The 2024 box office has been a disaster, but the release of Twisters is making it a disaster in a good way. The loosely connected sequel to the 1996 tornado flick is the latest in a proud tradition of on-screen destruction. Cinematic versions of Earth have been ravaged by volcanoes, tsunamis, meteors, earthquakes, meltdowns, ice ages, pandemics, twisters, ancient Mayan prophecies, and more. Sometimes this destruction is harrowing; frequently it’s a popcorn-popping good time. Sometimes the movies border on being disasters themselves, but for every so-bad-it’s-good disaster movie there are also all-time greats. In every case, it’s a singular thrill to watch a disaster on a big screen and think, “I’m glad that’s not me.”

For such an essential part of blockbuster cinema, the definition of a disaster movie can be surprisingly hard to pin down. Surely Twisters is a disaster movie. Is Independence Day? Is Die Hard? Where does an actio…