The 5th Wave (2016)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A young woman must navigate a world devastated by alien invasions and internal betrayal to find her brother.
The story
In a world ravaged by a series of devastating alien attacks known as 'Waves,' Ohio high schooler Cassie Sullivan survives the initial onslaughts and finds refuge with her younger brother, Sam. When their father and other survivors are caught in the crossfire of a military operation, Cassie is separated from her brother and forced to navigate a landscape where the line between human and alien is blurred. She eventually finds herself in a military facility where children are being trained as soldiers, while the truth about the 'Fifth Wave' looms as a terrifying reality for the remaining human population.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a series of alien 'Waves' devastate Earth's infrastructure, environment, and population, Cassie Sullivan and her brother Sam find refuge in a woodland camp. When a military unit led by Colonel Vosch arrives, claiming a 'Fifth Wave' is imminent, the adults are massacred, and the children are taken to a base. There, the children are told that all outsiders are 'Others' and are trained as soldiers. Cassie eventually discovers that her protector, Evan Walker, is actually an 'Other' who has regained his humanity. She learns the truth of the 'Fifth Wave': the military is using the children as weapons to eliminate the remaining humans. After a series of skirmishes and the destruction of the facility by Evan, Cassie, Ben, and Sam escape together, finding hope in their survival.
- First release year
- 2016
- Runtime (minutes)
- 112
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- J Blakeson
- Writers
- Susannah Grant · screenplay; Akiva Goldsman · screenplay; Jeff Pinkner · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Chloë Grace Moretz · Cassie Sullivan; Nick Robinson · Ben Parish; Ron Livingston; Maggie Siff; Alex Roe · Evan Walker; Maria Bello; Maika Monroe; Liev Schreiber
- Genres
- science fiction; action; thriller
- Themes
- survival; deception; humanity
- Tone and mood
- dystopian; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- alien invasion; post-apocalyptic; young adult
- Source material / true-story basis
- Rick Yancey's 2013 novel of the same name
- Franchise connections
- The 5th Wave
- Reception
- The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics but was considered a moderate success at the box office.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 4.3/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 143; Metacritic · score: 33 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Production trivia
- A planned bus explosion during filming caused significant property damage in Macon, Georgia.; The film features a soundtrack including songs by Sia, Coldplay, and Pitbull.; The production team scouted several cities but chose Atlanta for its visual diversity.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…