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Science fiction is one of the most popular genres because it allows both the creators and the fans let their imagination run free. Almost everybody likes to wonder what the future might be like from time to time and science fiction presents the answer. As a result, sci-fi movies have been a part of cinematography almost since the first movies appeared back in the 19th century.
With the existence of the movie genre spanning over a hundred years, it comes as no surprise that some futures portrayed in sci-fi movies have already passed. And while sometimes, the movies missed the mark, several classic sci-fi movies actually managed to predict the future more or less accurately.
6 Trip To The Moon (1902)
The short movie Trip to the Moon is universally considered the first science fiction movie of all time. Its story is fairly simple but might have inspired humanity to actually travel to the Moon. In the movie, a group of scientists travels to the Moon, meets its inhabitants, and then returns to Earth.
In real life, the way astronauts traveled to the Moon was different from the movie, and as far as the public knows, the crew of Apollo 11 didn't encounter any aliens on the Moon back in 1969. The biggest difference is that in the movie, the rocket ship the scientists used for their journey was shot from a cannon which wouldn't work in the real world.
5 Metropolis (1927)
Even though Metropolis premiered almost one hundred years ago, it did a good enough job of predicting the future to a certain degree. The one aspect of the future that the movie got just right is the existence of robots.
Even though robots aren't yet as prevalent as some other movies would have the audience to believe, they have been constructed multiple times and their design is, to a certain degree, similar to the one in the movie. Of course, Metropolis isn't the only science fiction movie that put an emphasis on robotic beings, but it's definitely one of the first ones that did so!
4 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
The first feature Star Trek movie didn't become such a classics at some subsequent ones, such as Wrath of Khan (1982). But what it did is introduce even to the viewers who didn't watch the series the notion of personal communicators that allowed the crew to communicate with others over long distances. The design of modern phones is, of course, different, but the basis remains the same.
And the fact is that without Star Trek, it's possible there would be no cellphones today, or at least their development would have taken longer than it did. It's not the only way the Star Trek franchise influenced actual real-life science and technology, but it's one of the most prominent ones.
3 Blade Runner (1982)
As one of the biggest science fiction classics, Blade Runner not only inspired countless other movies, but also managed to predict the future to a certain degree. As all fans of the movie will know, the story takes place in 2019, a relatively recent past. While the flying cars the movie also included are nowhere to be seen (much to the chagrin of multiple people), Blade Runner did get something right.
In the movie, the viewers and heroes alike can see huge digital billboards on the side of skyscrapers. As everyone who has ever visited a big city can confirm, such billboards do exist in real world as well. If that wasn't enough, Blade Runner works with the concept of video calls that are similar to the likes or Skype, or others offering the same type of service.
2 The Terminator (1984)
Even the fans of science fiction who would like to see some scenarios presented by sci-fi movies come true don't usually wish this for The Terminator. Unsurprisingly, it's because the future of humanity is rather dark in the movie, as a majority of humans die, attacked and annihilated by the A.I. Skynet and the Terminators. On a more optimistic note, The Terminator did get a certain part of future right. In the movie, the future hosts flying drones that have an array of weapons at their disposal.
Drones are a common enough occurrence these days, and they can both serve military and other purposes. Funnily enough, they're also used for filming movies in some cases, which is a much more peaceful form of usage than in The Terminator. And, of course, let's not forget real military drones, the first of which was used back in 2001.
1 The Running Man (1987)
The Terminator isn't the only science fiction movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger starred and which managed to predict the future. But unlike its predecessor, The Running Man never got as positive critical acclaim. Based on a book by Stephen King, the movie changes the story as well as the main character, and not necessarily for the better.
What it got right, though, is the popularity of reality TV in today's world, especially so-called survival shows. Of course, unlike in The Running Man, people aren't actually killing others in reality TV. That doesn't change the fact that the modern audience enjoys this genre as much as people did in this movie, if not more.