There is a body of films that are set on the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. In the late 19th century, people erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars. Into the early 20th century, additional observations of Mars fed people's interest in what was called "Mars fever". One of the earliest films to be set on Mars was the short film '' A Trip to Mars'' (1910), which was produced by one of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

's film companies. In the 1920s through the 1960s, more films featured Mars or extraterrestrial

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...

s. In the 1960s and 1970s, the

Mariner program The Mariner program was conducted by the American space agency NASA to explore other planets. Between 1962 and late 1973, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) designed and built 10 robotic interplanetary probes named Mariner to explore the in ...

and the Viking program revealed new scientific details about Mars that showed little prospect for life. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' said, "These disappointing discoveries changed the place of Mars on humanity's mental map. Films began to reflect this." Films such as '' Total Recall'' (1990) and '' Red Planet'' (2000) focused more on the colonization of Mars by humans. ''The Guardian'', reporting on the release of '' John Carter'' (2012), said, since 1995, six films featuring Mars performed poorly at the box office. ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'', reporting on the release of '' The Martian'' (2015), said prior films set on Mars—''Red Planet'', ''

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...

'' (2000), and ''

The Last Days on Mars ''The Last Days on Mars'' is a 2013 science fiction horror film directed by Ruairí Robinson with a screenplay by Clive Dawson, based on the short story "The Animators" by Sydney J. Bounds. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section ...

'' (2013)—were "notable flops" that were the most recent in a "dismal track record of Mars movies". ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' called ''The Martian'' "the subgenre's newest and best entry", citing the positive reviews and strong box office returns on opening weekend. It said, "Many films seek to dramatize the Red Planet’s harsh landscape as a romantic frontier, but ''The Martian'' is one that actually succeeds."

List of films

The following films are listed alphabetically.

List of films

See also

Related television

Indirectly related films

References

Further reading