Jurassic Park films ranked

FEW FILM FRANCHISES have loomed as large over pop culture as Jurassic Park. It started with one arguably perfect movie about humans playing god, nature finding a way and the inevitable consequences. Since then, the franchise has spiralled into a saga of diminishing returns, increasingly convoluted plots and a bizarre reliance on dinosaurs that aren’t really dinosaurs at all, but are actually mutants and genetically-modified hybrids.

And yet, they keep making more films – and, more to the point, we keep watching them.

No matter how many times the same formula is recycled – a bunch of dinosaurs are contained in a location, they either escape containment or humans stupidly enter their containment zone, chaos ensues – there’s still something magical about seeing dinosaurs brought back to life on the big screen and set to a swelling John Williams score.

Across three decades, two trilogies and now another standalone film that leaves the door open for sequels, the Jurassic franchise has given us some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history and some that have left us wishing we picked another movie to watch. In either case, the films were always memorable. And if there’s one universal truth in Hollywood, it’s Dr. Ian Malcolm’s classic assertion that “life finds a way”. So don’t be surprised if another reboot eventually arrives.

In the meantime, we’re ranking every instalment in the Jurassic franchise. Scroll on, and try not to act too surprised when the top film is revealed.

Every film in the ‘Jurassic’ franchise, ranked

7. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Fallen Kingdom really swings for the fences – going so far as to literally destroy the original Isla Nublar in a fiery volcanic explosion – but it whiffs spectacularly. The first half is a volcanic disaster movie, the second is a gothic horror set in a dinosaur-filled mansion. It’s audacious and certainly the franchise’s most unique entry, but it comes off barely feeling like a Jurassic film – which is a shame because director J.A. Bayona (Society of the Snow, A Monster Calls, The Impossible) has done such brilliant work elsewhere.

6. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

We might cop some flak for this, but Dominion isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The premise is perhaps the best since the original – dinosaurs roaming the Earth, humans forced to coexist with ancient predators, the return of the original trio of Drs Grant, Sattler and Malcolm – the problem is the execution. Because instead of focusing on that intriguing premise, we got mutant locusts, while the appearances of real dinosaurs are mostly incidental.

Dominion squanders its potential in a tangled plot about corporate espionage, undercooked character arcs and a baffling decision to sideline its dinosaurs in favour of bugs – the dinosaurs are the best part of the franchise, come on! Recent reports suggest Dominion was also the most expensive film ever made, with a staggering budget of AUD$712 million, pouring some more salt into the wound.

5. Jurassic Park III (2001)

Look, we all love Sam Neill’s Dr Alan Grant, but was it worth bringing him back for this? A glorified rescue mission featuring divorced parents in search of their missing kid and a Spinosaurus who seemed weirdly obsessed with hunting them down. JP3 flies through its 92-minute runtime, with its fast pacing being perhaps its best quality. The dinosaurs also look as good as ever. But the human characters are thin, the plot is barely there, and Dr. Grant’s infamous talking raptor dream remains one of the weirdest moments in blockbuster history.

4. Jurassic World (2015)

After 14 years in hibernation, the franchise came roaring back with Jurassic World. It completes John Hammond’s original dream of creating a functioning dinosaur theme park and explores some similar themes as the first film – notably the intersection between corporate greed and science, and the disastrous results.

Jurassic World has its downsides, though. Chris Pratt’s tame raptor squad is, frankly, ridiculous. And this is the first film to introduce a mutant/hybrid dinosaur because, for some unexplainable reason, the creative team thought that dinosaurs weren’t scary enough. There is some crowd-pleasing chaos at hand though. And while it’s nowhere near the original’s intelligence, it is a highly rewatchable spectacle.

3. Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

The plot of Jurassic World Rebirth is plainly predictable. You won’t be surprised by any aspect of this film. And for something that should be short and sweet, it clocks in at a sluggish 134 minutes. But there are a few saving graces. Director Gareth Edwards has a good eye for staging, with props like a lifeboat and an inflatable dinghy providing the basis for some memorable scenes. The CGI dinosaurs have never looked better, more vibrant or (a relief for the dinosaur nerds out there like us) more realistic. Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey also shine, imbuing the film with enough charm for us to be open to the prospect of a sequel, rather than staunchly resistant.

2. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

The original Jurassic Park probably didn’t need a sequel, and The Lost World is to blame for sending the IP on its current course as a franchise rather than a standalone, but we’re glad it exists nonetheless. The Lost World leans more heavily into a darker tone and loses some of the spectacle of the original. And, in its third act, it inexplicably becomes a Godzilla film as a T-Rex rampages through San Diego. Still, it has its moments. Jeff Goldblum’s world-weary sarcasm is always welcome and the RV cliff-hanger is one of the most memorable sequences in the series. The Lost World wins the title of the best Jurassic film that isn’t the original – which isn’t saying much.

1. Jurassic Park (1993)

Duh, you knew this was going to be number one before you even clicked on this article. Spielberg’s original is a once-in-a-generation blockbuster, a monumental filmmaking achievement and one of the best book-to-screen adaptations of all time. The practical effects and groundbreaking CGI are so good that it’s hard to believe the film came out more than 30 years ago, while there are more iconic scenes in the film’s opening act than there are in the rest of the franchise as a whole. Nothing else comes close.

Related:

The most anticipated films of 2025

The 10 best zombie films of all time, ranked

The 10 best racing films of all time, ranked

The best TV series, movies and documentaries to stream in July