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We analysed some of the most popular movie sequels to find out which is the best overall.
When the first movie in a franchise is a hit, the demand for a sequel usually follows in a lot of cases.
Sometimes those sequels can be just as good, if not better than the first, however the flip side is it might not have the same impact.
To find out which movie sequel was ranked as the best overall, the online casino team here at Betway analysed some of the most popular sequels using factors such as IMBd Rating, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score and Positive Sentiment towards each film.
Ranking at number one, we have the final in the Lord of the Rings trilogy: The King Returns.
Scoring 96.66 overall, the conclusion to Bilbo Baggins’ story scored highly across all factors, claiming the title of the best rated movie sequel.
Closely behind was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s second instalment of Terminator, scoring 92.15 across the index ranking.
Rounding off the top 3 was The Dark Knight with high scores on both IMDb and Rotten Tomato, however the positive sentiment at 51% dragged the overall score down slightly.
Best Rated Movie Sequels
|
Movie Sequel |
IMBd Rating/10 |
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer/100 |
Positive Sentiment/100 |
Total Score (/10) |
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
9 |
94 |
72 |
96.66 |
|
Terminator 2: Judgement Day |
8.6 |
91 |
75 |
92.15 |
|
The Dark Knight |
9 |
94 |
51 |
84.80 |
|
The Godfather 2 |
9 |
96 |
34 |
76.27 |
|
Avatar: The Way of Water |
7.5 |
76 |
76 |
72.01 |
|
Avengers: Endgame |
8.4 |
94 |
35 |
68.86 |
|
Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
7.8 |
93 |
48 |
68.77 |
|
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning |
7.5 |
80 |
66 |
68.51 |
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 |
8.1 |
96 |
38 |
68.19 |
|
X-Men 2 |
7.4 |
85 |
62 |
67.79 |
|
Rocky II |
7.3 |
70 |
67 |
61.40 |
|
John Wick: Chapter Two |
7.4 |
89 |
45 |
60.33 |
|
Deadpool 2 |
7.6 |
84 |
45 |
59.94 |
|
Captain America: Civil War |
7.8 |
90 |
34 |
59.25 |
|
Fast & Furious 7 |
7.1 |
82 |
55 |
58.77 |
|
Spider-Man: No Way Home |
8.2 |
93 |
20 |
57.55 |
|
Star Wars: The Last Jedi |
6.9 |
91 |
33 |
48.88 |
|
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom |
6.1 |
91 |
48 |
48.16 |
|
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire |
7.5 |
90 |
17 |
46.20 |
|
The Hangover Part II |
6.5 |
34 |
33 |
13.64 |
Iconic films such as The Godfather 2 were also amongst the best sequels, scoring a respectable 76.27 for fourth spot.
The 96 rating on Rotten Tomatoes was the joint highest in the ranking alongside Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Other franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel had plenty of inclusions within the study due to their vast popularity amongst audiences.
However, at the other end of the scale, The Hangover Part II didn’t quite have the same impact as it’s predecessor, scoring just 13.64 overall in the selection for the study.
Methodology
Each film was ranked based on three factors: IMBd Rating, Rotten Tomato Tomatometer score and Positive Sentiment (Brandwatch).
Each factor was then indexed with higher scores meaning a higher rating.
All data correct as of June 2025.
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- Source: https://blog.betway.com/casino/the-best-rated-movie-sequels/