The Right Sequence to Watch Popular Movie Franchises – Part 1: Start Here to Avoid Confusion!
Hollywood isn’t new to sequels, prequels, remakes, and spin-offs. You can deny it, but this is a really good way to keep up the show business and earn a lot. Having franchises isn’t always enough, when it’s done right even the 15th installment would be worth the wait. There have been several movie franchises, some with more than 20 movies. And that poses a problem with big franchises, sometimes you don’t know which movie to watch first, second, and so on. So let’s get into the most loved movie franchises that no one should miss. For those who haven’t seen these, here’s the right sequence to watch the most popular movie franchises, so that you can binge-watch without getting confused.
1.Matrix
Everyone has heard of The matrix, you might have missed out on it but you sure know about the franchise. It originally started off as a trilogy. The three feature-length films released in chronological order. Ever since spin-offs and other additions such as The Animatrix shorts have been a part of the timeline. In the movie, we see a young hacker called Neo (Keanu Reeves) realizing that the world he knows is just a simulation. A simulation that has been designed by machines that have taken over the human race.
Source: Star Democrat
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- Enter the Matrix (video game) (2003)
- The Animatrix (2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- The Matrix Online (online role-playing game) (2005)
- The Matrix: The Path of Neo (video game) (2005)
2. X-Men
There are a total of 13 movies in the X-Men Universe. It all started in the year 2000, these were released by 20th Century Fox. These movies, In total, earned a whopping amount of $6 billion worldwide. These are different from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though they come from the same book company. Even though Disney bought Fox in 2019 (for a whopping $71 billion), there is no crossover between Disney’s MCU and Fox’s X-Men films. “Logan”, “Deadpool”, and “New Mutants” are all a part of Fox’s universe.
Source: The Live Mirror
- X-Men: First Class (set in 1962, released in 2011)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (set in 1973, released in 2014)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (set in 1981, released in 2009)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (set in 1983, released in 2016)
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix (set in 1992, released in 2019)
- X-Men (set in 2000, released in 2000)
- X2: X-Men United (set in 2003, released in 2003)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (set in 2006, released in 2006)
- The Wolverine (set in 2013, released in 2013)
- Deadpool (set in 2016, released in 2016)
- Deadpool 2 (2018, released in 2018)
- Logan (2029, released in 2017)
3. Star Wars
It all started in 1977 when the first movie came out. These movies captured the imagination of the generation, which is why the movies continue to date. The franchise is loved by everyone. There are a total of 12 movies, of which nine are part of the Skywalker Saga. There have been 2 spin-offs, one of which was an animated feature. In total earned a stupendous amount of $10.2 billion worldwide. “Rogue Squadron” is set to hit the theatres in 2023.
Source: Pinterest
- Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Rogue One (2016)
- Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
- Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
4. Lord of the Rings
These movies are based on the novels by J. R. R. Tolkien. These are a total of six movies, these movies make up the Middle Earth film franchise. It has the trilogy from “The Lord of the Rings” novels and a trilogy that was adapted from “The Hobbit.” In total earned a whopping amount of $5.86 billion worldwide.
Source: The movie Database
- The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
5. Die Hard
These movies are both critically and commercially successful. There are a total of 5 movies, which show reluctant hero John McClane as he always ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and has to fight terrorists and save his loved ones. In total earned a pretty impressive amount of $1.2 billion worldwide. The movie was loved so much that they ended up making video games and a comic series.
Source: IMDB
- “Die Hard” (1988)
- “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” (1990)
- “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” (1995)
- “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007)
- “A Good Day to Die Hard” (2013)
6. Rocky
Rocky is that one movie that has been lifting up spirits for the past 40 years now. This was the greatest sports movie ever made. The franchise has been giving us the best of the best. The latest one has Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed taking up for the new generations. The movies have been a rollercoaster.
Source: Pinterest
- Rocky (1976)
- Rocky II (1979)
- Rocky III (1982)
- Rocky IV (1985)
- Rocky V (1990)
- Rocky Balboa (2006)
- Creed (2015)
- Creed II (2018)
7. Planet of the Apes
The first movie was released in 1968, YES! it has been on the roll for about 53 years now. The audience loved the movies, so much so that there are 8 movies in this franchise. The movies have almost the same titles which is why it can get confusing. You can watch them according to the theatrical release or the chronological timeline given below. The first 5 movies were released between 1968 and 1973. The latest movies came from the 2010s that had Andy Serkis as Caeser. This franchise is worth the watch, TRUST ME!
Source: Roger Ebert
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
- War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
- Planet of the Apes (1968)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
- Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971)
- Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
- Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1974)
8. Marvel Cinematic Universe
Everyone knows and loves the Marvel cinematic universe. They have released 23 movies in just 12 years. These 12 years have been off the chart amazing, especially if you read Marvel comics as a child. It just doesn’t end with 23 movies, there are many more movies to come. Soon Black Widow will hit the theatres. Marvel has topped the chart, with a massive amount of $22.5 billion worldwide. It has the highest-grossing film of all time with “Avengers: Endgame.”
Source: Marvel
- “Iron Man” (2008)
- “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
- “Iron Man 2” (2010)
- “Thor” (2011)
- “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
- “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012)
- “Iron Man 3” (2013)
- “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
- “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014)
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
- “Ant-Man” (2015)
- “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)
- “Doctor Strange” (2016)
- “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)
- “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017)
- “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
- “Black Panther” (2018)
- “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
9. Star Trek
The brash James T. Kirk is trying to live up to his father’s legacy with Mr. Spock as a vengeful Romulan from the future made a black hole just to destroy the Federation one planet at a time. They are all aboard the USS Enterprise, the most sophisticated starship ever built, a beginner crew boards the ship on a voyage.
Source: Roger Ebert
- “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979)
- “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982)
- “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984)
- “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986)
- “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989)
- “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991)
- “Star Trek Generations” (1994)
- “Star Trek: First Contact” (1996)
- “Star Trek: Insurrection” (1998)
- “Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002)
- “Star Trek” (2009)
- “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013)
- “Star Trek Beyond” (2016)
10. Pirates of the Caribbean
There have been a total of 5 movies, ever since the debut of “Curse of the Black Pearl. These movies grossed a colossal amount of $4.52 billion worldwide. There are rumors that Disney may make the sixth movie but that hasn’t been official yet.
Source: Disney
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Which of these movies have you seen? These movie franchises are loved all over the world. Did we miss any popular movie franchises? We will be coming up with the second part of this article soon so let us know if you want to know about any particular movie franchise. Do not forget to check out Part 2 of this post The right sequence to watch most popular movie franchises – PART 2. Do let us know in the comments down below if you would like us to cover some other topic related to Hollywood.