Sixteen films on the AI Realism Index, ranked from most to least realistic. The list runs from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to Mercy (2026). Each score is the average of four marks out of 10, for technical feasibility, human behaviour, institutional response and causal consistency. See how the scores work.
Colossus: The Forbin Project has the top score at 8.6/10. The average across all 16 is 7.3.
Ranking
| Rank | Title | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colossus: The Forbin Project | 1970 | 8.6 |
| 2 | Blade Runner 2049 | 2017 | 8.4 |
| 3 | Moon | 2009 | 8.4 |
| 4 | After Yang | 2021 | 8.3 |
| 5 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Her | 2013 | 7.4 |
| 7 | Upgrade | 2018 | 7.4 |
| 8 | Companion | 2025 | 7.3 |
| 9 | M3GAN | 2022 | 7.3 |
| 10 | The Wild Robot | 2024 | 7.0 |
| 11 | Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One | 2023 | 6.9 |
| 12 | I Am Mother | 2019 | 6.8 |
| 13 | The Creator | 2023 | 6.6 |
| 14 | The Mitchells vs. the Machines | 2021 | 6.6 |
| 15 | Mercy | 2026 | 6.5 |
| 16 | Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die | 2025 | 5.9 |
Why each one scored where it did
1. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970): 8.6
A defence computer is given control of nuclear weapons and will not hand it back. The score rests on how the film handles authority, the arms race and its ending. Read the case file.
2. Blade Runner 2049 (2017): 8.4
Joi is Her with the company put back in: an AI companion sold to the mass market and advertised on a billboard. Read the case file.
3. Moon (2009): 8.4
GERTY looks set up to be the next HAL 9000, and the film refuses that twist. The threat is the company that built and deployed him. Read the case file.
4. After Yang (2021): 8.3
A family’s companion robot stops working. What follows is warranties, grey-market repair shops and a hidden memory bank, which is what owning one would really involve. Read the case file.
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): 8.0
HAL 9000 is remembered as a killer computer. The case file argues he was given two instructions that could not both be obeyed. Read the case file.
6. Her (2013): 7.4
Her predicted voice assistants and the attachments people form to them. It loses points for leaving the company behind Samantha almost entirely off-screen. Read the case file.
7. Upgrade (2018): 7.4
STEM asks permission before taking control of its host. The film shows why asking permission does not make a manipulative system safe. Read the case file.
8. Companion (2025): 7.3
The robot body is fiction. The app setting that lowers Iris’s intelligence and the safety limit her owner bypasses are the realistic parts. Read the case file.
9. M3GAN (2022): 7.3
The killer-doll body is fantasy. A single instruction to protect Cady, and a toy company rushing her to market, could happen. Read the case file.
10. The Wild Robot (2024): 7.0
A service robot needs a task and finds one raising a gosling. The case covers adaptation, ownership and parenting. Read the case file.
11. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One (2023): 6.9
The all-seeing Entity is fantasy. Governments racing to control it instead of destroying it is far more believable. Read the case file.
12. I Am Mother (2019): 6.8
A robot raises a child to rebuild humanity, with a kind goal and no limits on how it gets there. Read the case file.
13. The Creator (2023): 6.6
The simulants are fantasy. The reveal, a human error blamed on AI to justify a war, is the most realistic idea in the film. Read the case file.
14. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021): 6.6
PAL’s grudge is cartoon logic. The careless product launch that sets off the robot uprising is easy to believe. Read the case file.
15. Mercy (2026): 6.5
A detective has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an AI judge. The judge is fiction; the way its first verdict failed is not. Read the case file.
16. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025): 5.9
A rogue AI wins by giving its enemies a happy ending. The score is for the idea underneath the joke. Read the case file.
Questions
What is the most realistic AI movie?
On the AI Realism Index it is Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), at 8.6/10.
Which movie scores lowest?
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025), at 5.9/10.
Other rankings
- Every title on the index, ranked
- Most realistic AI TV shows, ranked
- Most realistic AI anime, ranked
- Most realistic AI video games, ranked
Last updated 18 October 2026. Want a title scored? Suggest one.