1. Solar activity
The sun shows its dark side in "2012," when solar flares heat up the Earth's core, resulting in cataclysmic earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and dust smearing across John Cusack's face.
2. Impact event
When Jesus said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," the cosmos answered. "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" showed the differences in catastrophic threat between asteroids and comets, which is that asteroids make more money at the box office.
3. Geomagnetic excursion
In "The Core," Earth's magnetic field is in jeopardy when the planet's molten core ceases to rotate. The solution: Nuke it.
4. Global cooling
Nature's revenge is best served cold in "The Day After Tomorrow," after an Antarctic ice shelf falls into the ocean due to global warming and disrupts warm water currents, kick-starting another ice age.
5. Global warming
A depletion of the ice caps raises sea levels, submerging most land masses in "Waterworld" and forcing humans to drink urine in the absence of fresh water.
6. Pandemic
Nothing wipes out humanity like a pathogen. "12 Monkeys" showed us the upside to a viral contagion: We'll invent time travel.
7. Volcanism
An eruption of a "supervolcano" like the Yellowstone caldera (which occurs in "2012") could spew enough ash into the atmosphere to block out sunlight worldwide for years. Kiss your crops goodbye.
8. Resource depletion
Civilization collapses after oil production declines in the "Mad Max" series, but that doesn't stop the survivors from driving their gas guzzlers.
9. Nuclear war
Perhaps we don't worry enough about nuclear annihilation since the end of the Cold War, but "Dr. Strangelove" will always be remembered for introducing "bull-ridin' the bomb" into our lexicon.
10. Artificial intelligence
The creation of artificial intelligence becomes our undoing. Sentient machines harvest humans for energy in the "Matrix" trilogy, while a self-aware computer network sets off a nuclear war in the "Terminator" franchise.
11. Alien invasion
Aliens destroy all major cities on Earth in "Independence Day," which grossed $800 million worldwide. John Travolta, sporting dreadlocks and a codpiece, enslaves all humans in "Battlefield Earth," which sustained losses of about $45 million/
Source :