The 1980s were one of the best decades for film. A decade of filmmaking innovation and evolution in the habits of theatergoers, the ’80s were defined by several iconic titles. This includes Giuseppe Tornatore‘s timeless Cinema Paradiso, Robert Zemeckis‘ sci-fi adventure Back to the Future, Spike Lee‘s magnum opus Do the Right Thing, and, of course, Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back.
But no director quite defined the decade like Steven Spielberg, with the likes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Color Purple, and Empire of the Sun just three examples. But his best work of the decade, and perhaps his best work ever, is the beloved E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The heartwarming tale of an alien stranded on Earth who befriends a lonely 10-year-old boy named Elliott Taylor (Henry Thomas) is one of the most recognizable stories in cinema history, courtesy of Melissa Mathison‘s unforgettable script.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was an enormous hit at the global box office, scoring a global haul of almost $800 million against a budget of just $10.5 million. Split between $439 million in domestic revenue and a further $358 million from overseas markets, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was one of the highest-grossing movies of the 1980s and is the second-oldest title to appear in the list of 25 highest-grossing sci-fi movies of all time. 44 years later, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a hit once again. At the time of writing, the sci-fi masterpiece is one of the ten most-streamed movies on Apple TV in the U.S., a list currently topped by Josh Greenbaum‘s The Dink.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
Steven Spielberg Returned to Sci-Fi Earlier This Year
After almost a decade away from the genre, following 2018’s Ready Player One, Spielberg finally returned to sci-fi with Disclosure Day, which grossed almost $250 million in global revenue during a somewhat underwhelming box office run, against a reported budget of $115 million. As usual, Spielberg brought together a stellar cast for his latest project, led by Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Josh O’Connor (Challengers), and Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), and featuring many more big Hollywood names.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is one of the ten most-watched movies on Apple TV in the U.S. Stay tuned to Collider for more.
