Unforgettable Sequels That Surpassed the Originals

It almost seems to go without question today that a movie, regardless of whether successful or not, will be followed by a sequel. Some may be released almost immediately after, separated by just a few years while others may take time to develop, as is the case with the follow-up to the 1988 film "Beetlejuice," the newly released "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice". Sequels are a common practice that Hollywood has been producing since the beginning of motion pictures, with the first feature-length sequel, "The Fall of a Nation", a follow-up to "The Birth of a Nation", which came out in 1915. Some are hugely successful, while others are not. (These are the 25 worst movie sequels of all time.)

To determine unforgettable sequels that surpassed 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.

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)