Barack Obama has revealed his favourite film of 2015 is Ridley Scott’s hit sci-fi thriller The Martian.

The US president spoke to People magazine about his top culture picks of the year alongside Michelle Obama, who most enjoyed Pixar’s Inside Out.

The Martian, based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, has been one of the year’s biggest hits, making more than $570m (£375m) worldwide and becoming a strong contender for awards glory next year. It stars Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars.

Last year, Obama picked Boyhood while the first lady refused to choose a favourite, instead sharing that she preferred the Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl to David Fincher’s big screen adaptation. In 2012, the president counted Beasts of Southern Wild, Life of Pi and Argo as the year’s best.

The president has previously referred to himself as “a movie guy” and counts Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca among his favourites. He is also a big fan of The Godfather films.

In his cultural wrap-up of 2015, Obama also named Steven Soderbergh’s medical show The Knick and Kendrick Lamar’s How Much a Dollar Cost as highlights.