Best Movies About the Moon

With no weather, no oceans, and no atmosphere, the Earth's only natural satellite is the Moon. As the fifth largest moon in the solar system, the Earth's Moon will forever be interesting, as well as comforting. For as long as we can remember, people have been fascinated by the Moon, gazing at it every night. That's why it's such a great concept for a movie.

Now, there are many movies that are set on the Moon, as well as the main topic being the Moon. But we made sure to give you a list of only the best movies about the Moon.

The space adventure docudrama directed by Ron Howard in 1995 was one of the best movies about the Moon, titled Apollo 13. With a star cast of Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris, the film was based on the real-life lunar mission Apollo 13, in 1970.

The book titled Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 and written by astronauts Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger, was the inspiration for the movie. The film was nominated for nine Academy Awards and grossed $355 million worldwide.

Nearing the end of Sam Bell's (played by Sam Rockwell) shift at a lunar mine, he begins to suffer from hallucinations and horrible headaches. This even turns into him hallucinating a younger version of himself. Or is it a clone? Sam is forced to solve this dilemma before his shift is up, in order to finally go home to his wife and daughter.

The sci-fi drama was directed by Duncan Jones in 2009, and was very well received by critics. It won film critic and film festival awards, as well as being nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. It's even known for having one of the trippiest ambient soundtracks.

Grossing over $546 million worldwide, Despicable Me is one of the most unconventional out of the best movies about the Moon, yet most successful.

The 2010 animated film is a comedy that follows supervillain, Gru, who wants to steal the Moon. With the help of his yellow minions, they hatch a plan to do the deed. However, three orphan girls want to make Gru their dad, and they are irresistibly adorable.

With huge stars like Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Buzz Aldrin, and many more, Transformers: Dark of the Moon was nominated for three Academy Awards and grossed $1.12 billion, worldwide. It's the 15th highest-grossing film, ever!

After a Cybertronian spacecraft crashes on the Moon, Apollo 11 investigates. However, an alien war is threatened against Earth.

In the Shadow of the Moon follows John F. Kennedy's dream of putting a man on the Moon. In a documentary style, the story is told that resulted in Neil Armstrong's walk on the Moon, and how it affected the world.

This British documentary film about the Moon landing mission by the United States is definitely one of the best movies about the Moon. It won the World Cinema Audience Award and the Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best Film Presentation.

The Dish is based on the true story of the scientists who were responsible for a satellite dish that is the only hope to receive images of the man's first walk on the Moon. Will they get the history-making access? This Australian film was first released in 2000, and was top grossing with almost $18 million at the box office in Australia.

One of the best movies about the Moon follows the 11th man to land on the Moon's journey, documentary-style. Gene Cernan set foot on the Moon in December of 1972; and in 2016, he released a documentary to fill in the rest of history from the Earth to the Moon, the preparation, the fulfillment, the losses, the aftermath, and much more. With a score of 7.4/10 on IMDb, the documentary is one of the most loved space movies.

One of the least serious, yet best movies about the Moon is A Grand Day Out. Featuring the lovable stop-motion animated characters of Wallace and Gromit, the plot follows the two as they build a homemade rocket. Their goal? Travel to the Moon to sample cheese!

Nominated for an Academy Award of the Best Animated Short Film in 1990, the short film was a success for director and animator Nick Park at Aardman Animations.

Another documentary film, For All Mankind documented the NASA Apollo missions. Directed by Al Reinert, the film includes real NASA footage from the 1960s and 1970s missions, as well as astronaut interviews. Some astronauts include Jim Lovell, Charles Conrad, Ken Mattingly, Michael Collins, and Jack Swigert.

It was even nominated for an Academy Award in 1990 for the Best Documentary. With zero special effects needed, the documentary highlights the beauty of space and the views of Earth from the Moon, making it one of the best movies about the moon.

Last on the list of the best movies about the moon is Magnificent Desolation. The story of the first 12 astronauts to step foot on the Moon is featured in this 3D documentary film, released in 2005. It was a star-studded feature that was produced and directed by Mark Cowe, and co-written and produced by Tom Hanks. (Hanks also was the star of the film.)

With a voice cast of Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Bryan Cranston, and Peter Scolari, this Apollo program documentary is nothing close to ordinary.