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The more the Step Up franchise evolved, the harder it became to track which order to watch them in. The original installment was the one that gave audiences a preview of the movie star Channing Tatum would evolve into, with the 2006 romantic drama casting him as a troubled youth who discovers a talent for dance. The film was a surprise success, and while Tatum soon departed to bigger things, the Step Up movie franchise itself would prove oddly robust.
There have been six movie entries thus far, though the most recent installment is considered more of a spin-off than part of the main franchise. While they largely scored poor reviews, their impressively choreographed dance sequences and crowd-pleasing formula made the Step Up movies a success. Based on box-office numbers alone, even the lowest-grossing outing was a solid hit, but it appears the series is taking a long break from the big screen.
Step Up Movies In Release Order
The Films Run From 2006 Through 2019
The 2000s were a busy period for hit dance movies, with the genre spawning the likes of Save the Last Dance, Antonio Banderas' Take the Lead, and the High School Musical movies. The first Step Up fit neatly into that niche, with the combination of dance and romance being enough to lure viewers into theaters. It probably helps that Tatum had great chemistry with co-star Jenna Dewan, with the two later marrying in real life; though they eventually separated in 2018.
Tatum returned for a cameo in Step Up 2, and the series was soon handed off to a new batch of characters. The Step Up films are resolutely targeting a PG-13 crowd, and while they never earned much critical respect, their grosses steadily slid upward. While the fifth entry was billed as something of The Expendables of the entire saga - as it brought back most of the cast from previous entries - it was still lacking many characters, with the most notable absence being Tatum's Tyler.
In addition to the movies, a TV series titled Step Up: High Water debuted in 2018 and ran for three seasons.
Step Up | 2006 |
Step Up 2: The Streets | 2008 |
Step Up 3D | 2010 |
Step Up Revolution | 2012 |
Step Up: All In | 2014 |
Step Up China | 2019 |
Step Up Movies In Chronological Order Of Events
Step Up (2006)
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Step Up
Tyler gets the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, earning him the chance to win a scholarship and dance with a promising dancer, Nora.
Director Anne Fletcher
Release Date August 11, 2006
Writers Duane Adler , Melissa Rosenberg
Runtime 98 minutes
Directed by Anne Fletcher (Hocus Pocus 2), this first installment follows Tatum's Tyler Gage who, after vandalizing an art school, is sentenced to community service there. He soon meets talented ballet dancer Nora, and though the two initially clash, events conspire to make them dance partners and they fall in love. Step Up established the formula of the series, and while it lacks the glitz and flash of later outings, it's a simple tale, well told.
...the first movie is a love story first and a dance movie second...
Interestingly, while the later movies in the franchise are firmly about succeeding in the world of dance and finding community in art, the first movie is a love story first and a dance movie second. It's clear that this idea gets flipped in later installments of the series, and audiences began tuning in more for the dance sequences than the characters. Tatum also displays a flare for dancing that would really pay off when it came to the Magic Mike movies.
Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)
Box Office: $151 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Cast: Briana Evigan (Andie), Robert Hoffman (Chase), Will Kemp (Blake), Harry Shum, Jr. (Cable), Cassie Ventura (Sophie), Adam Sevani (Moose), Christopher Scott (Hair), Black Thomas (Tucker), Telisha Shaw (Felicia), Sonja Sohn (Sarah), Channing Tatum (Tyler)
Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) took the reins for the first sequel, The Streets (and the next entry too), which follows dance student Andie as she makes her way through an elite school. She and some of the other oddballs there later team up to take part in a dance battle, with Tatum popping in for a brief cameo to help Andie out.
Step Up 2 has one of the stronger narratives of the series, and introduced fan favorites like Moose. Needless to say, the dance sequences are the real draw, with Chu infusing them with real energy and style. On rankings of the best entries in the franchise, The Streets tends to rate fairly high among franchise devotees.
While characters from the first movie in the franchise don't pop up again in the rest of the movies much, The Streets characters are the ones to return again and again. They help provide the narrative through-line in the franchise even as the location moves away from Maryland after this installment.
Step Up 3D (2010)
Step Up 3D is the third installment in the Step Up dance film series. Released in 2010, it follows a group of New York City street dancers led by Luke and Natalie, as they compete alongside NYU freshman Moose in a major hip hop competition against elite dancers from around the world.
Director Jon M. Chu
Release Date August 4, 2010
Runtime 107 minutes
Cast Rick Malambri , Adam Sevani , Joe Slaughter , Sharni Vinson , Alyson Stoner , Kendra Andrews , Stephen 'tWitch' Boss , Daniel 'Cloud' Campos , Ivan 'Flipz' Velez , Christopher Scott , Luis Rosado , Martín Lombard , Keith Stallworth , Facundo Lombard , Oren Michaeli , Aja George , Straphanio 'Shonnie' Solomon , Terence Dickson , Chadd Smith , Britney 'B' Thomas , Terrance Harrison , Jonathan 'Legacy' Perez , Jaime Burgos III , Ashlee Nino , Tamara Levinson
Released during an era where 3D movies were all the rage, the third film at least made good use of the format. Step Up 3D follows series returnees Moose (a supporting player in the second movie) and Camille (Tyler's foster sister from the first movie) as they go to New York for college. There, they join up with a team of dancers that includes Natalie as they face off with another crew.
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The story is strictly by the numbers and the central romance is sweeter than the others, not having the same sizzle factor, but once again, the set pieces impress the audience. One thing this movie does well is explore more genres of dance. While the first two movies focused on the fusion of ballet and street styles, Step Up 3D expands that, even giving Moose and Camille a number that saw them dancing through the streets in the vein of classic musicals. Step Up 3D also proved to be the highest earner of the franchise.
Step Up Revolution (2012)
Step Up Revolution follows Emily, an aspiring dancer who arrives in Miami and forms a connection with Sean, leader of a dance crew. Tensions rise as her father's development plans threaten the crew's neighborhood, intertwining their dance ambitions with a struggle for community preservation.
Director Scott Speer
Release Date July 26, 2012
Runtime 99 minutes
Cast Kathryn McCormick , Ryan Guzman , Misha Gabriel , Stephen 'tWitch' Boss , Cleopatra Coleman , Peter Gallagher , Tommy Dewey , Emiliano Díez , Steve Zurk , Mia Michaels , Claudio Pinto , Adam Sevani , Mario Ernesto Sánchez , Kevin A. Walton , Megan Boone , Tangi Colombel , Katie Peterson , Chadd Smith , Mari Koda , Nicole Dabeau , Chris Charles Herbert , Marc Macaulay , Claudia Rocafort , Jordana DePaula , Tiger Kirchharz
Revolution moved the action to Miami and follows a gang of dancers known as "The Mob" as they try to prevent developers from tearing down their neighborhood. In a plot that feels like something out of a much older teen movie, the main character Emily falls in love with The Mob's leader Sean, and they have to convince Emily's business tycoon father not to rip the neighborhood down through the power of dance.
The idea of the movie is a well-used one in Hollywood, particularly in the age of cinema in which studios contracted with the same actors for dozens of movies and essentially owned them. Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, in particular, were known for their "Mickey and Judy Put on a Show" movies in their teen years, only they usually assembled a band and sang some songs instead of dancing to save the day.
Though the movie retained some of the dancers from the previous movie and kept fan-favorite Moose involved, the story and performances of Revolution leave much to be desired. Some nicely choreographed sequences aside, it's one of the weaker sequels. The critical reception to the sequel and lower grosses began to signal it was probably time to wrap the series up too.
Step Up: All In (2014)
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Step Up All In
Director Trish Sie
Release Date August 8, 2014
Writers John Swetnam , Duane Adler
Runtime 112 minutes
A real Avengers: Endgame moment for the series came with 2014's All In, where many - though not all - of the major characters from past movies came together for a victory lap. If there's one thing the series knew how to do, it was to increase the stakes of the storyline with each movie, while still telling the same essential story each time.
The dance sequences in each round also got more impressive, and All In doesn't hold back as it moves the story from Miami to Los Angeles, where many of the dancers from the previous movies are trying to make professional careers out of their passion. The story involves the returnees uniting as a crew to take part in a competition called The Vortex, which would earn them a Las Vegas spot.
The dance set pieces are great, and there's a real sense the producers knew All In would be the end of the series (at least for the time being), but more effort in the actual story and dialogue would have been appreciated.
Step Up China (2019)
Box Office: N/A | Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Cast: Meng Meiqi (Xiao Fe), Owodog Chuang (Te She), Dany Lee (Ni Si), Jingxing Huang (Iron Monkey), Zack Roberts (52 Killer), Jade Chynoweth (USA Phantom Dancer)
One of the more obscure outings in the franchise is 2019's Step Up China (AKA Step Up: Year of the Dance). Actor and stuntman Ron Yuan (Black Dynamite) helmed this spinoff, which feels a little more action-driven than the rest of the saga. Predictably, the story is fairly generic and involves dancers from different backgrounds learning to work together, but again it's the set pieces that matter. These are at least pulled off with verve, but Step Up China is typically ranked the lowest of the series - and with good reason.
While it doesn't have many professional reviews that circulated following its release, audiences who saw the movie didn't hold back when they reviewed it on sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Many referenced it not just as the worst movie of the franchise, but one of the worst dance movies since it failed to showcase some of its dancers' more impressive skills. Its lack of connection to the rest of the franchise was also lamented by many who enjoyed that the first five movies attempted to maintain connections between characters.
Step Up Was Also A TV Show And Stage Play
Step Up: High Water Premiered In 2018
Step Up has also continued beyond the movies. In 2018, YouTube Red launched the first season of the series Step Up: High Water, though the series would later be renamed simply Step Up. The series didn’t spotlight characters from the movies, but instead followed students at a performing arts school in Atlanta, Georgia, keeping a similar format to the movies, but telling a longer and more serialized story. When YouTube canceled the series after the second season, Starz picked the show up for season 3.
...the series was much better received than any of the sequel movies.
Unfortunately, the series saw production delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic and, following the death of Naya Rivera, had to recast her character (with Christina Millian) since season 3 scripts had already been written to feature her. Other characters also had to be recast as actors became committed to other projects during the delays. With the delays, the cast changes, and the move to a new platform, not as many eyeballs were on the TV series, and Starz canceled the show after only one season.
The cancelation was a blow for fans of the franchise as the series was much better received than any of the sequel movies. It helped that directors who had experience with choreography and musicals were chosen to direct episodes. It was also recognized that the show had a stronger storyline than most of the sequels. Critics praised the narrative choices of the series. Decider had even named it the “best narrative installment” of the franchise.
Tatum also planned a stage show inspired by the movies. In 2022, it was announced that he had started the development stages for a live show and was targeting a 2023 release. As of June 2024, however, the stage show hasn’t been fully realized yet. In Dubai, however, a stage show inspired by the movies did run in 2016. Even though the television series was the last installment of the Step Up franchise in 2022, it’s unlikely to be the last.
Where To Watch The Step Up Movies
Hulu Offers Several Step Up Movies To Stream
With all of the Step Up movies in order being rather straightforward, fans of the franchise will next be looking for where they can watch all the movies from home. Luckily, there are viewing options for each of the six movies, and while they can't all be viewed in the same place, there is one streaming platform that offers the best option for fans. Starting on December 9, 20224, the first three movies in the Step Up franchise will be available on Hulu. With these films making up the most popular of the franchise, it adds convenience for fans.
As for the other movies, Step Up: Revolution is available on Netflix, Step Up All In is available on the Roku Channel, and Step Up China is available on Prime Video. Each movie in the franchise is also available to rent or buy on the usual video-on-demand platforms, like Apple TV, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Step Up (2006) | Hulu | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
Step Up 2 The Streets (2008) | Hulu | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
Step Up 3D (2010) | Hulu | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
Step Up Revolution (2012) | Netflix | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
Step Up All In (2014) | The Roku Channel | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
Step Up China (2019) | Prime Video | Apple TV, Amazon, Microsoft |
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