Rocky Movies in Order: Release and Chronological Order

The Rocky movies in order of release are nine films across 47 years, starting with Rocky (1976) and ending with Creed III (2023). Here is the full list by year, with each director:

1. Rocky (1976), directed by John G. Avildsen
2. Rocky II (1979), directed by Sylvester Stallone
3. Rocky III (1982), directed by Sylvester Stallone
4. Rocky IV (1985), directed by Sylvester Stallone
5. Rocky V (1990), directed by John G. Avildsen
6. Rocky Balboa (2006), directed by Sylvester Stallone
7. Creed (2015), directed by Ryan Coogler
8. Creed II (2018), directed by Steven Caple Jr.
9. Creed III (2023), directed by Michael B. Jordan

Because the story runs forward film by film, this one list also covers the Rocky movies in order by year and the Rocky movies in order including Creed. The first six films star Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, and the last three follow Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan, with Stallone returning as Rocky in Creed (2015) and Creed II. For the full count and a grid of every film, see how many Rocky movies are there.

The gaps between releases explain a lot about the saga. Four films arrived in the nine years from 1976 to 1985, then Rocky V came in 1990, and Rocky Balboa followed sixteen years later in 2006. Another nine years passed before Creed (2015), and Creed III (2023) came five years after Creed II. That uneven rhythm is one reason fans disagree about the count, and it is why you will see a list of eight films in older articles: Creed II was the eighth film when it opened in 2018.

The directing chairs moved around too. Stallone directed Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV and Rocky Balboa, while Avildsen directed the original and Rocky V. Coogler made Creed (2015), Variety reported in 2017 that Caple Jr. was hired for Creed II with Coogler moving to an executive producer role, and Jordan directed Creed III, with Stallone involved as a producer only.

A quick note on names: "Rocky Balboa" is both the character and the title of the 2006 film. When people ask for the order of the Rocky Balboa movies, they usually mean the first six films above, and Rocky Balboa (2006) is the sixth of them. One title to leave off the list is I Play Rocky, an Amazon MGM Studios film directed by Peter Farrelly. It is not a Rocky or Creed sequel, so it sits outside the nine films.

If you are new to the saga, start with Rocky (1976) and watch forward in release order, because every later film, Creed included, leans on what you learn about Rocky Balboa, Adrian and Apollo Creed there. In my opinion the original is easy to underestimate: it is a small Philadelphia drama about a club fighter and a shy pet shop worker, and the Bicentennial title bout is the final stretch of the story rather than its whole point. It is also where Bill Conti's Gonna Fly Now comes from, so you will recognize the music before you have met the man.

Which films can you trim? Asking that is a bit like deciding which episodes of a long running television series to skip, and the answer depends on what you want from the season. The nine films add up to roughly 17 hours, and I would not drop Rocky II or Rocky III even on a short list, since Rocky II is where Apollo pushes for the rematch and Rocky III brings Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, Mr. T as Clubber Lang and Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips. Rocky IV is the pivot of the whole saga in my view: Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, is the villain the Creed films keep coming back to, and Stallone has said a punch from Lundgren during filming put him in the hospital for four days.

The film I would trim first is Rocky V (1990), as a matter of taste only. It does explain how the Balboas end up back in their old neighborhood with Mighty Mick's Gym and a young fighter named Tommy Gunn, so a reader who wants every thread should keep it. Rocky Balboa (2006) is a quieter, more reflective film, and it works well as the closing chapter for anyone who wants only the Rocky side of the story.

If you only want Creed, you can begin with Creed (2015), directed by Ryan Coogler. It introduces Adonis Johnson and has him move to Philadelphia to ask Rocky to train him, and it stands up without the older films. Creed II lands harder after Rocky IV, because the Drago family is the whole point of the film. Creed III (2023) is the easiest of the three to watch cold: Stallone does not appear, and the story is built around Adonis, his wife Bianca, their daughter Amara and Dame Anderson, played by Jonathan Majors.

My practical advice is to pick a route, queue the films in release order, and check where to watch Rocky to see which service carries each one, since availability differs by country. When you have finished, Rocky movies ranked shows where each film lands, and the Rocky movies hub links to every character and film page.