Movie Sequels That Were Much Better Than the Original

The movie industry is incredibly successful, a global powerhouse that brings in billions of dollars in revenue each year. In 2022, the United States alone brought in almost 93 billion dollars from motion pictures and video production, also adding millions of jobs, further helping the economy. Films are produced around the globe, but Hollywood is the largest film industry in the world, and one of the most prolific film producers, with around 600 movies released yearly.

But not all of these films are box office hits. For every outstanding film, countless others fail. It is estimated that around 36% see financial success, which given the odds, is still a fairly decent amount, and when any one of these films reaches blockbuster status, it can yield incredible results for those involved in a film and those enjoying its content. Although there has been a demand for original content in recent years, with the rise of streaming platforms, if a particular movie is successful, the producers often opt for a sequel. Or many sequels.

It seems almost inevitable that a sequel will follow on the heels of a successful film. This is a practice that Hollywood has been taking part in since the beginning of motion pictures. The first feature-length sequel, “The Fall of a Nation”, premiered in 1916 and was a follow-up to “The Birth of a Nation”, which came out in 1915. In earlier times, sequels were often given a somewhat separate title, unlike many later films that used number sequences to differentiate. A perfect example of the latter format can be seen in several franchises, like “The Fast and the Furious,” “Rocky,” and “Halloween”.

However, a sequel does not always guarantee the same box office success enjoyed by its predecessor and can often be less profitable. With the attempt to repeat a triumphant formula comes the risk of redundancy, along with a potential drop in quality. At one time, the average sequel was more or less expected to be inferior to its original film and although there were always exceptions to the rule, it was a common phenomenon nevertheless, made only worse when key actors or creatives turned down the opportunity to reprise their roles. (These are the 25 worst movie sequels of all time.)

Hollywood’s approach to franchise-building has changed with the times. Studios now realize that serious talent leads to qualitative results and as a result, many sequels no longer feel like mere cash grabs. Visionaries such as Peter Jackson and Christopher Nolan don’t just make one film and call it a day but stick around for entire trilogies. In the case of Marvel Studios, its president, Kevin Feige, actively pursues top directors and blue-chip actors while guiding the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe’s overall architecture to keep the content fresh and consistent. (Here’s a ranking of the best action movie of all time.)

Sequels are never a guarantee and these new approaches don’t necessarily mean they will succeed or even please audiences or critics but there is a newfound focus on keeping the quality bar high and even experimenting with the tone and formula of a given franchise from one entry to the next. Classic sequels from previous eras have also managed to upend expectations and outshine their predecessors.

To determine film sequels that were better than the original, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, weighting all ratings equally to determine the movie sequels that outshine the original. We considered only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes.

It should be noted that there is one film listed here that is technically a “prequel,” but was considered a sequel since it came after the original. For franchises that have been rebooted with new lead actors, such as “Spider-Man” and “James Bond,” we compared only films starring the same lead actor.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

• Original in franchise: Spider-Man (2002)
• IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (sequel), 7.3/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (sequel), 90% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (sequel), 67% (original)

X-Men: First Class (2011)

• Original in franchise: X-Men (2000)
• IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (sequel), 7.4/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (sequel), 82% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (sequel), 83% (original)

From Russia with Love (1963)

• Original in franchise: Dr. No (1962)
• IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (sequel), 7.2/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (sequel), 95% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (sequel), 82% (original)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

• Original in franchise: The Hunger Games (2012)
• IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (sequel), 7.2/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 84% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (sequel), 81% (original)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

• Original in franchise: Rise of the Planet of Apes (2011)
• IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (sequel), 7.5/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 82% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (sequel), 77% (original)

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

• Original in franchise: Mission: Impossible (1996)
• IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (sequel), 7.1/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (sequel), 66% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (sequel), 71% (original)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

• Original in franchise: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
• IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (sequel), 7.6/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 81% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (sequel), 82% (original)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

• Original in franchise: Captain America: the First Avenger (2011)
• IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (sequel), 6.9/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 80% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (sequel), 74% (original)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

• Original in franchise: Captain America: the First Avenger (2011)
• IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (sequel), 6.9/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 80% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (sequel), 74% (original)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

• Original in franchise: Thor (2011)
• IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (sequel), 7.0/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (sequel), 77% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (sequel), 76% (original)

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

• Original in franchise: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (sequel), 7.4/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 92% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (sequel), 87% (original)

Creed (2015)

• Original in franchise: Rocky Balboa (2006)
• IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (sequel), 7.1/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (sequel), 77% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (sequel), 76% (original)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

• Original in franchise: X-Men (2000)
• IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (sequel), 7.4/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (sequel), 82% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (sequel), 83% (original)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

• Original in franchise: Mission: Impossible (1996)
• IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (sequel), 7.1/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (sequel), 66% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (sequel), 71% (original)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

• Original in franchise: Batman Begins (2005)
• IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (sequel), 8.2/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (sequel), 84% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (sequel), 94% (original)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

• Original in franchise: The Bourne Identity (2002)
• IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (sequel), 7.9/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (sequel), 83% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (sequel), 93% (original)

Goldfinger (1964)

• Original in franchise: Dr. No (1962)
• IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (sequel), 7.2/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (sequel), 95% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (sequel), 82% (original)

Logan (2017)

• Original in franchise: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
• IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (sequel), 6.6/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (sequel), 37% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (sequel), 58% (original)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (2011)

• Original in franchise: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
• IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (sequel), 7.6/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (sequel), 81% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (sequel), 82% (original)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

• Original in franchise: The Avengers (2012)
• IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (sequel), 8.0/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (sequel), 91% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (sequel), 91% (original)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

• Original in franchise: The Terminator (1984)
• IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (sequel), 8.0/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (sequel), 100% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (sequel), 89% (original)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

• Original in franchise: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
• IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (sequel), 7.4/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (sequel), 92% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 98% (sequel), 87% (original)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

• Original in franchise: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (sequel), 8.8/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (sequel), 91% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (sequel), 95% (original)

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

• Original in franchise: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
• IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (sequel), 8.6/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (sequel), 92% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 97% (sequel), 96% (original)

The Dark Knight (2008)

• Original in franchise: Batman Begins (2005)
• IMDb user rating: 9.0/10 (sequel), 8.2/10 (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (sequel), 84% (original)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (sequel), 94% (original)