Every Rocky & Creed Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

The Rocky franchise is arguably the most recognizable sports movie series of all time, and here are all of the Rocky and Creed movies, ranked. Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa became instantly recognizable upon the release of the original 1976 film and its subsequent Best Picture win, causing the low-budget boxing film to launch a massive media franchise. With a total of nine movies, the Rocky franchise is still going to this day, and upcoming projects include a Delphi spinoff, an animated series, and more.

While 2006’s Rocky Balboa ended the mainline Rocky franchise, Rocky and several other characters returned in the spinoff movie series, Creed. The three Creed films have revitalized the Rocky series, with the Michael B. Jordan movies making the franchise as popular as ever. So, here are all of the Rocky and Creed movies ranked from worst to best.

9) Rocky V

Of all the movies in the Rocky franchise, 1990’s Rocky V is easily the worst. The film was a major letdown after the massive appeal of Rocky IV, with it undoing most of the story of the previous films and putting Rocky into financial ruin. The film’s villain, Tommy Gunn, is easily the franchise’s least interesting opponent, and the story of Rocky V is mostly ignored by the franchise’s later entries. Rocky V was so bad that it essentially killed the series until 2006’s legacy sequel, a movie that thankfully prevented Rocky from ending on a really bad note.

8) Rocky IV

1985’s Rocky IV is beloved by fans and is a quintessential 80s movie. However, it just isn’t good. The film is incredibly cartoonish compared to the previous Rocky movies, with elements like Paulie’s robot and Gorbachev clapping after Rocky’s speech feeling straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon. While Ivan Drago is iconic and his character was fleshed out in the Creed series, Rocky IV uses him as a stand-in for the Soviet Union as a whole rather than making him an interesting antagonist. The Ultimate Director’s Cut is a major improvement on the original Rocky IV, but the version that most fans saw doesn’t live up to the standard set by the other films.

7) Rocky II

After the success of the original Rocky, a sequel was inevitable. Unfortunately, this sequel was 1979’s Rocky II. The fact that it centers around a rematch between Rocky and Apollo Creed makes it feel like a rehash of the first film, and it doesn’t add much to the formula. The movie is still good, and while Rocky finally beating Apollo is exciting, you can’t help but feel like it takes away from the complexity of the original’s ending.

6) Rocky III

After the fairly grounded nature of the first two Rocky movies, 1982’s Rocky III is where the franchise started to get a little silly. However, the threequel is still more restrained than the fourth and fifth films, as this silliness comes in the form of Mr. T’s Clubber Lang. As a successor to Apollo Creed, Lang is a fun and iconic villain that essentially launched Mr. T’s career. Rocky’s struggle with celebrity is a fun new arc that logically extends from the story of the previous films, and Mickey’s death adds an emotional layer to Rocky III‘s narrative. While it is far from the best Rocky film, Rocky III is a perfect dumb sequel.

5) Creed II

Now we’re getting into the good stuff. 2018’s Creed II was an attempt to prove that the Rocky franchise could live on past one legacy sequel, and it pulled this feat off successfully. The most interesting part of Creed II is what it did to the Drago family, with it turning Ivan from an archetypal villain into a rather interesting character. Creed II introduces Viktor Drago, who is to Adonis Creed what Apollo Creed was to Rocky. However, Adonis’ arc is admittedly less interesting than his story in the other Creed movies, making this the worst of the three.

4) Rocky Balboa

Ahead of Creed, 2006’s Rocky Balboa was the franchise’s first legacy sequel, and it is surprisingly great. This is the first of the sequels that is able to recapture the feeling of the first Rocky movie, as it follows an aged Balboa as he enters the ring for one final bout after years of being retired. Rocky’s relationship with Rocky Jr. and the grief over Adrian’s death define the film’s emotional core and themes, making it much deeper than a simple boxing movie.

3) Creed III

2023’s Creed III is the most recent movie in the Rocky franchise, which is why it’s so surprising that it’s also one of the series’ best. Creed III is all about Adonis’ rivalry with Jonathan Majors’ Damian Anderson, and it’s one of the most interesting dynamics in the franchise. Both actors do an incredible job portraying their characters, and Adonis and Damian’s history makes their present-day fight incredibly compelling. Creed III also has a unique style that isn’t present in any of the franchise’s other films, and while it lacks the presence of Stallone, it makes up for this by making the threequel a wholly unique experience.

2) Creed

2015’s Creed completely outshone Rocky Balboa as the franchise’s legacy sequel, with the film being basically as good as the original Rocky. Adonis is an incredible character, and the relationship between him and Tessa Thompson’s Bianca is on par with Rocky and Adrian’s. The film expands on the legacy of Apollo Creed masterfully, and features one of the most exciting and violent final fights in the entire franchise.

1) Rocky

While eight different sequels have tried, none have surpassed the original 1976 film, Rocky. Rocky is the best sports movie and underdog story ever put to screen, and on top of that, the script manages to find time to tell one of the best movie romance stories ever. Rocky is shot gorgeously, has an incredible soundtrack, is acted flawlessly, and is the best movie in the Rocky franchise.

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