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Top Sequels/Prequels

Determining whether a film is a sequel or a prequel is not as clear as one might think. Some of the films listed below, such as Three Colors: Red (1994) and Dogma (1999), can be called sequels only in the loosest sense. Furthermore, some can make a case that films like The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Pulp Fiction (1994) are sequels. Unless otherwise indicated, the original film(s) are on the Master List and rank higher than the sequel.

Rank Title Year Director(s) Original Film(s) Overall
Rank
1 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola The Godfather (1972) 14
2 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Irvin Kershner Star Wars (1977) 43
3 Aliens 1986 James Cameron Alien (1979) 65
4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers1 (2002) 96
5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron The Terminator (1984) 98
6 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone A Fistful of Dollars1 (1964) and For a Few Dollars More1 (1965) 118
7 Bride of Frankenstein 1935 James Whale Frankenstein1 (1931) 121
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 123
9 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 178
10 Goldfinger 1964 Guy Hamilton Dr. No1 (1962) and From Russia with Love1 (1963) 186
11 Dawn of the Dead 1978 George A. Romero Night of the Living Dead (1968) 216
12 Three Colors: Red 1994 Krzysztof Kieslowski Three Colors: Blue1 (1993) and Three Colors: White1 (1993) 232
13 Toy Story 2 1999 John Lasseter Toy Story (1995) 268
14 In the Mood for Love 2000 Kar Wai Wong Days of Being Wild1 (1991) 271
15 The Road Warrior 1981 George Miller Mad Max1 (1979) 306
16 The World of Apu 1959 Satyajit Ray Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito1 (1957) 316
17 Evil Dead II 1987 Sam Raimi The Evil Dead1 (1981) 359
18 Playtime 1967 Jacques Tati Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953) and Mon Oncle1 (1958) 378
19 The Godfather: Part III 1990 Francis Ford Coppola The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part II (1974) 432
20 Aparajito 1956 Satyajit Ray Pather Panchali (1955) 442
21 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom1 (1984) 450
22 Three Colors: White 1994 Krzysztof Kieslowski Three Colors: Blue (1993) 493
23 Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan 1982 Nicholas Meyer Star Trek: The Motion Picture1 (1979) 507
24 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater Before Sunrise1 (1995) 508
25 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan Batman Begins1 (2005) 581
26 Manon of the Spring 1986 Claude Berri Jean de Florette (1986) 617
27 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 Steven Spielberg Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 676
28 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 2004 Quentin Tarantino Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 701
29 From Russia with Love 1963 Terence Young Dr. No (1962) 720
30 Spider-Man 2 2004 Sam Raimi Spider-Man (2002) 765
31 Mon Oncle 1958 Jacques Tati Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953) 850
32 The Bourne Ultimatum 2007 Paul Greengrass The Bourne Identity1 (2002) and The Bourne Supremacy1 (2004) 859
33 A Shot in the Dark 1964 Blake Edwards The Pink Panther (1963) 861
34 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 1999 George Lucas Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) 876
35 X2 2003 Bryan Singer X-Men (2000) 888
36 Casino Royale 2006 Martin Campbell Dr. No (1962) et al. 917
37 Ivan the Terrible, Part II 1958 Sergei M. Eisenstein and M. Filimonova Ivan the Terrible (1945) 930
38 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2005 Steve Box and Nick Park A Grand Day Out1 (1991), The Wrong Trousers1 (1993), and A Close Shave1 (1995) 951
39 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones 2002 George Lucas Star Wars (1977) et al. 959
40 The Bourne Supremacy 2004 Paul Greengrass The Bourne Identity (2002) 1018
41 Zoolander 2001 Ben Stiller Derek Zoolander: Male Model2 (1996) and Derek Zoolander University2 (1997) 1048
42 Back to the Future Part II 1989 Robert Zemeckis Back to the Future (1985) 1067
43 Alien: Resurrection 1997 Jean-Pierre Jeunet Alien (1979), Aliens (1986) and Alien³1 (1992) 1090
44 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949 John Ford Fort Apache1 (1948) 1098
45 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 Alfonso Cuarón Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets1 (2002) 1123
46 The Color of Money 1986 Martin Scorsese The Hustler (1961) 1153
47 Alien³ 1992 David Fincher Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) 1164
48 Back to the Future Part III 1990 Robert Zemeckis Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part II (1989) 1192
49 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 Mike Newell Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets1 (2002), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) 1214
50 The Matrix Reloaded 2003 Andy and Larry Wachowski The Matrix (1999) 1249
51 The Long Day Closes 1992 Terence Davies Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) 1250
52 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 2005 George Lucas Star Wars (1977) et al. 1252
53 The Wrong Trousers 1993 Nick Park A Grand Day Out1 (1991) 1253
54 The Barbarian Invasions 2003 Denys Arcand The Decline of the American Empire2 (1986) 1274
55 Batman Returns 1992 Tim Burton Batman (1989) 1296
56 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1992 David Lynch Twin Peaks2 (1990) 1297
57 Stolen Kisses 1968 François Truffaut The 400 Blows (1959) and Love at Twenty2 (1962) 1327
58 O Lucky Man! 1973 Lindsay Anderson If.... (1968) 1354
59 Army of Darkness 1992 Sam Raimi The Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987) 1360
60 Shrek 2 2004 Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon Shrek (2001) 1380
61 Clear and Present Danger 1994 Phillip Noyce The Hunt for Red October1 (1990) and Patriot Games2 (1992) 1383
62 Superman II 1980 Richard Lester Superman (1978) 1387
63 Star Trek: First Contact 1996 Jonathan Frakes Star Trek: The Motion Picture1 (1979) et al. 1417
64 Chasing Amy 1997 Kevin Smith Clerks. (1994) and Mallrats1 (1995) 1430
65 Desperado 1995 Robert Rodriguez El Mariachi1 (1992) 1459
66 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1986 Leonard Nimoy Star Trek: The Motion Picture1 (1979), Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock2 (1984) 1482
67 Through the Olive Trees 1994 Abbas Kiarostami Where Is the Friend's Home? (1987) and And Life Goes on1 (1991) 1527
68 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 1533
69 Day of the Dead 1985 George A. Romero Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978) 1571
70 The Queen 2006 Stephen Frears The Deal2 (2003) 1639
71 I'm All Right Jack 1959 John Boulting Private's Progress2 (1956) 1642
72 César 1936 Marcel Pagnol Marius1 (1931) and Fanny1 (1932) 1712
73 Scream 2 1997 Wes Craven Scream (1996) 1726
74 GoldenEye 1995 Martin Campbell Dr. No (1962) et al. 1788
75 Rocky II 1979 Sylvester Stallone Rocky (1976) 1805
76 Fanny 1932 Marc Allégret Marius1 (1931) 1810
77 Die Hard 2 1990 Renny Harlin Die Hard (1988) 1819
78 And Life Goes on 1992 Abbas Kiarostami Where Is the Friend's Home? (1987) 1828
79 42: Forty Two Up 1999 Michael Apted Seven Up!2 (1964) et al. 1830
80 28 Up 1985 Michael Apted Seven Up!2 (1964) et al. 1835
81 Die Hard with a Vengeance 1995 John McTiernan Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990) 1846
82 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 2006 Gore Verbinski Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 1874
83 The Spy Who Loved Me 1977 Lewis Gilbert Dr. No (1962) et al. 1902
84 Kriemhild's Revenge 1924 Fritz Lang Siegfried (1924) 1908
85 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002 Chris Columbus Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) 1909
86 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse 1933 Fritz Lang Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) 1964
87 Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999) 1967
88 A Close Shave 1995 Nick Park A Grand Day Out1 (1991) and The Wrong Trousers (1993) 2003
89 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1969 Peter R. Hunt Dr. No (1962) et al. 2041
90 Dogma 1999 Kevin Smith Clerks. (1994), Mallrats1 (1995), and Chasing Amy (1997) 2059
91 Star Trek 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) et al. 2062
92 Drunken Master II 1994 Chia-Liang Liu Drunken Master2 (1978) 2076
93 Addams Family Values 1993 Barry Sonnenfeld The Addams Family2 (1991) 2087
94 The Matrix Revolutions 2003 Andy and Larry Wachowski The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003) 2104
95 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 1989 Jeremiah S. Chechik National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and National Lampoon's European Vacation2 (1985) 2114
96 Antonio das Mortes 1969 Glauber Rocha Black God and White Devil1 (1964) 2115
97 Rocky III 1982 Sylvester Stallone Rocky (1976) and Rocky II (1979) 2117
98 The Snapper 1993 Stephen Frears The Commitments (1991) 2119
99 Rio Grande 1950 John Ford Fort Apache (1948) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) 2127
100 Mallrats 1995 Kevin Smith Clerks. (1994) 2129
101 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 1999 Jay Roach Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) 2135
102 Rambo: First Blood Part II 1985 George P. Cosmatos First Blood (1982) 2146
103 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 1991 Nicholas Meyer Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) et al. 2158
104 Son of Frankenstein 1939 Rowland V. Lee Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 2172
105 Love on the Run 1979 François Truffaut The 400 Blows (1959) et al. 2229
106 2046 2004 Kar Wai Wong Days of Being Wild (1990) and In the Mood for Love (2000) 2244
107 The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear 1991 David Zucker The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) 2279
108 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007 David Yates Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) et al. 2292
109 The Curse of the Cat People 1944 Robert Wise and Gunther von Fritsch Cat People (1942) 2294
110 Rocky IV 1985 Sylvester Stallone Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), and Rocky III (1982) 2327
111 Tarzan and His Mate 1934 Cedric Gibbons Tarzan the Ape Man2 (1932) 2328
112 Lethal Weapon 2 1989 Richard Donner Lethal Weapon (1987) 2355
113 The Pink Panther Strikes Again 1976 Blake Edwards The Pink Panther (1963) et al. 2367

1 Indicates that the original film is on the Master List but is ranked lower than the sequel/prequel.
2 Indicates that the original film is not even on the Master List.

This page was last modified on May 22, 2011