Ultimate Disaster Movie List
by Cine-Maniacal | created - 14 Jan 2018 | updated - 21 Aug 2018 | PublicAn aggregate, unranked list of the best Disaster movies. Ever. Period.
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1. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 260,672 | Gross: $83.40M
2. Independence Day (1996)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell
Votes: 605,011 | Gross: $306.17M
3. Armageddon (1998)
PG-13 | 151 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After discovering that an asteroid the size of Texas will impact Earth in less than a month, NASA recruits a misfit team of deep-core drillers to save the planet.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler
Votes: 450,445 | Gross: $201.57M
4. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Jack Hall, paleoclimatologist, must make a daring trek from Washington, D.C. to New York City to reach his son, trapped in the cross-hairs of a sudden international storm which plunges the planet into a new Ice Age.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok
Votes: 475,606 | Gross: $186.74M
5. 2012 (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet
Votes: 397,455 | Gross: $166.11M
6. War of the Worlds (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto
Votes: 474,716 | Gross: $234.28M
7. The Towering Inferno (1974)
PG | 165 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway
Votes: 48,192 | Gross: $116.00M
8. The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
PG | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of passengers must embark on a harrowing struggle for survival after a rogue wave capsizes their cruise ship at sea.
Director: Ronald Neame | Stars: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons
Votes: 49,170 | Gross: $84.56M
9. Earthquake (1974)
PG | 122 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene
Votes: 17,864 | Gross: $79.70M
10. Airport (1970)
G | 137 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
Directors: George Seaton, Henry Hathaway | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Jean Seberg
Votes: 21,655 | Gross: $100.49M
11. Rollercoaster (1977)
PG | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda
Votes: 6,907
12. The Hindenburg (1975)
Approved | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
A chronicle of the Hindenburg disaster in which a zeppelin burst into flames.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, William Atherton, Roy Thinnes
Votes: 6,579 | Gross: $27.95M
13. Two-Minute Warning (1976)
Approved | 115 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crazed sniper is set to kill spectators at an L.A. Coliseum football championship game and the police race against time to eliminate him.
Director: Larry Peerce | Stars: Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, Martin Balsam, Beau Bridges
Votes: 4,375
14. Firestorm (1998)
R | 89 min | Action, Thriller
Firefighter Jesse Graves has to save ornithologist Jennifer and other people caught in a forest fire, which was set up by the lawyer of convicted killer Earl Shaye, who escaped from the ... See full summary »
Director: Dean Semler | Stars: Howie Long, Scott Glenn, William Forsythe, Suzy Amis
Votes: 4,322 | Gross: $8.04M
15. Deepwater Horizon (2016)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, History
A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Douglas M. Griffin, James DuMont
Votes: 182,017 | Gross: $61.43M
16. The Core (2003)
PG-13 | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The only way to save Earth from catastrophe is to drill down to the core and set it spinning again.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Bruce Greenwood
Votes: 107,227 | Gross: $31.19M
17. Deep Impact (1998)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A comet is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. As doomsday nears, the human race prepares for the worst.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 190,199 | Gross: $140.46M
18. Twister (I) (1996)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Bill and Jo Harding, advanced storm chasers on the brink of divorce, must join together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz
Votes: 213,276 | Gross: $241.72M
19. Dante's Peak (1997)
PG-13 | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A volcanologist arrives at a countryside town recently named the second-most desirable place to live in America, and discovers that the long-dormant volcano, Dante's Peak, may wake up at any moment.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, Jamie Renée Smith, Jeremy Foley
Votes: 98,231 | Gross: $67.13M
20. The Perfect Storm (2000)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly, Diane Lane
Votes: 177,756 | Gross: $182.62M
21. Outbreak (1995)
R | 127 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Army doctors struggle to find a cure for a deadly virus spreading throughout a California town that was brought to America by an African monkey.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey
Votes: 137,669 | Gross: $67.82M
22. Poseidon (2006)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner Poseidon capsizes after being swamped by a rogue wave. The survivors are left to fight for their lives as they attempt to escape the sinking ship.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, Josh Lucas
Votes: 110,337 | Gross: $60.67M
23. Daylight (1996)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Disaster in a New York tunnel as explosions collapse both ends of it. One hero tries to help the people inside find their way to safety.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya
Votes: 76,674 | Gross: $33.02M
24. San Andreas (2015)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey with his ex-wife across the state in order to rescue his daughter.
Director: Brad Peyton | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Colton Haynes
Votes: 256,393 | Gross: $155.19M
25. Gravity (2013)
PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen
Votes: 862,642 | Gross: $274.09M
26. Volcano (1997)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A volcano erupts in downtown Los Angeles and a city official and a seismologist try to stop its inevitable flow through the city.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Gaby Hoffmann, Don Cheadle
Votes: 81,487 | Gross: $49.32M
27. When Time Ran Out... (1980)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Edward Albert
Votes: 3,196 | Gross: $1.70M
28. Meteor (1979)
PG | 108 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
The U.S. must join forces with the U.S.S.R. in order to destroy a gigantic asteroid heading straight for Earth.
Director: Ronald Neame | Stars: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith
Votes: 8,193
29. Into the Storm (2014)
PG-13 | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Storm trackers, thrill-seekers, and everyday townspeople document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes touching down in the town of Silverton.
Director: Steven Quale | Stars: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Max Deacon
Votes: 71,468 | Gross: $47.60M
30. The Big Bus (1976)
PG | 88 min | Action, Comedy
A nuclear powered bus driving cross-country, from New York City to Colorado, is destined for disaster due to the machinations of a mysterious group allied with the oil lobby.
Director: James Frawley | Stars: Joseph Bologna, Stockard Channing, John Beck, Rene Auberjonois
Votes: 3,705 | Gross: $3.54M
31. The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
R | 129 min | Drama, Thriller
Passengers on a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease. Nobody will let them off the train. So what happens next?
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, O.J. Simpson
Votes: 9,872
32. Skyjacked (1972)
PG | 101 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crazed Vietnam vet bomber hijacks a Boeing 707 in this disaster film filled with the usual early '70s stereotypes, and demands to be taken to Russia.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Charlton Heston, James Brolin, Yvette Mimieux, Claude Akins
Votes: 2,339 | Gross: $2.50M
33. Hard Rain (1998)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The partner and nephew of an armored-truck driver tries to prevent three million dollars from being taken by a gang during a catastrophic flooding caused by a severe storm.
Director: Mikael Salomon | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver
Votes: 37,272 | Gross: $19.82M
34. The Hurricane Heist (2018)
PG-13 | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Thieves attempt a massive heist against the U.S. Treasury as a Category 5 hurricane approaches one of its Mint facilities.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson
Votes: 22,302 | Gross: $6.12M
35. Silver Streak (1976)
PG | 114 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
On a long-distance train trip, a man finds romance but also finds himself in danger of being killed, or at least pushed off the train.
Director: Arthur Hiller | Stars: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Jill Clayburgh, Patrick McGoohan
Votes: 21,692
36. The Hurricane (1937)
Approved | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A Polynesian sailor unjustly imprisoned after defending himself against a colonial bully is relentlessly persecuted by his island's martinet French governor.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Dorothy Lamour, Jon Hall, Mary Astor, C. Aubrey Smith
Votes: 3,039
37. On the Beach (1959)
Approved | 134 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins
Votes: 14,393 | Gross: $11.00M
38. Skyscraper (2018)
PG-13 | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A security expert must infiltrate a burning skyscraper, 225 stories above ground, when his family is trapped inside by criminals.
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, Roland Møller
Votes: 133,851 | Gross: $68.42M
39. Crack in the World (1965)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A dying scientist pushes forward his project to tap through to the Earth's magma layer, with results that threaten to destroy the Earth as we know it.
Director: Andrew Marton | Stars: Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Alexander Knox
Votes: 2,867
40. World Trade Center (2006)
PG-13 | 129 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Two Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 87,836 | Gross: $70.28M
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