30 Movie Sequels That Were Better Than the Original By Jacob Osborn, Stacker News On 1/31/21 at 10:00 AM EST If there are two unwritten laws by which Hollywood (nearly) always abides they are the following: 1) When a movie makes a ton of money at the box office a sequel (or numerous sequels) must follow and 2) Each sequel must abide by the same formula as the original film. Naturally by sticking so closely to such risk-averse principles any given sequel rarely captures the magic of its predecessor typically offering up instead a passable or downright pathetic imitation. Lucasfilm However every now and then an anomaly slips through the cracks in the form of a sequel or later installment that surpasses the original in terms of quality. As one might expect this phenomenon occurs most often in franchises where numerous installments allow for bigger budgets upgraded special effects and a greater degree of creative breadth. Meanwhile because the story itself is being continued and not necessarily regurgitated audiences feel like they're witnessing a new chapter in an ongoing saga as opposed to the same chapter being told with slightly different visuals.