Austin Powers Movies in Order: Release and Chronological

Austin Powers has three films, and the release order is Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999 and Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002. Jay Roach directed all three, and Mike Myers leads each one, playing Austin Powers and Dr. Evil in every film. The series is a parody of the James Bond spy films, which is why Austin is a flamboyant British agent chasing a scheming villain.

1. Austin Powers International Man of Mystery (1997), directed by Jay Roach, 89 minutes. In 1967 the flamboyant British spy Austin Powers beats Dr. Evil, who freezes himself to return later. Austin has himself frozen too, and both men are thawed in 1997, where Dr. Evil finds that his lieutenant Number Two has turned the company Virtucon into a huge legitimate business and demands $100 billion from the world. Austin is paired with Vanessa Kensington, played by Elizabeth Hurley, and Dr. Evil meets his teenage son Scott, played by Seth Green.
2. The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), directed by Jay Roach, 95 minutes. Dr. Evil gets a small clone of himself called Mini-Me, played by Verne Troyer, then travels back to 1969 to steal Austin's mojo, the source of his charm and drive. Austin follows him and teams up with an American agent named Felicity Shagwell, played by Heather Graham.
3. Austin Powers Goldmember (2002), directed by Jay Roach, 94 minutes. Dr. Evil plots to go back to 1975 and team up with a gold obsessed Dutch criminal named Goldmember. Austin learns that his father, the spy Nigel Powers, played by Michael Caine, has been kidnapped, so he follows the trail to 1975 and joins forces with the disco era agent Foxxy Cleopatra, played by Beyoncé.

Which Austin Powers comes first? International Man of Mystery, which reached US theaters on May 2, 1997. The third movie is called Austin Powers in Goldmember, and it opened in the US on July 26, 2002, which also makes it the last Austin Powers movie made. The three films add up to 278 minutes, so a full marathon takes a little under five hours with breaks. For a wider view of the saga, see all Austin Powers movies or check how many Austin Powers movies are there.

Start with International Man of Mystery, because it introduces Austin, Dr. Evil, Number Two and Scott Evil, and the next two films assume you already know them. In my opinion, the first film is also the cleanest entry point, since its setup is the simplest of the three: one spy, one villain, one thaw.

Can you start with the second film instead? It is possible, and The Spy Who Shagged Me introduces Mini-Me and Fat Bastard, so it may well be the one people quote most. That being said, you would miss why Dr. Evil has been thawed out and why his son Scott is so annoyed with him, and the plot leans on Vanessa Kensington and the history from the first film. Goldmember is the weakest place to begin, since it expects you to know the cast, including returning figures such as Basil Exposition and Frau Farbissina, before Michael Caine's Nigel Powers adds a family twist.

If you are short on time, perhaps watch the first film and then pick the second, because it is the highest grossing of the three, at $313.7 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. If you are hoping for a fourth film, Austin Powers 4 is only at the talking stage. To get going, check where to watch Austin Powers and press play on the 1997 film first.