Astrology in the Movies

Astrology references appear throughout popular culture, in television shows, movies, fiction novels, and advertising.

References go as far back as the early days of film and television and appear throughout the works of Shakespeare and various stories in classical literature.

With astrology’s ability to capture the imagination, it has only grown in popularity. This article will look at astrology in the movies, both in titles of films, as themes in films, and in quotes by the characters.

Astrology in the Movies

Numerous films have references to astrology in the title, mainly using a Zodiac sign name.

Oddly enough there are no films with Aries, Taurus, Cancer (that are not documentaries or using the medical condition, not astrology as the theme), Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Pisces in the title. There are several crime thriller and horror films with Zodiac in the title.

Gemini

Films with Gemini in the title include:

• Gemini Man (2019) starring Will Smith (an aging NSA agent who faces off against a clone of his younger self)
• Gemini (2018) starring Lola Kirke and Zoe Kravitz (a crime thriller using mistaken identity to resolve the plot)
• Gemini (2008) starring Vikram, Kiran Rathod, and Kalabhavan Mani (a Bollywood action, comedy, and suspense film; nothing astrological but the name).
• Gemini (1999) starring Masahiro Motoki (a Japanese horror film using twin brothers to resolve the mystery and provide the plot twist)

Scorpio

Films with Scorpio in the title include:

• Scorpio (1973) starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, and Paul Scofield (a C.I.A agent and French assassin playing a game of cat and mouse)
• Scorpio Men on Prozac (2020) starring Seth Macari, Justin Hartley, and Erin Cummings (a satire about a group of men, all Scorpios, who connect in group therapy)
• The Scorpio Letters (1967) starring Alex Cord and Shirley Eaton (an ex-American cop who helps British Intelligence hunt a blackmailer named Scorpio)
• Operation Scorpio (1992) starring Kar Lok Chin and Chia-Liang Liu (a Chinese fantasy action film about a comic book artist who saves a girl from a prostitution ring led by a corrupt policeman)

Capricorn

• Capricorn One (1978) starring Elliott Gould, James Brolin, and Brenda Vaccaro (a NASA team fakes its flight to Mars to prevent losing its funding)

Aquarius

• Aquarius (2016) starring Sonia Braga and Maeve Jinkings (a former music critic and widow fights a developer to stay in her older apartment building)

Zodiac

• Zodiac (2007) starring Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr (a serial killer terrorizes the San Francisco Bay area while two detectives try to stop him)
• Awakening the Zodiac (2017) starring Shane West, Leslie Bibb, and Matt Craven (a couple of attempts to use a serial killer’s film reels to track him down for a $100,000 reward)
• Zodiac: Signs of the Apocalypse (2015) starring Christopher Lloyd, Joel Gretsch, and Aaron Douglas (unearthed primitive carvings trigger global disasters; the race is on to save the world)

Astrology Themed Movies

Movies with astrology themes are not common. Often astrology receives a humorous or passing reference, but some movies do have astrology as part of the fictional world-building.

Where Were You Born? (1938)

Synopsis: “Mei Lee Ling, an astrology expert, tells one of her fellow passengers on a ship, that he will die within two days and the next day he is dead. The police suspect that Mei does know something, but she doesn’t.

But to clear herself she offers her help to solve the murder. Soon she and the police find themselves in a web of crime and false identities.”

This film is a murder mystery starring Anna May Wong. Twelve characters in the movie represent the 12 signs of the Zodiac, framing the plot as the characters work to unravel who committed the murder.

Five Star Day (2010)

Synopsis: “One man’s journey to disprove the theory of astrology leads him to answer some bigger questions about life, love, fate, and destiny.”

When his birthday horoscope predicts a wonderful day but instead the day turns out to be a disaster, the lead character played by Cam Gigandet sets out to disprove astrology by finding three people born at the same time and in the same place to test his theory about astrology; drama and romance ensue.

Chinese Zodiac (2012)

Synopsis: “A man searches the world for a set of mystic artifacts. The twelve bronze heads of the animals from the Chinese zodiac.”

A Jackie Chan action, adventure comedy where Chan’s character searches for priceless bronze heads of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac to prevent a Western entrepreneur (Oliver Platt) from getting them.

What’s Your Raashee? (2009)

Synopsis: “A young man has only ten days to locate his soulmate as dictated by the stars, otherwise he could lose a fortune. He thus embarks on a journey through love, looking through twelve girls to find the one who fits his horoscope.”

• Read my review of this movie!

Best Astrology Quotes in the Movies

“Lesbian? I thought she was a Pisces.” | Bend It Like Beckham (2002) – Wedding Guest (Nina Wadia)

“I must be in love, I just lied about my sign.” | Larger Than Life (1996) – Bill Murray (Jack Corcoran) Kay: You know things before they happen. Laura Vasquez: I’m a Libra! | Men in Black 2 (2002) – Tommy Lee Jones (Kay) and Rosario Dawson (Laura)