Welcome to the fourth annual Sci-Fix52 scavenger hunt challenge!
The year is 2026. A robot doppelganger could provoke chaos in the city of Metropolis. We might discover a wormhole to Mars. Or perhaps it'll be a new dawn for apekind.
Time will tell!
Michelle, who created Sci-Fix52 and hosted from 2023–2025, has stepped back from the challenge this year, and I've done my best to not disturb the space-time continuum; a guided yet nonrestrictive sci-fi challenge this shall remain.

RULES 🧬
▢ Watch one sci-fi film for each of the 52 prompts.
▢ Start on January 1st and finish by the end of 2026.
▢ First-time watches are encouraged but not required.
▢ Anything you can access that fits (or sorta fits) the prompt is cool; there is no planetary prompt police.
▢ You aren't locked in to your first draft; you can adjust your list as you go.
▢ Watch the films in any order and at any speed.
▢ It's never too late to join!

LOGISTICS 🛰
▢ Tag your lists and reviews with scifi52 and scifix526.
▢ Check the "Ranked list" box (🏆 on mobile) to map your films to each prompt number.
▢ Label re-watches with 💫.
▢ Check the NOTES ✨ section if you're unsure about a prompt, and post a comment if you'd like further clarification.
▢ Comment with a link to your list once you've picked films for prompts #1-51.
▢ Give me a day or two to add you to the PARTICIPANTS 👩‍🚀👨‍🚀 section and comment on your list with my pick for prompt #52.

PROMPTS 🪐
1. Highest rated in watchlist
2. Lowest rated in watchlist
3. Shuffle watchlist & pick one of the first five
4. Michelle rated 4 stars or higher
5. 1950s or earlier
6. 1960s
7. 1970s
8. 1980s
9. 1990s
10. 2000s
11. 2010s
12. 2020s
13. 2026
14. Year you turned 11
15. Letterboxd's Top 250 Science Fiction Films
16. Top Science Fiction Films Under 3,000 Ratings
17. Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now
18. Space station
19. Artificial intelligence
20. Stop motion creature
21. Queer
22. DUST short film
23. Sci-fi or nonfiction science documentary
24. Someone watched for Sci-Fi April #9
25. "Time" in the title
26. Duplicated poster person
27. Post-Avatar 3D craze (2010–2016)
28. Screened at a nearby film festival
29. Synth score
30. Vibrant and colorful
31. Drab and bleak
32. Any planet but Earth
33. Spanish language
34. Eastern Bloc
35. Nordic
36. Indonesia, Malaysia, or the Philippines
37. Jack Arnold, Byron Haskin, or Fritz Lang
38. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, or Robert A. Heinlein
39. Satoko Okudera, Katsuhiro Otomo, or Makoto Ueda
40. Judy Greer or Pam Grier
41. John Hurt or William Hurt 
42. Stars an actor in Sunshine (2007)
43. Family-friendly animation
44. Adult animation
45. Afrofuturism
46. Retrofuturism
47. Terminatorsploitation
48. The Vibe of Alien
49. Featured in In Search of Tomorrow
50. Similar poster to another pick
51. Free pick
52. SirMuddyhood's pick

NOTES ✨
▢ 14. I picked 11 for NASA's Apollo 11 mission!
▢ 23. Any sci-fi-related doc works, or learn about real science that underlies science fiction. I shared a space science list, but other subjects are fine too.
▢ 24. Sci-Fi April #9 was the 2025 edition of the Sci-Fi April/April Sci-Fi Marathon challenge, and the goal here is to watch something a participant watched.
▢ 27. Pick any film released in 3D from 2010–2016. And no, you don't have to watch in 3D.
▢ 28. "Nearby" can be as flexible as you need. Besides a web search, you can try FilmFreeway to locate festivals. If you can't find a nearby fest, or it's hard to find what has screened there, one of the big fests will do.
▢ 38. I've linked to the Original Writer page for each, but you can pick a film with a Writer or Story credit too.
▢ 42. A non-Sunshine sci-fi film that stars a performer from Sunshine is the aim, but technically Sunshine itself fits as well.
▢ 50. Mention which film has the similar poster!
▢ 52. Just ask for another option if you don't like my initial pick.

PARTICIPANTS 👩‍🚀👨‍🚀
Sam Q | Shane Hunziker | Brandon | Sander | Richie | abystopia | Nick Atkins | savagebrowncoat | Nadine | Peter Williams | Larry Brown | konerak | Carlos (Hache) | Chris Coke | halfoun | MarryMeSenpai | Luke Hartwig | KoenJohries | Fritz Jangalang | Juan | Paul Elliott | Rodney

MISC. 👾
▢ If you were wondering about the intro: some versions of Metropolis reference 2026, the opening monologue of Doom mentions 2026, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is (you guessed it) set in 2026!
▢ Links to prior challenges: 2023 | 2024 | 2025
▢ Check out #scifi52 lists and/or #scifix526 lists, as well as #scifi52 reviews and/or #scifix526 reviews, for others' lists and reviews.
▢ My progress: 0/52
▢ Many thanks to zsally_llama and Kebss for their prompt suggestions, all who created the lists that inspired the challenge prompts, and Michelle, of course, for Sci-Fix52.
▢ Please don't hesitate to share constructive feedback, ideas, and suggestions!