The Narnia movies are based on a series of beloved children’s novels written by C.S. Lewis. These fantasy adventure movies are beloved by children and adults alike. Maybe you used to love them when you were younger, and you want to watch them over again or introduce them to your children. Perhaps you’ve heard good things about them and are interested in watching the Narnia movies in order.
Since none of the movies in the series are numbered, it can be a little tricky trying to figure out which order to watch them in. We have the full list of movies for you here as well as the order of Narnia movies to watch from beginning to end.
How Many Narnia Movies Are There?
There are seven novels that the movies are based off of, but how many movies got made for the film series? There are three films in the Narnia movie series:
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
For years, there was talk of another movie in the series happening, perhaps based off the book The Silver Chair. However, plans for a sequel to the original three movies seems to have been scrapped entirely as it’s been so long since a Narnia movie has been released. Instead, it looks like we’re going to get a new Narnia series, probably starting from the beginning again. Most recently, Netflix has pledged to start making Narnia movies on their platform.
What Order to Watch the Narnia Movies?
If you want to go through the entire series from beginning to end, that’s just three movies, but you will want to watch them in the right order. Otherwise, a lot of what’s going on won’t make sense. The movies tied directly into each other, and the sequels follow off from the previous movie. You’re going to get really lost about what’s happening with the plot and different characters if you watch the movies out of order. People who watch these when they just came out in theaters were sometimes confused as to what was happening because of the length of time between each one. Imagine how lost and frustrated you’ll be if you don’t even watch them in the right order.
1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The first movie in the series was released in 2005, during Christmas season. It was the holiday movie to watch that year and a really big deal. The movie follows the events of the first book in the series and tells a story of four siblings that find their way into an enchanted wardrobe inside a mansion. Through the closet is a new world of magic, and the children get drawn into a battle between warring factions, eventually ending up on the side of the talking lion Aslan. The first movie raked in $745 million worldwide, making it at the time the 55th highest ranking movie of all time, says NYTimes.
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Three years later, in 2008, the first sequel was released. The order of Narnia movies is really important, as this movie assumes you’re already familiar with the characters and knows what happened to them in the first film. The three siblings from the first movie return, teaming up with the new character Prince Caspian for yet another battle in the land of Narnia. They’re joined by a number of new characters that take over a lot of the limelight, expanding the cast and exploring more aspects of the enchanted world.
The second movie didn’t fare as well as the first, bringing in about $417 million, according to Reuters. That’s almost half of what the first movie made, which meant that the sequel to this film would have to to deal with a major budget cut.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The third and final film in the Narnia series, this one released in 2010, just two years after the previous movie. This time, the kids start to doubt whether the land of Narnia was even real until they are transported back to it through a magic painting. They find Prince Caspian once again and join him in a quest to locate the lost Lords of Telmar. With their help, they aim to free the land from the enslaving power of the green mist that has invaded. Two characters are missing from this movie who were in the other two Narnia movies – Susan and Peter. This drastically changes how the characters interact with one another, and like the last movie, it only brought in a little over $400 million. You can watch this film on Disney Plus here.
Why Wasn’t There a Fourth Narnia Movie?
Whenever someone asks how many Narnia movies are there, the question always comes up why a fourth one was never made. The problem this series seemed to run into at the tail end of its life span is that there simply wasn’t a lot of demand for a sequel. The Narnia fans tend to be more subdued and less vocalized than those of the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter franchises. Those franchises were able to complete a series of films for all the books they’re based on, whereas Narnia only made it through three out of seven books.
That’s disappointing for fans who were hoping to see the whole book series represented up on the big screen, but things could be looking up for the near future.
The original series moved from Disney to 20th Century Fox, and Fox didn’t seem interested in keeping the series going. With Narnia movies bringing in less than half of what Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies accumulated with each new outing, Fox set its sights on potentially more lucrative films.
If you’re looking to watch the Narnia movies in order, that’s pretty simple to do, though this short series could expand pretty soon.
Last Updated: May 31, 2022
