Summer break 2023 is here, and while many of those are off this summer and vacation plans, BBQs, and outdoor fun are all planned, make room for those rainy days with a list of some of the best natural disaster movies to watch on Netflix. Some of the items on this list include natural disasters by Mother Nature, a true story of man-made disasters, zombie attacks, a deadly virus and the end of the world, a tidal wave, and more. The special effects in these films are on point, creating a massive earthquake, an Indian Ocean tsunami, and more, making these some great natural disaster films to watch. Check out this list of the best disaster movies on Netflix in 2023.
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Best Disaster Movies on Netflix 2023
As stated, this list of a good disaster movie includes the movies you can find on Netflix, but there are some great ones to look for on the other streaming services like Deep Impact, The Poseidon Adventure, San Andreas, The Perfect Storm, A Quiet Place, and more. Star cast includes Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Pierce Brosnan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, and Gene Hackman on the bill for these top notch movies.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Plot: Augustine Lofthouse is an ambitious scientist who’s scientific research includes working towards finding habitable planets where humanity could expand and human lives saved. One night after giving a presentation at a gala, he meets Jean Sullivan and the two begin a romantic relationship. Jean soon leaves him after a pregnancy scare due to his obsession with work and inability to form bonds with other human beings. Several years later, Augustine encounters Jean again by chance and discovers that they have a daughter, but chooses not to introduce himself.
Cast: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, Caoilinn Springall, Sophie Rundle
Extinction (2018)
Plot: A man’s home life starts to suffer when he has recurring nightmares about a destructive and unknown force that will cause harm in the near future. He must soon find the strength to save his wife and two daughters when extraterrestrials launch a devastating attack on the planet.
Cast: Michael Pena, Lizzy Caplan, Amelia Crouch, Israel Broussard
Rim of the World (2019)
Plot: Summer camp has barely begun when aliens suddenly invade the planet. In a campground once teeming with people, four misfit teens are unexpectedly entrusted with a key that carries the secret to stopping the invasion. Without any adults or electronics to help guide the way, it’s clear what they must do: band together, conquer their fears and save the world.
Cast: Alessio Scalzotto, Miya Cech, Jack Gore, Benjamin Flores Jr.
The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
Plot: Orbiting in a space station above an Earth on the brink of catastrophic energy wars, scientists test a dangerous device that could provide unlimited power but also runs the risk of creating a terrifying paradox, leaving them face-to-face with a dark alternate reality.
Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Daniel Bruhl, David Oyelowo, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris O’Dowd
IO (2019)
Plot: A science fiction film in a post-apocalyptic time, the earth has been rendered toxic, and most of humanity has abandoned the planet and colonised one of Jupiter’s moons, IO. But young scientist Sam Walden has stayed behind and dedicated herself to finding a way for human beings to survive on Earth. After sending out a radio transmission to see if she can locate anyone else, a man named Micah arrives. He believes there is no hope of survival and intends to take the final shuttle to IO in 48 hours.
Cast: Margaret Qualley, Anthony Mackie, Danny Huston, Emma Fitzgerald
The Wandering Earth (2022)
Plot: When the sun dies out, the people of Earth build giant thrusters to move the planet out of orbit and sail to a new star system. After 2,500 years, young people continue the fight for everyone’s survival.
Cast: Wu Jing, Liu Cixin, Ng Man-tat, Wang Zhi
Beyond Skyline (2017)
Plot: After an alien invasion, detective Mark Corley storms his way onto an alien spaceship to rescue his estranged son. When the ship crashes in Southeast Asia, he forges an alliance with a band of survivors to take back the planet once and for all.
Cast: Frank Grillo, Iko Uwais, Bojana Novakovic, Jonny Weston
Bird Box (2018)
Plot: When a mysterious force decimates the population, only one thing is certain — if you see it, you die. The survivors must now avoid coming face to face with an entity that takes the form of their worst fears. Searching for hope and a new beginning, a woman and her children embark on a dangerous journey through the woods and down a river to find the one place that may offer sanctuary. To make it, they’ll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them — and complete the trip blindfolded.
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson
World War Z (2013)
Plot: When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses that it’s no ordinary traffic jam. His suspicions are confirmed when, suddenly, the city erupts into chaos. A lethal virus, spread through a single bite, is turning healthy people into something vicious, unthinking and feral. As the pandemic threatens to consume humanity, Gerry leads a worldwide search to find the source of the infection and, with luck, a way to halt its spread.
Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox
Don’t Look Up (2012)
Plot: Two low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep
Army of the Dead (2021)
Plot: After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble and venture into the quarantine zone in hopes of pulling off an impossible heist.
Cast: Dave Bautista, Chris D’Elia, Ella Purnell, Matthias Schweighofer
Zombieland (2009)
Plot: After a virus turns most people into zombies, the world’s surviving humans remain locked in an ongoing battle against the hungry undead. Four survivors — Tallahassee and his cohorts Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock — abide by a list of survival rules and zombie-killing strategies as they make their way toward a rumored safe haven in Los Angeles.
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Plot: When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being questioned by cautious policeman Kenneth, Ana joins him and a small group that gravitates to the local shopping mall as a bastion of safety. Once they convince suspicious security guards that they are not contaminated, the group bands together to fight the undead hordes.
Cast: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Ty Burrell, Kim Poirier, Jake Weber
ARQ (2016)
Plot: The oil supply has run dry, and corporations fight against nations for the world’s remaining energy supplies. Trapped in a house and surrounded by a gang of mysterious masked intruders, an engineer must protect a technology that could deliver unlimited energy and end the wars that have consumed the world. The only problem is that the technology has created a time loop that condemns him and a group of people to relive the same day over and over.
Cast: Robbie Amell, Rachael Taylor, Gray Powell, Jacob Neayem
#Alive (2020)
Plot: While a grisly virus ravages a Korean city creating a zombie apocalypse. Joon-woo tries to stay safe by locking himself inside his apartment. Just as he loses hope, he discovers another survivor.
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Park Shin-hye, Lee Hyun-wook, Jeon Bae-soo
22 July (2018)
Plot: A dramatisation of Norway’s deadliest terrorist attack, in which a right-wing extremist murders 77 teens at a youth camp in 2011.
Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jonas Strand Gravli, Jaden Smith, Seda Witt
How It Ends (2018)
Plot: In the midst of an apocalypse, a man struggles to reach his pregnant wife, who is thousands of miles away.
Cast: Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Kat Graham, Grace Dove
Pandora (2019)
Plot: A nuclear power plant is built in a rural town, but soon an earthquake causes the power plant to explode, exposing the people to radiation.
Cast: Priscilla Quintana, Ben Radcliffe, Oliver Dench, Banita Sandhu
Awake (2021)
Plot: Global hysteria ensues after a mysterious catastrophe wipes out all electronics and takes away humanity’s ability to sleep. Scientists race against the clock to find a cure for the unexplained insomnia before its fatal effects eliminate the human race. When Jill, a former soldier, discovers her young daughter may be the key to salvation, she must decide whether to protect her children at all costs or sacrifice everything to save the world.
Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Ariana Greenblatt, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Finn Jones
The Colony (2021)
Plot: An astronaut is shipwrecked on a long-decimated Earth during a research mission. With her crew mates killed or wounded, she alone must decide the fate of the wasteland’s remaining populace.
Cast: Nora Arnezeder, Iain Glen, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Sebastian Roche