Well… after the new ACTIONx52 challenge for 2026, it’s time for a new 2026 SCI-FIx52 challenge as well!! The third one in a row for me!
They say the third time’s a charm… and I hoped that was true when I started my third ACTIONx52 challenge a few years ago... after failing to finish the previous two challenges, I was really hoping I’d succeed on the third attempt! But nope… that didn’t happen lol. So I’m not so sure about that whole “third time’s a charm” thing anymore…
But hey… let’s try it anyway! If nothing else, it’ll be fun, and I’ll get to watch some sci-fi movies I’ve never seen before... or haven’t seen in a very, very long…
Well… after the new ACTIONx52 challenge for 2026, it’s time for a new 2026 SCI-FIx52 challenge as well!! The third one in a row for me!
They say the third time’s a charm… and I hoped that was true when I started my third ACTIONx52 challenge a few years ago... after failing to finish the previous two challenges, I was really hoping I’d succeed on the third attempt! But nope… that didn’t happen lol. So I’m not so sure about that whole “third time’s a charm” thing anymore…
But hey… let’s try it anyway! If nothing else, it’ll be fun, and I’ll get to watch some sci-fi movies I’ve never seen before... or haven’t seen in a very, very long time.
Anyway… I won’t “talk” too much anymore... let’s get down to business!
This year, instead of Michelle, who created the SCI-FIx52 challenge and hosted it from 2023–2025, the challenge is being hosted by SirMuddyhood! But the rules are mostly the same and go something like this…
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!
And also...here's some logistic info...
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.
For additional and more detailed informations... click on THIS LIST.
And here are the prompts... or as I call them in the old-fashioned way, categories:
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
