"The Arrival" was quietly released by Orion Pictures on May 31, 1996, one month before the comic book-like alien invasion spectacle of "Independence Day" landed, and a year before

Denis Villeneuve has made a name for himself in science fiction across the past decade plus change, and any one of his genre films, from Kafkan thriller Enemy to international blockbuster Dune, would sit comfortably on this list.

Exclusive: What makes a great science fiction movie? Prof. Lisa Yaszek dives into the commonalities among iconic sci-fi movies across the decades.