netflix subscribers due to its impeccable cast. Joining Gleeson and McAdams are Margot Robbie, Bill Nighy, Vanessa Kirby, Tom Hollander, and more. About Time Adds To Netflix's 2026 Sci-Fi Streak About Time is the latest sci-fi movie to arrive on Netflix in 2026, and even though it was originally released in theaters on November 1, 2013, the film adds to the lineup of genre projects that have become available on the streaming service this year. If About Time performs like some of Netflix's other 2026 sci-fi releases have thus far, it could become a major hit for the streamer. After all, Alan Ritchson's War Machine debuted earlier this year to become the 10th most-watched Netflix movie of all time. In terms of TV shows, Netflix had plenty of hits to follow Ritchson's sci-fi thriller. The animated Stranger Things: Tales from '85 came as the first spinoff of Netflix's flagship series, Stranger Things, with that live-action show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, serving as executive producers on another sci-fi series released in 2026, The Boroughs. As such, the streaming service has been on a sci-fi hot streak in 2026, and About Time has all that is needed to add to that now that it is streaming on Netflix. Release Date September 4, 2013 Runtime 123 minutes Director Richard Curtis