A movie title is the audience’s first impression of a film. The task with sequels should be an easy procedure considering most of the heavy lifting for the naming process took place on the first installment. Occasionally, decision makers tour a road less traveled road and opt out of the traditional numerical sequel titles in hopes of attracting a fan base.
An offbeat sequel title can easily alienate a fan base or reenergize a moviegoing audience. Movie titles like Die Hard 2: Die Harder and 2 Fast 2 Furious warrant an eye roll from their wackiness, but instead trigger intrigue. The cases where a movie’s ridiculous name sticks the landing is a genius effort.
'Friday' Sequels (1995-2002)
In Friday, Craig and Smokey have one day to pay back $200 owed to a local drug dealer, or they’ll have to face extreme serious consequences. One day scenarios are woven throughout the Friday series, so Ice Cube cleverly strayed away from traditional numerical titles when naming the sequel movies.
The Friday series has always resonated with its core audience because it highlights aspects synonymous with black culture. If someone’s ever asked a manager for an exact date for an upcoming direct deposit, more than likely, the response that follows mirror the Friday sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next.
'Honey, I Blew Up The Kid' (1992)
In a 1989 interview with David Letterman, Rick Moranis summarizes how the title says it all and the audience knows what they’re going to get with his upcoming film Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. The same could be said with the title for the second installment Honey, I Blew Up The Kid.
The script for what would eventually become Honey, I Blew Up The Kid was titled Big Baby and had a lot of the similar beats as the final project. Disney linked the idea to the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids universe and rewrote the script as a sequel. The straightforward title was in line with the effortless title of the original and when Wayne Szalinski shouts the title to his wife midway through the film, it gets a summons a chuckle from the audience.
'Meet The Fockers' (2004)
The funniest scene in Meet the Parents is the awkward dinner scene when the family learns Greg’s government name. The sequels pokes fun at his surname and is titled Meet the Fockers.
The second film wasn’t a critical darling like its predecessor, but was still a massive success at the box office. The juvenile title brought memories of the dinner scene and sent a signal to fans that they could expect some of the same humor found the first film.
'Die Hard 2: Die Harder' (1990)
As a follow-up to a film regarded as one of the best action movies of all time, Die Hard 2 had a tough act to follow. Simply titled, Die Hard 2, the film’s tagline, Die Harder, was later embraced by the movie studio and added to the film’s title for DVD and Blu-ray releases in 2006 and 2007.
The promotional title Die Hard 2: Die Harder has become the biggest pop culture reference associated with the sequel. "Cheers: Cry Harder", "L.A. Law: Lie Harder" and the "Forrest Gump 2: Gump Harder" episode of The Critic all pay homage to the sequel’s weird title. The film doesn’t live up to its predecessor, however, the comparative degree used at the end of the title cements it as a worthy installment in the franchise.
'Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood' (1996)
Don’t Be a Menace spoofs popular hood movies from the early 2000s. In the initial trailer, the tagline proudly hailed the comedy as “the only movie released [in 1996] with fourteen words in its title”.
The rapid-fire references in the parody make it hard to keep track of the films Don’t Be A Menace is spoofing. The movie’s name provides a preview of all the popular films incorporated in the spoof by fusing all the titles together. Fans of Menace II Society, South Central, Juice and Boyz N The Hood helped raise the picture to cult classic status.
'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy features an all star line up that bands together to protect our bracket of the universe. Six Academy Award nominated actors are featured in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the star of the first film was the soundtrack hence the reasoning for mirroring the title of the sequel to a mixtape.
James Gunn announced the title for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on his social media back in 2015. Gunn put a great deal of thought into the name just like he did with the script and direction. The unorthodox title alerts fans of a reunion with Star-Lord, but also builds anticipation for the Quill's tracklist organized by his late mother.
'22 Jump Street' (2014)
21 Jump Street almost single-handedly revitalized the buddy comedy genre. After making back it’s budget opening weekend, the studio quickly pulled the trigger on green lighting a sequel for the profitable property the same month of its release.
In the comedic vein that bleeds through the series, the sequel is unconventionally titled 22 Jump Street rather than 21 Jump Street 2. The closing credits of the second installment pounce on the gag and show teasers for fictional installments of the franchise from 23 Jump Street all the way to 43 Jump Street.
'The Naked Gun' Sequels (1991-1994)
With two out of the top ten highest grossing spoofs of all time, The Naked Gun franchise has always managed to attract eyeballs towards its feature films. In the spoof sequels, The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear and The Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult, the writers jam-packed jokes into the movies from the title to the closing credits
The first film was universally loved by critics and fans. The sequels that followed didn’t garner the same critical acclaim, however, each movie executed at the box office and are considered commercial successes. The wackiness associated with the titles are consistent in the second and third installment and the consistency in the humor as a whole is what persuaded the hardcore of the parody series to support the sequels.
'Ocean’s Eleven' Sequels (2004-2018)
Ocean’s Eleven was a remake of the 1960 heist film starring the rat pack. The remake was a massive success and two sequels and a spin-off followed. George Clooney lead the team of thieves in Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen. Sandra Bullock took control in the spin-off caper film Ocean’s 8.
Ocean is a genius and pulls off a heist in collaboration with ten other criminals in Ocean’s Eleven. Each of the following installments involve a number change that coincides with the amount of criminals that join Ocean’s party. Julia Robert joins the party in the sequel bringing the total to twelve, Terry Benedict participates with the original team for a total of thirteen crooks in Ocean’s Thirteen, and Ocean’s 8 consist of a new team of eight bandits.
'Fast and the Furious' Sequels (2003-Present)
The Fast and the Furious franchise has made billions at the box office for it’s action-packed race scenes. The drivers jump curbs and frequently jump sharks as the stakes have gotten ridiculously higher each installment. Along with the stunts, the names for the films turn heads for the fan base.
There isn’t a fan who could list the Fast and the Furious franchise in the correct order without an IMDb guide as a reference. The titles for the most recent additions trigger confusion. The fourth film's title, Fast & Furious, closely resembles the first movie. As a result, DVD releases in some countries had to change the title to Fast & Furious 4 to avoid puzzlement. With the upcoming Fast X, the wacky titles have become a running and fans patiently wait to see what the studios come up with next.