This piece at Atlantic made me think. What’s the best movie sequel? To answer the question you need to answer two others: what’s a sequel and what’s “best”?
It’s easier to define a sequel by what it isn’t than by what it is. A reboot, a reimagining, or a television adaptation is not a sequel. So, for example, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television show) is not a sequel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie). It’s all three of the above (reboot, reimagining, adaptation). It’s not a sequel no matter how much better the television show was than the movie.
Then what is meant by best? From an artistic standpoint The Godfather, Part II is probably the best movie sequel. However, from the standpoint of box office Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow, Part II would be hard to beat. Not only was its worldwide box office bigger than Part I, it was bigger than the first movie in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. It’s the rare sequel that out-grosses the original.
So, what’s the best movie sequel?
-Aliens
-The Empire Strikes Back
Would be my two off-the-top-of-my-head votes
include the above as a subset and add Terminator 2.
If you mean best in the sense that what sequel was most improved over the original then I think Star Trek 2 or X-Men 2. I think the originals were both pretty disappointing but the sequels were so good that they kept making more. If you mean what sequel was just a best movie ever, then Godfather 2. The original was also a great movie and I would have a hard time choosing one over the other. Best financial success I think you already got.
Steve
Zoolander II. OK, maybe not.
Godfather II. Period.