The predictions for 2025’s box office hits among the movies yet to be released this year includes sequels and a highly anticipated remake. From The Naked Gun and Final Destination: Bloodlines to Karate Kid: Legends and 28 Years Later, 2025 has already been a great year for legacy sequels. Franchises have predominated the output of the industry in recent years.

However, the quality of such franchise films are questionable, as movies like Jurᴀssic World Rebirth and the I Know What You Did Last Summer remake prove that they often don’t have cinematic substance to offer. Many movie franchises have bounced back after disappointing films, but it’s fairly common for franchises to fail to live up to an amazing first film.

There are movie trilogies where the second film is the best, and some franchises, like Guardians of the Galaxy, do end on a high note. It may be rare, but a few stories deserve continuation, and even through reboots and legacy sequels, a few movie franchises continue to be great throughout. Such franchises often even outdo an amazing first film.

Back to the Future

It doesn’t get more classic than Marty McFly and Doc Brown’s time-jumping shenanigans in the iconic DeLorean, but despite being one of the best feel-good movies of the 1980s, one naturally questions the franchise potential of such a story, even if it ends on a cliffhanger. However, both sequels, and especially the third, live up to the perfect first film.

The time travel details get a little convoluted in the first sequel, but its heartfelt and hilarious journey and classic last-minute action set piece make it just as much of a feel-good movie. The way the third film blends the Back to the Future trademark shenanigans with the Western genre makes it an instant classic that still holds up today.

Three Flavours Cornetto

Living up to one of the most hilarious horror comedy movies of all time is no easy task, but it’s still debatable, which among the movies in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy is the best. Shaun of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ‘s approach to the zombie genre is pure comedic genius, with some gags that still inspire filmmakers today, over two decades later.

The next film, H๏τ Fuzz, arguably the funniest in the trilogy, is a classic black comedy action film with the most quotable lines in the franchise. Its sequel, The World’s End, takes the franchise back to its sci-fi roots with a surprisingly effective alien invasion plotline that perfectly cues up hilarious gags, thus living up to the amazing first movie.

How to Train Your Dragon

One of the best fantasy movie franchises that is already finished, DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon fantastically lived up to the incredible first film that introduced the world to the hometown of the dragon-riding, unique Viking Hiccup and his adorable friend, Toothless. How to Train Your Dragon‘s among the greatest treatments of the unlikely friendship trope in cinema history.

To follow that up with an equally strong film that grows the lore about dragons, reveals more details about Hiccup’s backstory, and strengthens the bond between him and Toothless is commendable. The final film has just as much heart, and it perfectly concludes the journey the characters undertake through the franchise, allowing them to move on without sullying the legacy.

Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ

It’s been over four decades since Sam Raimi made the first The Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ movie, and followed it up six years later with a fantastic sequel that switched up the franchise’s approach to zombie horror. With Army of Darkness, the franchise entirely moved over to horror-comedy territory from the frenzied, gory, and tense mood of the mᴀssively influential first film.

It is particularly difficult for franchises to retain quality through remakes, but Fede Álvarez’s Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is a return to form for the franchise, with a focus on gore and dramatic intensity. Its sequel, Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Rise, is a recent horror movie that sticks with you after the credits roll, because its inventive gore reintroduces humor to the franchise, too.

Toy Story

Three decades ago, Pixar Studios animated their first full-length feature and started one of the most successful animated movie franchises in the history of the medium, with both films made after the Animated Picture category was added to the Oscars, winning the award. The concept of toys staying alive while you’re not in the room is the perfect winning formula.

The characters’ growth is heartening, as the toys emotionally grow and eventually bid farewell to Andy in the third film, finishing the perfect trilogy. So, the announcement of the fourth film naturally made many skeptical, but it’s an animated movie that’s much better than expected, and successfully recaptures the magic that made the trilogy so great!

28 Days Later

Using the premise of a zombie apocalypse to explore the darkest corners of humanity and telling an intense thriller story focused on the role of collective paranoia and problematic gender politics, makes Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later a unique horror movie. The shaky cam footage of the action sequences and the hypnotic and gloomy background score further elevate the film.

28 Weeks Later remains an underrated sequel despite the franchise making a comeback this year. Despite shifting focus to the zombie apocalypse at hand, it’s an incredibly tense action thriller. 28 Years Later, though, again uses the outbreak as a premise to create a heartwrenching human drama, setting up more films that will hopefully also live up to the original.

Before

Richard Linklater’s legacy will forever be inextricably linked to his romantic Before trilogy, which is still one of the greatest franchises in the genre. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s chemistry in Before Sunrise makes it the sweetest meet-cute film ever. Before Sunset recaptures the magic as they pick up where they left off, but have a more mature dynamic.

Before Midnight is one of the best movies about fighting couples, as the evolved dynamic, now marked by more arguments than cute moments, is still authentically human, without indulging in negativity. It ends on a note that feels true to the original film, which the whole trilogy lives up to, especially Before Sunset, arguably the best of the three.

36th Chamber

Irrespective of your opinion of the genre, Lau Kar-leung’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a martial arts movie everyone should watch, because it features one of the greatest training arcs in movie history, and its treatment of politics and action as a genre for dramatic tension still hold up today, nearly half a century later.

The 36th Chamber franchise is also known for successfully introducing a vein of comedy into what was previously an arduous and intense action film. Both the sequels have more lighthearted premises and use martial arts as a means to set up gags while wowing audiences with unbelievable maneuvers that are still inspiring setpieces in martial arts movies today.

Dark Knight

Everything Christopher Nolan touches turns into a golden standard for the industry, for good or bad, and his impact on the comic book genre is still felt two decades later. Batman Begins grounds the character in a narrative that’s detached from its source material in tone, but creates a gritty world where dramatic tension and action sequences complement each other.

The next film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight, is a modern movie that reshaped the industry as the first major blockbuster to feature IMAX footage and as the most critically acclaimed superhero film ever. While The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t live up to its predecessor, it’s still an incredible conclusion to one of the most influential trilogies ever.

John Wick

A man goes on a murder spree spanning four films after someone kills his dog. This might sound too silly on paper, even for the most committed dog-lover in the world, but John Wick is an action movie that shockingly exceeded all expectations with its grounded and polished approach to the genre that was overwhelmed with poor cinematography and logic.

It reinvented the action genre for good, bringing a gritty flair that has since inspired many filmmakers. However, even more shocking is how it continues to weave the tapestry of the world with the thinnest of threads connecting the movies. Despite basically being the same film, all five movies in the franchise are entertaining and carry on the original’s legacy.