| 100% | BACKTOTHEPRESENT | 16 | Prequel to a 1985 sci-fi comedy? |
| 46% | TERRA | 5 | Home, to a sci-fi fan |
| 45% | FRIDAYNIGHTFEVER | 16 | Prequel to a 1977 disco drama? |
| 44% | TODAYNEVERDIES | 14 | Prequel to a 1997 James Bond film? |
| 44% | APOCALYPSETHEN | 14 | Prequel to a 1979 Vietnam War epic? |
| 44% | LOSTINAMERICA | 13 | 1985 comedy about yuppies who quit their jobs to go on a cross-country road trip |
| 44% | DARYL | 5 | 1985 sci-fi film featuring Barret Oliver in the title role as a cyborg |
| 44% | TIMETRAVELING | 13 | Sci-fi trope, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 43% | TRON | 4 | "___: Legacy" (2010 sequel to a 1982 Jeff Bridges sci-fi movie) |
| 43% | C3PO | 4 | Sci-fi sidekick ... or a hint to 42- and 53-Across |
| 43% | R2D2 | 4 | Sci-fi sidekick ... or a hint to 20- and 34-Across |
| 43% | XMENFIRSTCLASS | 14 | 2011 movie prequel to a superhero trilogy |
| 43% | DUMBANDDUMBERER | 15 | 2003 sequel to a popular 1994 comedy |
| 42% | FUTURAMA | 8 | Animated sci-fi comedy that left Fox and moved to Comedy Central |
| 41% | OMEN | 4 | "The First ___" (2024 prequel to a 1976 horror movie) |
| 41% | MAYTHEFOURTHBEWITHYOU | 21 | Sci-fi-inspired greeting that's a hint to eight squares in this puzzle |
| 40% | ANNABELLE | 9 | Prequel to The Conjuring, about a scary doll |
| 40% | ANNE | 4 | Sci-fi writer McCaffrey, who was the first woman to win a Hugo for fiction |
| 39% | WARP | 4 | ___ speed, sci-fi phrase that refers to traveling at a speed faster than light |
| 39% | TIMECOP | 7 | 1994 sci-fi film featuring a police officer who hops from decade to decade |
| 39% | DOWNSIZING | 10 | 2017 sci-fi comedy film starring Hong Chau and Matt Damon as people shrunk to 5 inches |
| 39% | FUTURE | 6 | "Back to the ___" (1985 sci-fi movie) |
| 39% | ALTEREDSTATES | 13 | 1980 sci-fi thriller ... or a hint to the answers to the six starred clues |
| 38% | ERUTUFEHTOTKCAB | 15 | 1985 sci-fi rerun? |
| 38% | GALAXYQUEST | 11 | 1999 sci-fi comedy in which Alan Rickman played an actor from a cult TV show: 2 wds. |
| 38% | TREK | 4 | "Star ___ Beyond," 2016 sci-fi film starring Chris Pine, featuring a touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy |
| 37% | GOONIE | 6 | Mikey, Chunk, Mouth, or Data, in a 1985 adventure comedy |
| 37% | COVENANT | 8 | Sci-fi horror film directed by Ridley Scott, "Alien: ___," which is a sequel to "Prometheus," and released in 2017 |
| 37% | SON | 3 | "___ of the Mask" (2005 sequel to a Jim Carrey comedy) |
| 37% | SHAPESHIFTERS | 13 | Amorphous sci-fi beings, and a hint to what's hidden in the four other longest answers |