Moviefone’s 20 Best Sequels of All Time.
Sequels have long been a mainstay in Hollywood and they are as popular now as they have ever been!
This year alone we’ve already seen successful sequels such as ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come‘, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘ and of course ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘, which earned over $2 billion at the box office in its first 3 weeks of release.
“A brand new day starts now.”
Release Date: Jul 31, 2026
Run Time: 2 hr 25 min
Budget: $225,000,000
With that in mind, Moviefone is counting down the 20 best sequels of all time. However, for this list we are only including true sequels, the first follow up to an original movie, and we are not including other installments of the franchise.
Let’s begin!
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(L to R) Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in ‘Back to the Future Part II’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Marty (Michael J. Fox) and Doc (Christopher Lloyd) are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents — again.
“Getting back was only the beginning.”
Release Date: Nov 22, 1989
Run Time: 1 hr 48 min
Budget: $40,000,000
Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
Release Date: Aug 17, 2012
Run Time: 1 hr 43 min
Budget: $100,000,000
After arriving in India, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.
“If adventure has a name… it must be Indiana Jones.”
Release Date: May 23, 1984
Run Time: 1 hr 58 min
Budget: $28,000,000
After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), aka Captain America is living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon (Anthony Mackie). However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
Release Date: Apr 4, 2014
Run Time: 2 hr 16 min
Budget: $170,000,000
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters the Spider Society, a team of Spider-People charged with protecting the Multiverse’s very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles (Shameik Moore) finds himself pitted against the other Spiders and must set out on his own to save those he loves most.
“It’s how you wear the mask that matters.”
Release Date: Jun 2, 2023
Run Time: 2 hr 20 min
Budget: $100,000,000
(L to R) Zazie Beetz as Domino, ) Bill Skarsgård as Zeitgeist, Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, and Terry Crews as Bedlam in ‘Deadpool 2.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) battles the evil and powerful Cable (Josh Brolin) and other bad guys to save a boy’s life.
“Prepare for the Second Coming.”
Release Date: May 18, 2018
Run Time: 2 hr
Budget: $110,000,000
Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Release Date: Jul 7, 1989
Run Time: 1 hr 54 min
Budget: $25,000,000
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is forced out of retirement by a former associate looking to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to aid him, Wick travels to Rome and does battle against some of the world’s most dangerous killers.
“Never stab the devil in the back!”
Release Date: Feb 10, 2017
Run Time: 2 hr 2 min
Budget: $40,000,000
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil (Ronny Cox). With the help of Sgt. Taggart (John Ashton) and Det. Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of “alphabet” robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
“Axel Foley is back. Back where he doesn’t belong.”
Release Date: May 18, 1987
Run Time: 1 hr 43 min
Budget: $28,000,000
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). In the meantime, Parker still can’t act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), a girl he’s loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well…
“There’s a hero in all of us.”
Release Date: Jun 30, 2004
Run Time: 2 hr 7 min
Budget: $200,000,000
(L to R) Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure ‘Dune: Part Two,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Follow the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
“Long live the fighters.”
Release Date: Mar 1, 2024
Run Time: 2 hr 47 min
Budget: $190,000,000
Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring–but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers–Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron’s fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam (Sean Astin) are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.
Release Date: Dec 18, 2002
Run Time: 2 hr 59 min
Budget: $79,000,000
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
“At the end of the universe lies the beginning of vengeance.”
Release Date: Jun 4, 1982
Run Time: 1 hr 53 min
Budget: $12,000,000
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose” (Anthony Edwards). Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
“Feel the need… The need for speed.”
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Run Time: 2 hr 11 min
Budget: $170,000,000
Ripley, (Sigourney Weaver) the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Release Date: Jul 18, 1986
Run Time: 2 hr 17 min
Budget: $18,500,000
Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time to protect young John Connor (Edward Furlong) from the shape-shifting T-1000 (Robert Patrick). Together with his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton), he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
Release Date: Jul 3, 1991
Run Time: 2 hr 17 min
Budget: $102,000,000
Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) and his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler) find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from “The Book of the Dead.” As they play the recording an evil power is unleashed taking over Linda’s body.
“Kiss your nerves goodbye!”
Release Date: Mar 13, 1987
Run Time: 1 hr 24 min
Budget: $3,500,000
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker (Heath Ledger).
“Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
Release Date: Jul 18, 2008
Run Time: 2 hr 32 min
Budget: $185,000,000
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
“The Star Wars saga continues.”
Release Date: Jun 20, 1980
Run Time: 2 hr 4 min
Budget: $18,000,000
Al Pacino in ‘The Godfather Part II’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
“The rise and fall of the Corleone empire.”
Release Date: Dec 20, 1974
Run Time: 3 hr 22 min
Budget: $13,000,000
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