Two movies is all it takes to start a media franchise. Two is better than one, but expectations are raised. How sequels hold up to the original film is a cause for concern for moviegoers. They want to be wooed and awed like they did the first time. Not exactly in the same ways as before, but close enough where it doesn’t disappoint or detour from the source material. A second film makes this unspoken promise, and the results are either mixed, skewed, or surprising.
Trilogies get a third more of a chance to win audiences over. The first could be the best, the second just okay, and the third could be a contender for the best in the series. Having choices and different directions the story takes keeps viewers excited about the movie they watched for the first time, but not the last time. One scene could be all it takes to excuse the flaws and make an entire film worth the sought after two thumbs up rating. Sometimes two thumbs are overkill; sometimes only one thumb is needed for a lack of choices and higher stakes. Duologies are a rare treat that keeps on giving what was already given.
10 Space Jam (1996, 2021)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Not all basketball players are actors. The original Space Jam with Michael Jordan was unique for reviving the Looney Tunes from its re-run limbo to its golden age status. Space Jam: A New Legacy, with Lebron James, put them on life support with unabashedly outdated jokes and frames of reference. The animation was photorealistic; the colors and scope of the Space Jam universe were explored further, but the humor fell flatter than Wile E. Coyote crushed underneath a boulder. It’s one of those time capsule films that should be buried and unearthed to see how the times have changed. Bugs Bunny should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque, after all.
9 C.H.U.D. (1984, 1989)
Vestron Pictures
There’s nothing like a zom-com to warm your undead heart. The C.H.U.D. (Cannabilistic Humanoid Under Dweller) poses a threat in a small town after a group of teenagers awaken the discontinued military project. In the sequel, a C.H.U.D. is infected test subject Bud “the C.H.U.D.” Oliver (Gerrit Graham) who creates an army of hungry buds. The loose sequel to the original science fiction horror embraced a B-movie style that made for an unexpected so-bad-it’s-good romp and chomp for human flesh.
8 Finding Nemo (2003, 2016)
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Disney and Pixar are known for their straight-to-video sequels, but Finding Nemo almost didn’t get a sequel. Instead of a clownfish’s son getting lost in the deep blue sea, a regal blue tang with short-term memory loss that rivals a goldfish’s memory attempts to find her parents she lost long ago. Finding Dory was a creative extension of a character trait and a reversal of the lost and found child plot.
7 Tron (1982, 2010)
Father and son ties and evil AI from the eighties threaten the future in this cult legacy duology. A virtual reality similar to that of the Matrix shows a digital plane of existence known as the Grid. A corrupt program entraps a father, the owner of a software company, and twenty years later, his son tries to save him and the real world from being deleted. The storyline plays well with technological dangers that can plague a better future like ransomware and reprogramming with charming retro-futuristic visual effects.
6 Blade Runner (1982, 2017)
Replicants have become more human with the biological capability of giving birth. This revelation could lead to a war between humans and replicants, marking the end of civilization. Replicant blade runner K (Ryan Gosling) must find a replicant child and retire (kill) it before the secret gets out. Meanwhile, fellow blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) returns alongside the replicant freedom movement. The cybernetic organism metaethics adds an extra layer of depth to the conscious and subconscious reality Blade Runner is known for.
5 The Incredibles (2004, 2018)
Ever since the Underminer villain poked its mole-shaped head out from beneath the city streets, fans were itching for a sequel. Brad Bird, the creator of The Iron Giant, more than delivered. Incredibles 2 continues the adventures of the superhero family with its signature spy and noir action and suspense. The sequel was the third Pixar film to gross $1 billion, setting records during its opening weekend and theatrical run. It received a nomination for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and even though it lost to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it was a compliment to be compared with super company.
4 Hellboy (2004, 2008)
Universal Pictures
The devil detective of the paranormal fights off magical creatures in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. An elfin people attempt to find a golden crown for their royal blood to summon and command an unstoppable mechanical army made of gold. Mike Mignola, the creator of the Hellboy comic, told IGN in 2007 he and director Guillermo del Toro decided to focus less on the Nazism and governmental secrecy and more on the “folklore” and “old gods.” Mignola compared the elves to Native Americans with “a nuclear warhead” who could “accept [their] fate” or “take the world back” and the consequences of that. The characters’ otherworldly appearances earned them an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup as well. With elements of fantasy and horror, the sequel is supernatural good fun.
3 National Treasure (2004, 2007)
The Declaration of Independence has never been safer, or in more danger, than in the hands of Nicolas Cage. History is rewritten and records are straightened in this thriller as Cage kidnaps the President and learns about the nation’s hidden treasures and truths disclosed in a book of secrets. Originally, there were no plans for a sequel, but with nearly $350 million in box office earnings, National Treasure: Book of Secrets went into production. Among the many historic locations in the film, Mount Rushmore was the most time-consuming due to weather and relocation to the nearby Black Hills. Making the series a trilogy would be tempting. Can you imagine Cage meeting aliens at Area 51?
2 Gremlins (1984, 1990)
Warner Bros.
Gremlins was lightning in a bottle that struck twice. The first was a morality play about responsibility and taking care of your pets. Gremlins 2:The New Batch was an unhinged maelstrom of mogwai attacking New York City and satirizing Hollywood sequels. Its parodies made it less violent than the original, which at the time led to a mixed reception and box office failure. Director Joe Dante had no intentions of making a sequel, seeing the first as a one-off film with a true ending. When others tried putting the Gremlins in Las Vegas and on Mars, Dante returned with full creative control. Despite his concerns of time between the movies being a cause for a lack of public interest, The New Batch developed a cult following.
1 Batman (1989, 1992)
Tim Burton gave Batman and his rogues gallery a dark yet whimsical personality. Tim Burton was opposed to a sequel, finding his Batman to be “boring,” considering he lacked most creative control. Comic book writer and screenwriter of the first film, Sam Hamm wrote a sequel with a more developed Bruce Wayne, Batman, and the villains, which sparked Burton’s return as director where his vision was realized. A middling macabre with its wicked sense of humor, subtle nuances, and sexual deviance compliments this duology.
