1998 Sci-Fi Classic That Spawned A 3-Part Netflix Series Flies To Free Streaming Success

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A popular sci-fi series on Netflix was actually based on a movie from 1998, and that original film is now finding a new audience on a free streaming platform. When you think of the greatest sci-fi TV shows ever made, titles like Lost, The Expanse, The X-Files, Star Trek, and Doctor Who always come up. The sci-fi genre has always been full of promise, and it continues to deliver amazing content.

Streaming services, with their larger budgets and improved special effects, have helped science fiction become incredibly popular again. In the last few years, shows like Severance, Silo, 3 Body Problem, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and Dune: Prophecy have become major hits. Notably, one sci-fi series on Netflix was inspired by a well-known movie from the genre.

The 1998 film Lost in Space is currently the ninth most popular movie on Tubi in the U.S. It’s performing better than Togo, starring Willem Dafoe, which is at number ten. Leading the list is the Tubi Original thriller Twins, followed by Heartbreakers, Driving Miss Daisy, The Substitute, and Radio rounding out the top five.

The recent Lost in Space movie isn’t the first adaptation of this science fiction story. It follows the original Lost in Space TV series, which aired in the late 1960s. That show premiered on September 15, 1965, ran for three seasons, and concluded on March 6, 1968. The series also received two Emmy Award nominations.

Following a cartoon adaptation of the series in 1972, the live-action Lost in Space movie premiered in theaters on April 3, 1998. The science fiction film cost $80 million to produce, and needed to earn between $160 and $200 million at the box office just to cover its costs.

Despite earning $136.2 million globally in theaters, the 1998 film Lost in Space was still a financial disappointment, losing money overall. However, it has since gained a dedicated following and become a beloved cult classic. The film featured a notable cast, including William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Jared Harris, Matt LeBlanc, and Gary Oldman, among others.

Netflix brought back the classic sci-fi series Lost in Space in 2018 with a new TV show. Like the original 1965 series, it lasted three seasons, but each season on Netflix was shorter, with between 8 and 10 episodes. Now that the 1998 Lost in Space movie is available on Tubi, fans of the Netflix show can also enjoy an earlier version of this popular franchise.

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2026-02-03 18:38