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    Home»Television

    Best Survival Movies of All Time Ranked From Worst to Best

    AdminBy AdminSeptember 4, 2026 Television
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    Best Survival Movies of All Time Ranked From Worst to Best

    Best Survival Movies of All Time Ranked From Worst to Best
    ‘Fall 2: Deadpoint’ opens in theaters on September 2nd.

    The sequel to 2022’s ‘Fall‘, entitled ‘Fall 2: Deadpoint‘, is scheduled to release in theaters on September 2nd.

    Fall 2: Deadpoint

    There is a long tradition in Hollywood of delivering inspiring stories of survival in films like ‘Deliverance‘, ‘Cliffhanger‘, ‘Cast Away‘, ‘Black Hawk Down‘, and ‘127 Hours‘.

    In honor of the release of ‘Fall 2: Deadpoint’, Moviefone is counting down the 20 greatest survival films of all time.

    NOTE: For this list we are including fictional and non-fictional movies, as well as horror films, action-adventures and war epics.

    Let’s begin!

    Related Article: 50 Best Underrated Movies Worth Another Watch!


    Dennis Quaid stars in 'Flight of the Phoenix'. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
    Dennis Quaid stars in ‘Flight of the Phoenix’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.

    When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid) and co-pilot A.J. (Tyrese Gibson) are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers — a crew of oil workers and a drifter — must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.

    Flight of the Phoenix

    Two divers are left out at sea without a boat. There’s nothing but water for miles, unless they look at what’s underneath them…

    Open Water
    Open Water

    “Scream all you want.”

    Release Aug 20, 2004Runtime 1h 20mBudget $120,000


    An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

    13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

    While surfing on a secluded beach, Nancy (Blake Lively) finds herself in the feeding grounds of a great white shark. Though stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills, requiring all of her ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude.

    The Shallows
    The Shallows

    “What was once in the deep is now in the shallows.”

    Release Jun 24, 2016Runtime 1h 26mBudget $17M


    Stranded on a mountain after a tragic plane crash, two strangers (Idris Elba and Kate Winslet) must work together to endure the extreme elements of the remote, snow-covered terrain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other to survive and discovering their inner strength.

    The Mountain Between Us

    Robert Redford in 'All Is Lost'. Photo: Lionsgate.
    Robert Redford in ‘All Is Lost’. Photo: Lionsgate.

    During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner (Robert Redford) awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane — but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.

    All Is Lost
    All Is Lost

    “Never give up.”

    Release Oct 18, 2013Runtime 1h 46mBudget $9M


    A US Fighter pilot’s (Christian Bale) epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.

    Rescue Dawn
    Rescue Dawn

    “A true story of survival… declassified.”

    Release Jul 27, 2007Runtime 2h 5mBudget $10M


    A true-life drama in the 1920s, centering on British explorer Col. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who discovered evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization in the Amazon and disappeared whilst searching for it.

    The Lost City of Z
    The Lost City of Z

    “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp… or what’s a heaven for?”

    Release Apr 21, 2017Runtime 2h 21mBudget $30M


    The plane carrying wealthy Charles Morse (Anthony Hopkins) crashes down in the Alaskan wilderness. Together with the two other passengers, photographer Robert (Alec Baldwin) and assistant Stephen (Harold Perrineau), Charles devises a plan to help them reach civilization. However, his biggest obstacle might not be the elements, or even the Kodiak bear stalking them — it could be Robert, whom Charles suspects is having an affair with his wife (Elle Macpherson) and would not mind seeing him dead.

    The Edge
    The Edge

    “They were fighting over a woman when the plane went down. Now, their only chance for survival is each other.”

    Release Sep 26, 1997Runtime 1h 57mBudget $30M


    Four Navy SEALs (Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch) on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

    Lone Survivor
    Lone Survivor

    “Based on true acts of courage”

    Release Jan 10, 2014Runtime 2h 1mBudget $40M


    10. ‘Fall‘ (2022)

    Grace Caroline Currey in 'Fall.' Photo: Lionsgate.
    Grace Caroline Currey in ‘Fall.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    For best friends Becky (Grace Caroline Currey) and Hunter (Virginia Garner), life is all about conquering fears and pushing limits. But after they climb 2,000 feet to the top of a remote, abandoned radio tower, they find themselves stranded with no way down. Now Becky and Hunter’s expert climbing skills will be put to the ultimate test as they desperately fight to survive the elements, a lack of supplies, and vertigo-inducing heights.

    Fall
    Fall

    “Fear reaches new heights.”

    Release Aug 12, 2022Runtime 1h 47mBudget $3M


    Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, “Everest” documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.

    Everest
    Everest

    “The storm awaits.”

    Release Sep 25, 2015Runtime 2h 1mBudget $55M


    The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.

    127 Hours
    127 Hours

    “Every second counts.”

    Release Jan 28, 2011Runtime 1h 34mBudget $18M


    In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

    The Revenant
    The Revenant

    “Blood lost. Life found.”

    Release Jan 8, 2016Runtime 2h 37mBudget $135M


    When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

    Black Hawk Down
    Black Hawk Down

    “Leave no man behind.”

    Release Jan 18, 2002Runtime 2h 25mBudget $92M


    Sylvester Stallone in 'Cliffhanger.' Photo: TriStar Pictures.
    Sylvester Stallone in ‘Cliffhanger.’ Photo: TriStar Pictures.

    A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) and his partner, Hal (Michael Rooker), are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.

    Cliffhanger
    Cliffhanger

    “Hang on.”

    Release May 28, 1993Runtime 1h 53mBudget $70M


    4. ‘Alive‘ (1993)

    The amazing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team’s plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive and pull through alive, forced to do anything and everything they could to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.

    Alive
    Alive

    “The triumph of the human spirit.”

    Release Jan 15, 1993Runtime 2h 7mBudget $32M


    After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.

    The Grey
    The Grey

    “Live or Die on This Day.”

    Release Jan 27, 2012Runtime 1h 57mBudget $25M


    Intent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it’s turned into one huge lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) takes his friends on a river-rafting trip they’ll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.

    Deliverance
    Deliverance

    “What did happen on the Cahulawassee River?”

    Release Aug 18, 1972Runtime 1h 49mBudget $2M


    Tom Hanks in 'Cast Away'. Photo: DreamWorks Pictures.
    Tom Hanks in ‘Cast Away’. Photo: DreamWorks Pictures.

    Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly (Helen Hunt), a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck’s plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He’s the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.

    Cast Away
    Cast Away

    “At the edge of the world, his journey begins.”

    Release Dec 22, 2000Runtime 2h 23mBudget $90M

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