8 Greatest Blockbuster Trilogies of All Time, Ranked

Also, something has to be a blockbuster in the traditional, crowd-pleasing sense to be included here, which is why The Godfather was disqualified, as those were big movies and were largely successful, but they weren’t true blockbusters in terms of having broad entertainment and approachable spectacle. And one further thing: trilogies are being stuck to strictly here, so no Planet of the Apes, which is a quadrilogy now (the reboot series, which began in 2011), and no Toy Story, which just keeps on going, even though it probably should’ve stayed a trilogy. Some trilogies below are technically part of larger franchises, but they are still distinctly their own three-movie thing.

8 'The Dark Knight' (2005–2012)

2005’s Batman Begins was pretty good overall, or maybe even a little better than pretty good, even if it paled in comparison to The Dark Knight (2008). People talk about that one like it might well be the best superhero movie ever made, and those people are kind of onto something. It really is that good, and not just because it has Heath Ledger as the Joker in it… though that does help.

Then came 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, and it was the biggest of the films, but also the most flawed. Still a satisfying enough conclusion to the overall trilogy, but there is a messiness to it that recalls the final movie in another superhero trilogy that began in the 2000s (one that may or may not involve a spider). Still, the trilogy as a whole feels like a trio of blockbuster movies, and there is one phenomenal one in the bunch, sandwiched between two good – but not as great – films, so The Dark Knight trilogy’s worth including here.

7 'Avatar' (2009–2025)

With Avatar, it’s a trilogy for now. So, disqualify it if James Cameron ever gets around to directing a fourth movie, or more, or even if he hands it off to a different director, it'll still probably be the same storyline; the same series. This one’s up in the air. The other trilogies here have almost all definitively concluded, as the only ones that technically could keep going are superhero trilogies (one helmed by James Gunn, and the other by Sam Raimi), but they're unlikely to go beyond a third film.

It’s also worth putting Avatar here because these movies really do go the extra step as far as blockbuster filmmaking is concerned. No expense was spared for the first movie, it seemed, and then there were even more possibilities on a technical front with Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash. These films are huge and want to please everyone, maybe too drastically in both cases, but it’s hard not to admire all the spectacle and visuals throughout this (again, for now) trilogy.

6 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014–2023)

That just alluded-to James Gunn trilogy was Guardians of the Galaxy, which fits within the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe, of course, but is very much its own story. The characters here play a role in films #3 and #4 of the Avengers series, but within their own trilogy, there isn't much by way of crossing over, and so that keeps the films feeling distinct.

It’s also unlikely there will be a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 at this stage, especially with Gunn’s involvement, since he’s more recently gotten involved in the D.C. side of things as the cinematic equivalent of a showrunner, and has so far directed The Suicide Squad (2021) and Superman (2025) for that new cinematic universe. Also, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finishes on a very cathartic note for all the principal characters, some of whom may return in future MCU movies, sure… but this specific Guardians team feels like it went out on a high note.

5 'Back to the Future' (1985–1990)

The first Back to the Future movie is the best of them, but the sequels are also surprisingly good, and the trilogy as a whole is an easy-to-revisit one. The first movie’s naturally very nostalgic, and was so at the time, since the plot involves going back to the 1950s and having to get back to the 1980s, but nowadays, there’s extra nostalgia from the fact that the movie also feels very ‘80s in its style and energy, but definitely not in a bad way.

Back to the Future Part II really escalates things by having time travel that goes forward in time and backwards, while Back to the Future Part III mixes things up by going way back to the past (like, Old West times), because why not? These films all feel like crowd-pleasers and blockbusters, albeit each one doing so in a slightly different way, and so the trilogy is, overall, an effortlessly endearing and enduring one.

4 'Spider-Man' (2002–2007)

The best Sam Raimi trilogy is probably his Evil Dead one (and that’s part of a series, but the first three are distinct because Raimi directed all of them, and each one starred Bruce Campbell as the same character), but the Evil Dead movies aren’t full-on blockbusters. So, here’s his Spider-Man trilogy instead, which peaks with Spider-Man 2, a movie so good it’s admittedly, on its own, better than any single Evil Dead movie.

It’s, like, one of the best movies of the century so far, superhero-related or otherwise. It carries things a little like how The Dark Knight was the centerpiece (literally and figuratively) of its trilogy, but also, Spider-Man (2002) has to be recognized for how great it was as an origin story, and for how influential it ultimately came to feel, since there was a real superhero boom later in the 2000s, and beyond. Also, Spider-Man 3… sure, that one’s flawed, but it’s better than some give it credit for, and it’s had some re-evaluation in more recent years that’s been largely deserved, even if it’s technically a weaker film than the other two in the trilogy.

3 The 'Dollars' Trilogy (1964–1966)

As the Dollars trilogy goes on, the movies get bigger, so even if it’s a stretch to call A Fistful of Dollars a blockbuster, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ends up doing a lot of the heavy-lifting, for present purposes. Also, A Fistful of Dollars is still pretty punchy, immediate, and broadly appealing, and it works as a great foundation for, first, For a Few Dollars More to get grander in scope and more ambitious narratively, and then The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to explode further, becoming one of the all-time great epics.

These movies are also super iconic and memorable, and they make the West feel particularly larger-than-life (especially the final two movies in what’s an admittedly somewhat loose trilogy). Sergio Leone’s other trilogy is even looser, but also worth an honorable mention, with Once Upon a Time in the West maybe being blockbuster-ish, but then Duck, You Sucker is probably too heavy, and then Once Upon a Time in America is also quite miserable and challenging (in intentional/fitting ways, though).

2 The 'Star Wars' Original Trilogy (1977–1983)

If the sequel trilogy hadn’t collapsed on itself, and the prequel trilogy had been a little stronger overall, maybe they could stand a chance of being featured here, but Star Wars trilogy-wise, the original one’s untouchable. Star Wars (1977) did a great deal and established so much, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) got even more epic and emotionally interesting, and then Return of the Jedi (1983), though not quite as great, was a more-than-satisfying finale.

Some of those non-original trilogy Star Wars movies are worthy of honorable mentions, sure, but Star Wars (1977) helped define what a blockbuster was, or could be, and then it ended up being just one part of an overall great trio of movies. It comes down to this or a certain fantasy trilogy from the early 2000s, in the #1 spot, and so Star Wars is a very close second, ultimately.

1 'The Lord of the Rings' (2001–2003)

Yes, The Lord of the Rings. It’s the one trilogy that can top the first three Star Wars movies, though you can also see these movies not as movies, but as one, like, giant movie. The whole thing was helmed as one huge project, and then edited/split into three movies that were released at a rate of one a year in the early 2000s, with The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).

All are phenomenal movies in their own ways, and then when you add them all together and appreciate The Lord of the Rings as one giant epic (much as the original novel was conceived/written as one massive work), then appreciation for it all only grows. These movies are huge, and have continued to hold up exceptionally well in the 20+ years since they all came out. Honestly, as far as self-contained movie trilogies go, there might well never be a better one than The Lord of the Rings.