By Marquee Editorial4 entries
The Alien movie franchise comprises four films released between 1979 and 1997. The entries begin with the commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepting a distress signal on a distant planet, leading to an encounter with a monstrous creature. Subsequent films follow Ripley's survival after drifting through space, her crash landing on a prison planet, and her eventual cloning two hundred years later alongside a band of smugglers. Because the entries are presented in release order, watching them in this sequence allows viewers to experience the films in the exact order they were originally released to theaters.

Alien
Movie, 1979
Alien introduces the commercial spaceship Nostromo and its crew intercepting a distress signal from a distant planet, where an explorer is attacked by a creature inside an egg.

Aliens
Movie, 1986
Aliens features Ripley returning to Earth after drifting through space for 57 years, and agreeing to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.

Read what its ending meant, or search for another franchise.
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Alien³
Movie, 1992
Alien³ shows Ripley crash landing on the prison planet Fiorina 161 after escaping the alien planet, where an unwelcome visitor survives the crash.

Alien Resurrection
Movie, 1997
Alien Resurrection depicts scientists cloning Ripley two hundred years after her death, leading her to team up with smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.
| # | Title | Type | Year | Rating | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alien | Movie | 1979 | ★ 8.2 | Not yet |
| 2 | Aliens | Movie | 1986 | ★ 8.0 | Not yet |
| 3 | Alien³ | Movie | 1992 | ★ 6.4 | Not yet |
| 4 | Alien Resurrection | Movie | 1997 | ★ 6.2 | Not yet |
Average audience ratings, in watch order.
You should start with the 1979 film Alien, which introduces the commercial spaceship Nostromo and the initial encounter with the creature on a distant planet.
Watching the films in release order follows the chronological sequence of the entries as they were released from 1979 through 1997.
The provided entry facts do not state whether any films can be skipped, so viewers can watch all four listed movies to experience the complete set of released entries.
Watch in this order: 1. Alien, 2. Aliens, 3. Alien³, 4. Alien Resurrection.
This guide lists 4 entries, released between 1979 and 1997.
Alien has the highest average rating in this guide, at 8.2 out of 10.