Throughout the annals of film, we know one undeniable truth: Cinephiles love movie trilogies.
Namely, when we reach the promised payoff in the third film’s final minutes. Case in point: Spider-Man: No Way Home. With Spider-Man: Homecoming earning $878 million and Spider-Man: Far From Home besting that with $1.132 billion, it was a safe bet this movie trilogy would end with a cacophony of cash registers. And $1.625 billion later, Spider-Man: No Way Home is now one of the top 10 most profitable films ever.
Notwithstanding that discussion, it is essential to note Hollywood has been known to set aside its genius and focus on its greed.
Sometimes, those nasty production houses don’t know when to say when. Some trilogies were ruined because the majordomos of these outfits decided to milk that old, raggedy heifer one more time to squeeze out another film for the cashier to ring. It doesn’t matter if they ruined a perfect trilogy. No one cares that a satisfactory ending needs to be stretched into an abyss pothole to put the band back together. A couple of those may be below.
However, box office receipts are not the only factor that defines a movie as “the best.” (Ask James Cameron and Avatar about that.) The Spider-Man “Home” trilogy is one of the best movie trilogies ever because of the box office, storytelling, characterization, connection, and pop culture impact. Let’s use those same metrics to determine what joins this masterclass trilogy.
What are the (other) ten best movie trilogies of all time?
10. Before Trilogy (1995-2013)
Now before you gripe about CBM originals Iron Man or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, there is a reason those two just missed the cut. From Pirates to Matrix, Bourne to Terminator, none of those landmark movie trilogies can say the original vision for their respective trios took close to 20 years to fulfill. Richard Linklater began this trilogy in 1995 with Before Sunrise, waited nine years, and filmed Before Sunset, then waited nine more years to complete his vision with Before Midnight. Every film had the same actors showing the same family and fulfilling the same promise of a loving couple throughout their lives.
If that idea sounds familiar, it should. The idea was Boyhood. That was an Oscar-winning triumph. And, oh yes, the director was Richard Linklater, who also directed Dazed and Confused and School of Rock. Imagine filming three movies over two decades that bring one vision? You may not have heard of it. Few people saw it. But please believe this trilogy is a masterpiece in filmmaking and storytelling. Movies are much more than CGI and fan service. The Before trilogy proves it.
- Best Movie: Before Midnight
- Leads: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
- Director: Richard Linklater
- Box Office: $42.83 million
9. Back to the Future Trilogy (1985-1990)
Family Ties introduced families to Michael J. Fox. Back to the Future welcomed him to the world. What Robert Zemeckis created with this trilogy was magical. No wonder his other films like Cast Away, Forrest Gump, and The Polar Express carried a spell that lured fans, success, and Oscars in his direction. The three films in this trilogy welcomed the wonderful world of marketing because of the sheer entertainment level of them all, specifically Marty McFly’s first journey in time, thanks to the wonder of the Flux-capacitor.
Even 40 years later, Nike is trying to capitalize on this trilogy by making McFly’s extraterrestrial high-tops. What kid during this time didn’t want to wear a goose-down vest, play guitar, and ride a skateboard? This trilogy was a marvel in so many ways, and all it took was one wholesome family and an eccentric scientist who was a few fries short of a complete Happy Meal.
- Best Movie: Back to the Future.
- Leads: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Box Office: $959.5 million
8. The Captain America Trilogy (2011-2016)
Thanks to comics, Marvel already had marketing muscle with Captain America, unlike with the onset of Luke Starkiller…eh, Skywalker’s intergalactic exploits. We knew who he was, even if we did not know his complete origin story. All Marvel’s movies in “The Infinity Saga” are more than created; they are strategic. Iron Man may have received the lion’s share of the attention, but once this trilogy was complete, it was abundantly evident that Captain America deserved his spotlight.
The First Avenger was a simple story that casual and die-hard fans could embrace. Next, Kevin Feige created a $714 million bear hug with The Winter Soldier, which almost doubled the box office take from its predecessor. And Civil War? Not even a Yeti could squeeze that well. Marvel created a remarkable set of films with its first Avenger and one of the most successful movie trilogies ever. Films such as The Dark Knight and Logan are top-tier movies because of the pragmatics and realism that make you forget you’re watching a “comic book movie.” These aren’t that. This trilogy is a fantastic film worthy of bronzing and a few awards.
- Best Movie: The Winter Soldier
- Leads: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Robert Downey Jr.
- Directors: Joe Johnston, The Russo Brothers
- Box Office: $2.23 billion
7. Indiana Jones Trilogy (1981-1989)
Indiana Jones is one of those movie trilogies with fantastic bread, but the PB&J could have used more crunchy peanut butter in the middle. Notice the bookends because whatever the hell that alien version was could have been the end of Steven Spielberg‘s career. It was that bad. What made the Indiana Jones trilogy so powerful is that it hearkened back to another time. No, not the period piece in the films but the mid-1930s with the swashbuckler Errol Flynn.
George Lucas and Spielberg are cinema historians. Their collective creation established comparisons between Harrison Ford in this trilogy and Errol Flynn shooting arrows in a forest or wielding a sword on a pirate ship were uncanny. Indy’s historic journeys took him everywhere and saw him fighting everyone. All he had was his wit, charm, and fit–the iconic leather jacket, fedora, and bullwhip. They’re in the Smithsonian if that tells you anything about how remarkable is this trilogy. A genius set of movies that hold up to this day.
P.S. If you want to know why the box office can’t be the only metric in defining a film’s greatness, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made the most money than the previous three–by more than $100 million. Seriously?!
- Best Movie: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Leads: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Sean Connery, Kate Capshaw
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Box Office: $589.3 million
6. Toy Story Trilogy (1995-2010)
Toy Story is one of those movie trilogies with fantastic bread, but the PB&J could have used more crunchy peanut butter in the middle. Notice the bookends because of whatever the hell that alien version could have been. It’s a certainty this happened everywhere, but what grade-school child watched these movies and didn’t start talking to their toys, much less mark their name on those toys. There is a grueling feeling to know that after Pixar placed the absolute perfect bow on this trilogy, they had to push for a fourth film. It ruined the troika of Toy Story. And who didn’t catch some dust in their eyes when that third movie ended? I wasn’t crying; you’re crying!
The first film was nearly perfect in every way from the imagination of the plot, and the casting was flawless. Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head? Wonderful. It was the first-ever feature-length film made exclusively with CGI. This was a momentous change for the whole of Hollywood. The film was award-winning and set the standard for all animated films, just like its two sequels. Check any of those review sites. This is still the highest-rated trilogy ever.
- Best Movie: Toy Story
- Leads: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney, Annie Potts
- Director: John Lasseter
- Box Office: $1.96 billion
5. The Man with No Name Trilogy (1964-1966)
This is one of the most-forgotten movie trilogies when creating lists like this one. And the fact that Sergio Leone didn’t mean for these films to be considered a trilogy is also a bit ironic. This trilogy is as much grand achievement in cinema as it is “where the hell did that come from?” The birthplace of “Spaghetti Westerns” may not have been born here, but it indeed became famous here.
Many of these imported Westerns were frowned upon in the states, but Sergio Leone had a different vision–one led by outsiders whose mere presence made the plains tremble. “The Man with No Name” (aka. Clint “Badass” Eastwood) was that guy, and he brought justice wherever his guns could target. Eastwood forced Hollywood to look at these Westerns through a different lens, one of sheer storytelling and atmosphere. Then, by adding the iconic score from Ennio Morricone, this is easily one of the best movie trilogies in history with some of–if not the–best Westerns in history.
P.S. “The Ecstasy of Gold” is transcendent and used in sports hype footage and even to open Metallica concerts. As for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, $10 says you have whistled that at least once in your life. That’s a legacy that far outlives the chill bumps felt during an excellent action sequence.
- Best Movie: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- Leads: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonte
- Director: Sergio Leone
- Box Office: $54.8 million
4. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012)
This is one of the movie trilogies that changed everything. From this point in comic book circles, superheroes were “real.” No one would ever meet some long-haired Scandanavian who belches lightning and flies around with a mini sledgehammer. However, some rich dude hell-bent on vengeance? Could be. Gone were the schmaltzy POWs, KABOOMs, ZOWIEs from the ’60s or even the Day-Glo suits and cutesy shtick from the ’80s. Enter the Oughts, the home of grit, dank, and gloom over a dystopian city needing a champion.
Christopher Nolan created the benchmark for superhero movie storytelling. Nothing intergalactic or extraterrestrial; just a veritable vista of angst and necrosis. It was phenomenal as a threesome, and the meat in the middle of the sandwich is arguably the best comic book movie of all time. Many believe Batman Begins is the weakest of the three, but it is a quintessential origin story as a standalone film. Nothing can compare with the cinematic tapestry that covered us all. And, in geek circles, nothing may replace it either.
- Best Movie: The Dark Knight
- Leads: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Box Office: $1.18 billion
3. The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990)
The story. That score. And all those Quotables. The Godfather trilogy is one of the best made. The narrative throughout the saga (including that third offering) is one of the most authentic crime dramas ever produced. Inspired by Mario Puzo’s novel, the story of the Corleone family is mesmerizing in so many ways. In particular, storytelling and the salient truth on display make this an easy consideration for the top three movie trilogies. The cast is fantastic, and even today, you forget how long these films are in terms of “acceptable length.”
As masterful as the first story was, The Godfather Part II surpassed it. So good that Francis Ford Coppola‘s sequel is often considered one of the top sequels of all time too. And now that Coppola released the “CODA” for The Godfather III, this threesome got even better. It had to happen because that grand finale sucked a little. Despite the bummer of watching that one and expecting the same greatness from the other two, the heritage of this trilogy is a masterclass in filmmaking.
- Best Movie: The Godfather, Part II
- Leads: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Robert De Niro
- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- Box Office: $431.10 million
2. Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (1977-1983)
George Lucas is the standard-bearer for what creates a dynastic franchise. Of course, he would kick off a list of the best movie trilogies ever. The continuous plot, multifaceted characters, and special effects mesmerized the world. The challenge was how a film production company keeps stimulating the embers of a trilogy with three years of development in-between each film? Ergo, the introduction of marketing all those toys. No one had ever done that before. How many John Wayne toys have you seen on the shelves at your favorite Big Box store? But now they are more sophisticated. Guys who sleep in their mom’s basement call them “collectibles.”
It was almost $2 billion at the box office (in the late ’70s) between these three films. And the first sequel competes with The Dark Knight and The Godfather, Part II for the best sequel of all time. Then, the way this trilogy ended. Nerds had heart murmurs. Han gets baked in some cement-looking soup with his arrogant “I know” ass. Luke figures out the attraction to Leia, and then we throw up a little in our mouths. And Lando becomes our hero. It was majestic, and from these three movies, we have the blueprint for a perfect trilogy to last the test of time.
- Best Film: The Empire Strikes Back
- Actors: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams
- Director: George Lucas
- Box Office: $1.78 billion
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
Peter Jackson took that blueprint and turned it into a pretzel. The cinematography (even though much of it was CGI) was stunning. The plot was gripping. And the action was amazing. J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic series became a movie, and many die-hard fans of the book doubted what could be made into a film. They quickly shut up within 30 minutes of The Fellowship of the Ring. What started as a singular journey to Mount Doom was split thanks to a fork in the road with half of the elven posse forging ahead to Middle Earth and warning everyone of the battle Sauron will unleash.
There was nothing about this trilogy that did not impress and earn nominations. Even Howard Shore‘s score made Hans Zimmer freak out! No argument exists that Jackson didn’t do Tolkien’s vivid imagination justice. And the trilogy did precisely what it is supposed to do — each film built on the other was better than the other and was more successful than the other. Theatrical or the bodacious extended versions: There is no denying The Lord of the Rings is one of the most heralded, successful, and profitable trilogies of all time.
- Best Movie: The Return of the King (and its 11 Oscar wins!)
- Leads: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom,
- Director: Peter Jackson
- Box Office: $2.99 billion.
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Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
