Poster for the 1964 doomsday black comedy, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
A doomsday film is a motion picture which tells the story of an actual or fictitious doomsday event and/or its aftermath. This event may be global in scale or a more localized catastrophe—such as the destruction of a city—which can serve as a dramatic microcosm of a full-scale doomsday event. Alternatively, a doomsday film may tell a suspenseful story in which a doomsday event is narrowly averted. The doomsday theme can be regarded as defining a distinct sub-genre of such broader film genres as suspense, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, action, disaster, war, adventure, or even comedy.
List of noteworthy doomsday films in chronological order
The Beginning or the End (1947, US)
Seven Days to Noon (1950, UK)
When Worlds Collide (1951, US)
Above and Beyond (1952, US)
The War of the Worlds (1953, US)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, US)
On the Beach (1959, US)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959, US)
The Day of the Triffids (1962, UK)
Panic in Year Zero, (1962, US)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, US)
Fail-Safe (1964, US)
The Last Man on Earth (1964, US)
Crack in the World (1965, US)
The War Game (1965, UK)
The Omega Man (1971, US)
A Boy and His Dog (1975, US)
Mad Max (1979, Australia)
The Road Warrior (1981, Australia)
Special Bulletin (1983, US)
Testament (1983, US)
The Day After (1983, US)
Night of the Comet (1984, US)
Ghostbusters (1984, US)
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985, Australia)
The Quiet Earth (1985, New Zealand)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, US)
Independence Day (1996, US)
Mars Attacks! (1996, US)
Armageddon (1998, US)
Deep Impact (1998, US)
Last Night (1998, Canada)
The Matrix (1998, US)
Reign of Fire (2002, US)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003, US)
The Day After Tomorrow (2004, US)
See also
Categories: Disaster movies | Film genres