Once in a while, a comedy movie comes along that's so funny you can't stop laughing. Even after the credits roll, you repeat your favorite lines and scenes over and over again. Your favorite characters live rent-free in your head and you can't stop chuckling to yourself when you think of the best parts, even if that happens to be in the middle of an important board meeting.
There have been a lot of comedy sequels produced over the years, with some being just as funny (if not funnier) than the original, and others falling short of the original movie's magnificence. Hollywood loves banking on sequels, spin-offs, and reboots, so it makes sense that comedy movie sequels would be low-hanging fruit for studios to go after. For whatever reason, these hilarious films haven't gotten a sequel just yet. These are the comedy movies that deserve another spin around the sun.
15 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1980s comedy classic. The movie stars Matthew Broderick as the title character, a slacker who decides to cut class, borrow his dad's Ferrari, and cruise down the streets of Chicago. He's joined by his best buddy Cameron (Alan Ruck) and his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara).
The charm of Ferris Bueller's Day Off comes from Ferris' continuous breaking of the fourth wall to explain his thoughts and feelings. Audiences instantly connect with the character because of this, and they want to root for him no matter how much trouble he gets into. Ferris Bueller's Day Off deserves a sequel because even after 40 years, it's a cult favorite. In 2022, the Ferrari from the film sold at an auction for $377K, proving that at least some fans still have a strong connection to the movie.
14 The Goonies
The Goonies is another '80s cult favorite. Four boys who live in the "Goon Docks" region of Astoria, Oregon learn that their homes will be foreclosed on to expand a neighboring country club. The group gets together for one last adventure and discovers an old map in an attic that supposedly leads to the treasure of a pirate named "One-Eyed Willy." They find an abandoned tunnel in a restaurant and follow it, but soon realize there's another group willing to do whatever it takes to reach the loot first.
Several actors got their start as child actors in The Goonies, like Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Cory Feldman, and Sean Astin. The movie is full of laughs, wonder, and adventure, all key ingredients to making a good comedy film work. The Goonies is a classic that deserves a sequel as legions of fans love it and have shared it with the next generation. Quan recently made it back into the public eye by winning an Oscar for his role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
13 The Big Lebowski
Jeff Bridge plays Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski in the classic Cohen brothers film The Big Lebowski. The Dude is a chill guy who's just living life and enjoying bowling with his friends Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steven Buscemi). When The Dude wakes up after being beaten up, he realizes that somebody peed on his rug. The Dude was mistaken for another guy with the same name and he wants to know who it is and why he was assaulted.
The Big Lebowski relies on funny characters, ludicrous situations, and over-the-top performances to generate humor. It's effective at making the audience smile even though it doesn't have too many exaggerated jokes. The movie has yet to earn a sequel, though people love Bridge's character in it. The Big Lebowski may have flopped at the box office and never recieved a proper sequel, but it has a cult following and did get a spinoff called The Jesus Rolls in 2019.
12 Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is a movie within a movie that delivers big laughs. Ben Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a high-powered action movie star who's hired to be the lead in a movie called Tropic Thunder. He's joined by Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a comedian who's addicted to drugs but trying to get his career back on track, and method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), who's willing to do anything to get into character.
When the director of the movie has a meltdown on set, he decides to drop the cast in the middle of the jungle to make the film on their own. What the actors don't realize is that they are actually in the center of a real war zone. This premise provides for some great comedy as Stiller, Black, Downey Jr., and the crew has to react in real-time to everything going on around them. Tropic Thunder is hilarious, and it pulled in $195.7 million at the box office ($266.6 million today), so it deserves a sequel.
11 Elf
Since its release in 2003, Jon Favreau's Elf has become a holiday favorite. When Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) discovers that he's a human being who's been raised by elves, he sets out on a mission to New York City to find his real family. The problem is that his dad Walter (the late James Caan) is a cranky book publisher who's too busy and uninterested to get to know Buddy. Walter is a Christmas Grinch, and it's up to Buddy and his friends to get Walter in the holiday spirit before it's too late.
With a charming supporting cast that includes Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel, and Daniel Tay, Elf rises above the typical Christmas-themed movies that come out during the holidays. Ferrell is hilarious as Buddy and his naivety about the real world provides plenty of memorable moments. Elf deserves a sequel so that the audience can find out how Buddy has adjusted to life in the real world. Several options forElf spin-offs could work.
10 Office Space
Do you ever feel so bored at work that you wish you could quit on the spot? That's the premise of Mike Judge's brilliant 1999 film Office Space. Ron Livingston plays Peter Gibbons, a middle-aged worker at a dull software company. Peter decides he can't take the daily grind anymore and conspires with his co-workers to write a computer program that will steal a tiny amount of money from the company. The problem is, the code works too well and the guys find that they've stolen a conspicuous amount of cash.
Office Space is well-acted, relatable, and roll-on-the-floor funny. It's simply one of the best comedies of the '90s. The characters in the movie all have their unique characteristics, and they've given their own space to get laughs. Peter's boss Bill (Gary Cole), for instance, is great at delivering catchy lines. Audiences need to see more of these characters and an Office Space sequel would be more than welcome in 2023.
9 Bridesmaids
2011's Bridesmaids takes the cake for one of the best female-fronted comedy movies of the 2010s. When Annie (Kristen Wiig) runs out of money and loses her bakery, she's forced to work a menial job in a jewelry store. She can't take the customers and is promptly fired, leading her to spiral out of control. Her good friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married, but Annie is in no shape to be at her bridal party.
In the end, Annie finds herself and manages to get her life back together. She's in a stable relationship and makes amends with Lillian in time for the wedding. Fans of Kristen Wiig want to know what happens after Bridesmaids is over. The movie was very funny and Wiig is more than capable of carrying a sequel. Co-star Rose Byrne has already proclaimed that she'd be excited for a sequel.
8 Barbie
Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie is both a tribute to and scathing criticism of the popular children's doll manufactured by Mattel. Barbie (Margot Robbie) lives in a perfect world called Barbie Land, but she suddenly starts having dark thoughts and doesn't know why. She travels to the Real World with her friend Ken (Ryan Gosling), who is questioning his existence and why he isn't totally happy.
Barbie took in a crazy $162 million during its opening weekend in 2023, which is more than enough for a movie studio to start salivating over a sequel. The movie was very funny and relevant but also benefited from the "Barbenheimer" double feature craze that encouraged fans to see the movie alongside Christopher Nolan's epic war movie Oppenheimer. Barbie deserves a sequel because it's hilarious and thoughtful, and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has expressed interest in being in Barbie 2.
7 Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby follows a NASCAR driver named Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) who has it all: a beautiful wife, a dedicated following, and more than enough money to live a life of glory. Everything changes when French driver Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) and threatens to unseat Ricky Bobby as the world's best racer. Ricky Bobby is as ridiculous as his name suggests, and he soon finds himself down in the dumps over his new competitor's winning streak.
Talladega Nights is one of Ferrell's best movies. Ricky Bobby's interactions with his family and his best friend Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly) allow Ferrell to be his best-unhinged self. There are currently no talks for a sequel, though Ricky Bobby certainly deserves one. He's an unforgettable character that had viewers bursting with laughter.
6 The Simpsons Movie
In 2007, America's favorite animated family the Simpsons finally made the jump from television to the big screen in The Simpsons Movie. The story followed Homer as he adopts a pig who's about to be slaughtered. His good deed soon turns into a nightmare as the silo Homer uses to store the pig's droppings breaks and threatens to destroy Springfield. As the family is divided and an angry mob grows, it's up to Homer to figure out how to save the town
With humorous environmental undertones, funny dialogue, and a lot of the best Simpsons characters, The Simpsons Movie is an enjoyable adventure. Some fans argue that The Simpsons should have ended there, but the series has continued on Fox for an incredible 34 years. The Simpsons Movie needs a sequel because there is still so much more to be done with the main characters, as well as all the side ones that fans look forward to watching again and again.
5 Idiocracy
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Idiocracy is another funny Mike Judge film that deserves a sequel. Released in 2006, the movie follows a completely average guy named Joe (Luke Wilson) who's chosen to participate in a government experiment to preserve his body. The experiment goes wrong and Joe is accidentally frozen for 500 years. He wakes up to find out that society has become dumber over time, and he's the only guy who knows anything about common sense.
Idiocracy didn't get much attention when it was released, but it's grown a cult following over the last 17 years. Wilson is great at playing Joe, a man who realizes that he's actually smarter than he thought when he applies himself. Idiocracy is full of crass and dumb jokes, which is sort of the point. It's a funny commentary on the state of society and every human being's role in it. Sadly, it doesn't have a sequel, but it would be fun to see an update on what Judge's vision for the world will become after 2023.
4 The Nice Guys
2016's The Nice Guys is a throwback to both the crime movies of the 1970s and the buddy cop movies of the 1990s. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is hired by an old lady to find her niece Misty Mountain, an adult film star who's already dead. When March mistakes another girl for Misty, the other girl hires tough guy Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) to beat him up and get him off her tail. Healy and March soon discover they're in the middle of a mystery and reluctantly team up to get to the bottom of it.
The Nice Guys plays up the physical comedy and earns laughs for its goofiness. Gosling is perfect as March, a bumbling alcoholic who somehow always stumbles upon the right answers. Crowe is also funny as an enforcer with a shoot first, ask questions later attitude. The Nice Guys needs a sequel because it's original and funny. The film even alludes to a sequel at the end when March and Healy team up to form a detective agency called "The Nice Guys".
3 Superbad
Superbad came out in 2007 and kicked off a resurgence of raunchy comedy movies in the 2000s and 2010s. Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill) are a couple of high school friends who are ready to go off to college together. But before they do, they want to party, drink, and meet girls. They promise to bring alcohol to an epic party thrown by their classmates, so they enlist the help of their buddy Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who has a fake ID.
Superbad is hilarious. From the scene where Evan is forced to sing to avoid being beaten up to the parts where Augie hangs out with some nefarious cops, the movie packs laughter into every minute. It warrants an overdue sequel so that fans can learn what happens to Evan and Seth after they graduate high school. According to director Judd Apatow, there's already a Superbad sequel in the works.
2 Moana
Moana is one of the most popular Disney movies to come out in recent years. Moana (Auli'i Cavalho) is an island princess who's bound to the land by her family. She yearns to discover the sea, but it seems like her destiny is to stay and govern her kingdom when she grows up. As resources start to become depleted, Moana is forced to set off and find out why her home island is being threatened.
With the help of a shape-shifting demi-god named Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), Moana searches the ocean and discovers that she must return the heart of the sea to Te Fiti, the island goddess who controls nature, for balance to be restored. Moana is a huge hit for its chuckles, great music written by Lin Manuel-Miranda, and powerful voice cast. The movie deserves a sequel but at least there's a live-action Moana remake coming soon.
1 The LEGO Batman Movie
The LEGO Batman Movie contains some great vocal performances, sight gags, and highly quotable lines. Will Arnett voices Bruce Wayne/Batman, who must learn to work with others if he wants to save Gotham from being taken over by Joker (Zach Galifianakis) Batman and Robin (Michael Cera) join forces and work to banish Joker and his evil cronies for good.
There's a wealth of material within the LEGO world that would be great for another LEGO Batman Movie. However, director Chris McKay says a sequel is unlikely. The sale of LEGO to Universal makes it difficult for another film to be made. Still, it would be fun to revisit the Batman characters in LEGO form as The LEGO Batman Movie is smart, funny, and filled with action.
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