The Rocky saga has 9 released films, 16 hrs 55 in total, spread from 1976 to 2023.
The full checklist: Rocky, movies and shows, in release and chronological orderThat comes to 9 evenings of two hours — the median film runs 116 minutes, so an evening swallows one, rarely two.
In release order
- 1976 — Rocky — 1 hr 59
- 1979 — Rocky II — 1 hr 59
- 1982 — Rocky III — 1 hr 39
- 1985 — Rocky IV — 1 hr 31
- 1990 — Rocky V — 1 hr 44
- 2006 — Rocky Balboa — 1 hr 45
- 2015 — Creed — 2 hrs 12
- 2018 — Creed II — 2 hrs 10
And to close: Creed III (1 hr 56).
The chronological order is the same: the saga was shot in the order it tells itself. That is the simplest possible answer to the question, and it beats a manufactured debate.
Which order should you pick?
No trap here: release order is literally the order of time passing. Nine films across forty-seven years, each following the last, with the same actor ageing on screen and then handing over. No prequel, no reboot, no continuity to untangle. The only real choice: Creed watches fine without the six Rocky films — the first of the trilogy takes care to re-explain everything.
Is Rocky worth the marathon?
Sixteen hours fifty for nine films, nine evenings. The saga has one distinction few sagas share: it let forty-seven years pass over its characters, in real time. That is not a screenwriting device, the production itself supplies the subject — a 1976 boxer become a trainer in 2023, played by the same man.
Who it is for
Its place is with anyone who wants a saga that moves in a straight line, with no order trap and no continuity to reconstruct. For anyone who accepts nine evenings for a story that genuinely ages. If you want a homogeneous run, the middle entries — the 1980s — play an entirely different tune from the first film and from Creed.
FAQ
What order should I watch Rocky in? Release order: six Rocky films then three Creed, the story moves in a straight line.
How many hours for the nine films? 16 hrs 55 for nine films, nine evenings of two hours.
Can I start with Creed? Yes: the first Creed re-explains what you need.
Last updated: September 26, 2026 — TMDB data verified.