From 'Jurassic Park' to 'The Godfather': America's favourite movie trilogies, ranked

A sequel can make or break a movie

Movie sequels can be a gift or a curse - capable of giving viewers more of what they want, or disappointing by not living up to the original.

Fortunately, in the past half-century, there have been numerous great movie trilogies made that have been so beloved as to become classics.

While narrowing down a favourite can be difficult, a new survey conducted by Vudu Movies and TV asked 2,000 Americans to do just that - and the results are surprising.

The winner of the trilogies was revealed to be the original Indiana Jones trilogy, followed by the Jurassic Park movies, and The Godfather trilogy in third place.

Also ranked high on the list of winners were Back to the Future and The Lord of the Rings.

And proving that the original is sometimes unbeatable, the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV, V, VI) received twice the number of votes compared to the prequel Star Wars trilogy.

As for the best standalone movies in a trilogy, US movie-lovers revealed their appreciation for the first Jurassic Park, which won first place with 38 per cent of the votes.

Following closely behind were the first Back to the Future, which received 37 per cent, and The Godfather at 34 per cent.

Respondents didn’t hold back when it came to rating the worst standalone films in a trilogy, with 20 per cent voting Men in Black 3 as the unfortunate winner.

Alien 3 and Back to the Future III also placed on the list of worst standalones.

Interestingly, despite the possibility of disappointment, the survey revealed that most people, 67 per cent, feel excitement when they hear a movie they really enjoyed is getting a sequel - and only 15 per cent worry about a sequel not living up to the original.

Of the findings, Vudu director of marketing Amit Balan said: “It’s not surprising that the top trilogies are separated by such small margins - they’ve all got great stories, likeable characters, and themes that are pretty timeless. Which is what makes them, and trilogies in general, so powerful.

“There’s so much opportunity to expand on stories, develop characters, and build excitement with each additional film.”

When it came to movie-villain preferences, The Silence of the Lamb’s Hannibal Lecter was the clear winner - while James Bond was voted the best hero.

The survey also found that movie compatibility is an important factor in a relationship - with one in ten people revealing they’d ended things with a partner because they didn’t like their favourite movie.

You can find the top 20 best movie trilogies below:

1. Indiana Jones - 39 per cent
2. Jurassic Park - 37 per cent
3. The Godfather Trilogy - 35 per cent
4. Back to the Future - 34 per cent
5. The Lord of the Rings - 33 per cent 
6. Die Hard - 33 per cent
7. Pirates of the Caribbean - 31 per cent
8. Original Star Wars Trilogy - 31 per cent
9. The Terminator - 30 per cent
10. Toy Story - 29 per cent
11. Home Alone - 28 per cent
12. The Bourne - 26 per cent
13. Iron Man - 24 per cent
14. X-Men - 24 per cent
15. The Matrix - 22 per cent
16. The Hobbit - 20 per cent
17. Alien - 20 per cent
18. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy - 19 per cent
19. Captain America - 17 per cent
20. Mad Max - 17 per cent