Top 10 Movie Franchises That Got Better With Each Sequel

Rise (2011), Dawn (2014), and War (2017) had no business being as good as they were. A franchise reboot about CGI apes should have been a cash grab — instead, Andy Serkis's motion-capture performance as Caesar delivered one of the most emotionally complex characters in modern cinema. Each film raised the dramatic stakes while deepening the allegory about humanity, intelligence, and civilization. The trilogy proved that blockbuster franchises can also be genuine art.

The franchise that Tom Cruise uses to prove he is immortal. Each Mission: Impossible film has been better reviewed and more commercially successful than the last. Fallout (2018) is considered one of the greatest action films of the 21st century, with the HALO jump and helicopter chase setting new standards for practical stunts. Cruise doing his own stunts at 60+ is absurd, heroic, and the reason the franchise keeps escalating.

Batman Begins (2005) reinvented the superhero genre. The Dark Knight (2008) transcended it entirely — Heath Ledger's Joker remains the greatest villain performance in blockbuster history. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is the weakest of the three but still a remarkable conclusion. Nolan proved that superhero films could be serious, thematically ambitious, and genuinely great cinema. Every "dark and gritty" reboot since owes its existence to this trilogy.

A retired assassin kills 77 people because someone killed his dog. That absurd premise launched a franchise that escalated from intimate revenge thriller to baroque, world-building action opera. Each film expanded the Continental universe while raising the choreographic standard for action cinema globally. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) — with its Osaka Continental sequence and Arc de Triomphe car chase — is the franchise's masterpiece and one of the best action films ever made.

DreamWorks' animated trilogy started as a charming boy-and-his-dragon story and evolved into a genuinely moving meditation on growing up, letting go, and the responsibilities of leadership. The Hidden World's ending — Hiccup saying goodbye to Toothless — is one of the most emotionally devastating sequences in animation. Each film matured alongside its audience, tackling increasingly complex themes while maintaining visual spectacle. The trilogy is Pixar-level storytelling.

The franchise that defined Pixar improved with each entry — a nearly unprecedented feat across four films. Toy Story 2 deepened the characters, Toy Story 3 delivered the most emotionally devastating ending in animation history (the incinerator scene), and Toy Story 4 found new thematic territory in purpose and identity. Each sequel was criticized pre-release as unnecessary, and each proved its existence with storytelling that justified every frame.

Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013) — each filmed nine years apart with the same actors (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) — chart a love story across decades in real time. Each film is essentially two people walking and talking, and each is more profound than the last. Before Midnight's honest, painful depiction of a long-term relationship is the most realistic portrayal of love in cinema. The trilogy improves because the characters age, and aging brings depth.

Part One (2021) was a gorgeous but incomplete introduction. Part Two (2024) was the payoff — a fully realized epic that delivered on every promise of the first film. The sandworm ride, the political intrigue, the romance, and Timothee Chalamet's transformation from reluctant hero to messianic leader made Dune: Part Two the best sci-fi film in decades. The improvement from Part One to Part Two is one of the most dramatic in franchise history.

Peter Jackson's trilogy is the gold standard for franchise escalation. Fellowship of the Ring is a perfect adventure film. The Two Towers raised the scale with Helm's Deep. Return of the King delivered the most epic conclusion in cinema history — winning all 11 Oscars it was nominated for. Each film expanded the world, deepened the characters, and escalated the stakes. The extended editions make them even better. Twenty-plus years later, nothing has matched it.

Rise (2011), Dawn (2014), and War (2017) had no business being as good as they were. A franchise reboot about CGI apes should have been a cash grab — instead, Andy Serkis's motion-capture performance as Caesar delivered one of the most emotionally complex characters in modern cinema. Each film raised the dramatic stakes while deepening the allegory about humanity, intelligence, and civilization. The trilogy proved that blockbuster franchises can also be genuine art.

The franchise that Tom Cruise uses to prove he is immortal. Each Mission: Impossible film has been better reviewed and more commercially successful than the last. Fallout (2018) is considered one of the greatest action films of the 21st century, with the HALO jump and helicopter chase setting new standards for practical stunts. Cruise doing his own stunts at 60+ is absurd, heroic, and the reason the franchise keeps escalating.

Batman Begins (2005) reinvented the superhero genre. The Dark Knight (2008) transcended it entirely — Heath Ledger's Joker remains the greatest villain performance in blockbuster history. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is the weakest of the three but still a remarkable conclusion. Nolan proved that superhero films could be serious, thematically ambitious, and genuinely great cinema. Every "dark and gritty" reboot since owes its existence to this trilogy.

A retired assassin kills 77 people because someone killed his dog. That absurd premise launched a franchise that escalated from intimate revenge thriller to baroque, world-building action opera. Each film expanded the Continental universe while raising the choreographic standard for action cinema globally. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) — with its Osaka Continental sequence and Arc de Triomphe car chase — is the franchise's masterpiece and one of the best action films ever made.

DreamWorks' animated trilogy started as a charming boy-and-his-dragon story and evolved into a genuinely moving meditation on growing up, letting go, and the responsibilities of leadership. The Hidden World's ending — Hiccup saying goodbye to Toothless — is one of the most emotionally devastating sequences in animation. Each film matured alongside its audience, tackling increasingly complex themes while maintaining visual spectacle. The trilogy is Pixar-level storytelling.

The franchise that defined Pixar improved with each entry — a nearly unprecedented feat across four films. Toy Story 2 deepened the characters, Toy Story 3 delivered the most emotionally devastating ending in animation history (the incinerator scene), and Toy Story 4 found new thematic territory in purpose and identity. Each sequel was criticized pre-release as unnecessary, and each proved its existence with storytelling that justified every frame.

Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013) — each filmed nine years apart with the same actors (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) — chart a love story across decades in real time. Each film is essentially two people walking and talking, and each is more profound than the last. Before Midnight's honest, painful depiction of a long-term relationship is the most realistic portrayal of love in cinema. The trilogy improves because the characters age, and aging brings depth.

Part One (2021) was a gorgeous but incomplete introduction. Part Two (2024) was the payoff — a fully realized epic that delivered on every promise of the first film. The sandworm ride, the political intrigue, the romance, and Timothee Chalamet's transformation from reluctant hero to messianic leader made Dune: Part Two the best sci-fi film in decades. The improvement from Part One to Part Two is one of the most dramatic in franchise history.

Peter Jackson's trilogy is the gold standard for franchise escalation. Fellowship of the Ring is a perfect adventure film. The Two Towers raised the scale with Helm's Deep. Return of the King delivered the most epic conclusion in cinema history — winning all 11 Oscars it was nominated for. Each film expanded the world, deepened the characters, and escalated the stakes. The extended editions make them even better. Twenty-plus years later, nothing has matched it.