Little scholarly attention has been paid to how audiences interpret pop culture messages about climate. This paper addresses this issue by taking up the case of disaster cli-fi films and exploring how audiences react to film representations of climate change. It draws on data from focus groups to evaluate audience responses to disaster cli-fi films. Analysis reveals that by only briefly discussing climate change in their plotlines, the films weaken their environmental message. The paper concludes with a discussion of the effects of disaster cli-fi films on environmental attitudes and suggestions for further research.