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The 20 Best Movie Series of All Time
From rom-coms like Bridget Jones to cult classics like Harry Potter
Whether you’re a fan of rom-coms, horror, or dramas, every movie lover needs the occasional movie marathon. What better way to scratch that itch than by binging a beloved series? There are plenty of options to kill time with, from iconic classics like Harry Potter and Star Wars to contemporary favorites like The Hunger Games and Dune. Looking to tap into some nostalgia? Then, franchises like Bridget Jones, American Pie, or the Before trilogy have you covered.
We made your next binge-watch easy by breaking down 20 of the best movie series of all time. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Scream (1996—Present)
This classic slasher film series has provided a staple Halloween costume for middle school-aged kids across the world. With its signature blend of horror and comedy, Scream follows a mysterious masked figure named Ghostface, who embarks on a murder spree waged against the residents of a small town in California. In its three-decade run, the movies have been home to some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, Jenna Ortega, and Jack Quaid.
The Before trilogy (1995—2004)
Director Richard Linklater uses the age-old romance trope of “right person, wrong time” for the basis of these three movies. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy) first meet as students who happen to be taking the same train to Paris. Over the course of one night, the two walk through the streets of Vienna and fall for each other, but they don’t end up seeing each other again until nine years later.
Bridget Jones (2001—2025)
If you’ve ever slapped yourself in the forehead over a painfully awkward encounter with a crush, then you might find yourself relating to Bridget Jones. The titular character of this decades-spanning film franchise isn’t exactly the type of heroine you may generally expect to find in most rom-coms. She’s crass, obsessive, and neurotic—and she constantly ends up in romantic situations that she should know better than to put herself in. But, no matter how many social faux pas she commits, Bridget endearingly reminds us viewers that everyone is deserving of their ultimate love story. And, if that isn’t enough to convince you to binge, then maybe the dashing onscreen appearances of Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Patrick Dempsey, and Leo Woodall will.
The Dark Knight (2005—2012)
In what is arguably the greatest superhero film franchise of all time (sorry Marvel!), Christian Bale commands the screen as Bruce Wayne, the moody billionaire businessman who doubles as a vigilante figure named Batman. Nolan also blessed us with other great casting decisions, from Heath Ledger as Joker, Tom Hardy as Bane, Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow, and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.
The Hunger Games (2012—Present)
You can thank Suzanne Collins for ushering in an age of dystopian young-adult fiction and cinema to the world. Adapted from Collins’s best-selling series, The Hunger Games takes us inside Panem, a totalitarian country that forces its residents to procure 24 child tributes to participate in an annual televised bloodbath. While the games are treated as a spectacle of entertainment for the country’s richest denizens, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), a tribute from Panem’s poorest district, changes everything when she enters the arena.
Harry Potter (2001—2011)
It’s hard to overstate just how much Harry Potter changed the game upon its feature film debut in the early aughts. Based off of the best-selling children’s book series, the eight movies made Hogwarts a household name and kicked off the careers of its three main stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. The films follow the titular Harry, a lonely and abused orphan whose life is changed when he finds out that he actually descends from a long line of wizards. While he makes friends and solves mysteries at his magical boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, a darker force looms above him, threatening to undo his entire world as he knows it.
Watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Dune (2021—Present)
Before there was Star Wars, there was Dune. At least, that’s only if you’re accounting for the 1960s Frank Herbert books. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the story, which follows decades after David Lynch’s take, stars Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, whose family is tasked with leading the colonization of an inhospitable desert planet called Arrakis, valued for being the only known galactic source of a life-extending drug called “the spice.” Besides Chalamet, the film boasts a stellar cast—including performances by Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Austin Butler—and jaw-dropping visual effects that will have you wondering how they managed to capture a giant sand worm on camera.
Knives Out (2019—Present)
Where there’s murder and mystery, there is Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). The whodunit franchise started in 2019, with the first movie unraveling the case behind the death of a beloved crime novelist. The standalone sequel, Glass Onion, saw Benoit return under different circumstances; this time, he headed out to a private Greek island, where a tech billionaire hosted his eclectic group of friends for a fatal vacation. The third installment, Wake Up Dead Man, is set for release later this year and will include the introduction of new cast member Josh O’Connor.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2012—2021)
The best-selling young adult romance series by Jenny Han became the premise of one of Netflix’s most beloved movie series. Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is a hopeless romantic who finds herself in the unfortunate predicament of being in love with your older sister’s ex-boyfriend. When her younger sister mails out her lifelong stash of love letters—which includes passionate messages penned to past and current crushes—Lara Jean hatches a deal with her school’s star lacrosse player, Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo). The two agree to be in a fake relationship in order for Lara Jean to throw off the suspicions of her sister’s ex and for Peter to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.
Watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
The Princess Diaries (2001—2004)
What would you do if you woke up one day and found out that you were royalty? That question is at the premise of this beloved Garry Marshall-helmed film franchise, loosely based off of Meg Cabot’s book series of the same name. The first installment stars Anne Hathaway in her feature film debut as Mia Thermopolis, a shy and awkward teenager who finds out that her long-estranged grandmother, Clarisse (Julie Andrews), is the queen of a small European country called Genovia—and she’s next in line to the throne. More than two decades after the release of the sequel, Royal Engagement, the franchise is reportedly returning to our screens with a third movie.
Star Wars (1977—2019)
In the ’70s, George Lucas was just a man with a dream about a laser beam-shooting, cinnamon bun-wearing space opera saga. Decades later, the filmmaker is now responsible for the creation of one of the most singularly iconic film franchises in movie history. The original trilogy—which followed Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a poor rural farmer on a journey to join the ancient order of Jedi Knights—were released in 1977, 1980, and 1983. The highly contentious prequels about the rise of the franchise’s main antagonist, Darth Vader, were subsequently released in 1999, 2002, and 2005. The most recent additions to the Star Wars cinematic universe came in 2015, 2017, and 2019. They take place decades after the events of the OG trilogy, following a young aspiring pilot named Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she uncovers the mysterious disappearance of Luke Skywalker.
Twilight (2008—2012)
If there’s any series powerful enough to convince tens of thousands of fans to make an annual pilgrimage to an obscure town in the state of Washington, it’s Twilight. Forks, Washington is home to the Cullens, a coven of vampires who peacefully coexist with the town’s human residents. When 17-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves to Forks, she unwittingly falls for one of those vampires (Robert Pattinson). Inevitably, their relationship sparks a rivalry with a group of local werewolves and a civil war amongst the vampiric race.
Avatar (2009—Present)
It may have taken 13 years to get the sequel, but, in the end, we got it. James Cameron’s revolutionary Avatar series takes place on Pandora, a habitable moon within the Alpha Centauri star system. As humans wage war on its native population in order to extract a valuable mineral, one man defects, joining the Na’vi as they resist Earth’s colonial fleet. While there are only two movies currently available to watch, Cameron plans on releasing five Avatar films in total. Luckily, fans won’t have to wait so long to watch the third; it’s slated for a theatrical release this December.
The Lord of the Rings (2001—2003)
![academy award? nominee fran walsh philippa boyens peter jackson for best adapted screenplay in new line cinemas epic adventure, the lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring. pictured is best supporting actor nominee ian mckellen (l) as gandalf with elijah wood as frodo. (photo by new line/wireimage)](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-80417015-68093b97e4a10.jpg?crop=0.760xw:1.00xh;0.0884xw,0&resize=980:* "New Line Cinema's "Lord Of The Rings" Gets 13 Oscar Nominations")
When it comes to a fantasy film series, you can do no better than Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s celebrated book series, the movies chronicle the quest to save Middle Earth from the dark lord Sauron. There is quite literally a biblical amount of lore that even the extended versions of these movies barely scratched the surface of, but Jackson does a marvelous job of getting to the heart of the story: in the timeless battle between good versus evil, good always prevails.
Mad Max (1979—2024)
George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action series chronicles the adventures of the titular Max, an officer drifting through the wastelands of Australia following the ecological collapse of civilization. In this dystopia, water and “guzzoline” (the new term for gasoline) are currency, and violence is the universal language of those left who are fighting for a chance to survive. The original trilogy starred Mel Gibson as Max. Miller later recast the role for the 2015 reboot, which starred Tom Hardy.
Watch Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
The Chronicles of Narnia (2005—2010)
As bombs rain down on London during World War II, the Pevensie children are shipped away to safety in the English countryside, where they take up residence in a large mansion owned by a mysterious old professor. In the house, they discover an enchanted wooden wardrobe that acts as a portal between their world and a mythical land called Narnia. Based off of C.S. Lewis’s acclaimed children series of the same name, The Chronicles of Narnia is a fantastical journey into an ancient universe brimming with magic.
Watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
Watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Legally Blonde (2001—Present)
Legally Blonde made pop culture history? What, like it’s hard? Reese Witherspoon is utterly charming as Elle Woods, a UCLA sorority girl who attempts to woo her preppy beau by getting into Harvard Law School. When that relationship backfires, Elle finds herself isolated on the East Coast—a lone girl in hot pink in a sea of khaki and cashmere. Instead of conforming, Elle decides to subvert everyone’s shallow expectations of her by exceeding them. Her resilience and determination make her stand out amongst her fellow prospective lawyers, proving that women can do it all and they can do it in Prada heels. In 2018, Witherspoon confirmed that a third Legally Blonde movie is also on its way, though details about the project are still largely unknown.
The Mummy (1999—2008)
This remake of the 1932 horror film of the same name stars Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a treasure hunter working in Cairo, Egypt in 1926. When Rick and a crew of archaeologists accidentally uncover an ancient tomb during an expedition, they open the doors for a 3,000-year-old curse to wreak havoc on the living world.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011—2018)
Adapted from the Swedish crime novel series Millennium, the movies follow Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker gifted with a photographic memory, and Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced investigative journalist. Together, the two team up to solve a 40-year-old case involving the disappearance of a wealthy businessman’s niece. While the 2011 film starred Rooney Mara and Daniel Crag in the lead roles, the 2018 sequel featured Claire Foy and Sverrir Gudnason as Lisbeth and Mikael.
American Pie (1999—2012)
This raunchy and hilarious coming-of-age saga begins with a group of high schoolers who are determined to pop their cherries before they graduate. In the subsequent three films, the gang reunites in college, at a wedding, and at their high school reunion.
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