The Ocean’s film franchise currently contains five individual installments, three of which were directed by Steven Soderbergh. The Ocean’s movies are celebrated for their star-studded ensemble casts that have brought together some of the biggest names in Hollywood together onscreen. The films always focus on an elaborate heist or financial scheme that seems impossible at first but becomes more and more realistic as the story plays out. Each of the modern Ocean’s movies has turned out to be successful at the box office, which ensures that there will likely be future installments of the Ocean’s franchise in the near future.
Some of the celebrated actors who have appeared in the Ocean’s franchise include fan-favorites George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt along with Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwafina, and Rhianna. Although a direct follow-up to Ocean’s 8 never happened, which was expected to be titled Ocean’s 9, a prequel Ocean’s movie has been announced that will reportedly star Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling with Jay Roach (Austin Powers) set to direct.
The Ocean’s Movies In Release Order
The five Ocean’s movies can be watched in chronological order through their release date. Although the original Ocean’s 11 doesn’t really connect to the popular Ocean’s trilogy of the 2000s, it still was the original film that brought the classic Las Vegas casino heist narrative to the big screen. The heart of the Ocean’s franchise are Soderbergh’s three films starring Pitt, Damon, and Clooney, whereas Ocean’s 8 was treated more as a spinoff than a direct sequel or prequel installment. Interestingly, all five Ocean’s films were written by different screenwriters even during the popular trilogy run.
The numbers in the titles do not indicate the sequential order of the movie series as in the Star Wars or John Wick franchises. Rather, they indicate the number of characters involved in the main heist in each particular film. While it may seem intuitive to assume that Ocean’s 8, which is the most recent installment of the heist franchise, should be watched before Ocean’s 11-13, the correct approach is actually the complete opposite. When in doubt, refer to the year that each Ocean’s film was released in order to watch the series in sequential order. The original Ocean’s 11 from 1960 is not essential to watch in order to follow the other films since 2001’s Ocean Eleven is a direct remake of the original film starring Frank Sinatra.
- Ocean’s 11 (1960)
- Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
- Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
- Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
- Ocean’s 8 (2018)
The Ocean’s Movies In Chronological Order Of Events
Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Box Office: $5.5 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Cast: Frank Sinatra (Danny Ocean), Dean Martin (Sam Harmon), Sammy Davis Jr. (Josh Howard), Peter Lawford (Jimmy Foster), Richard Conte (Tony Bergdorf), Joey Bishop (“Mushy” O’Connors), Henry Silva (Roger Corneal), Buddy Lester (Vince Massler), Richard Benedict (George “Curly” Steffans), Norman Fell (Peter Rheimer), Clem Harvey (Louis Jackson)
Frank Sinatra portrayed the original onscreen Danny Ocean in the 1960 film directed by Lewis Milestone. Another notable leading man and singer of the era Dean Martin starred alongside Sinatra, who both established themselves as actors after skyrocketing to international fame from their celebrated music careers. The original ensemble consisted of members of the Rat Pack, who were a group of entertainers who made films and frequently appeared together at various Las Vegas casinos. While Soderbergh, Pitt, Clooney, and Damon took the original film’s idea and ran with it, the 1960 classic was as much a peak into the friendship and dynamic between Sinatra, Martin, and the legendary Rat Pack as it was a heist film.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
Box Office: $451 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
Cast: George Clooney (Danny Ocean), Matt Damon (Linus Caldwell), Bernie Mac (Frank Catton), Brad Pitt (Robert “Rusty” Ryan), Elliott Gould (Reuben Tishkoff), Casey Affleck (Virgil Malloy), Scott Caan (Turk Malloy), Eddie Jemison (Livingston Dell), Don Cheadle (Basher Tarr), Qin Shaobo (“The Amazing” Yen), Carl Reiner (Saul Bloom), Andy García (Terry Benedict), Julia Roberts (Tess Ocean), Scott L. Schwartz (Bruiser)
Often considered the best installment of the Ocean’s film franchise, 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven may not be the very first movie in the series but is certainly the most popular and impactful. The film helped define the now-iconic sleek and stylish aesthetic of director Steven Soderbergh who rose to prominence after being nominated for two Best Director Academy Awards in the same year (Erin Brockovich and Traffic in 2001). Ocean’s Eleven was a huge box office success and remains one of the most profitable films of Soderbergh’s career, which made the decision to extend the modern remake into a trilogy a no-brainer. While Ocean’s Eleven wasn’t nearly as celebrated at the Oscars, it is arguably Soderbergh’s most enjoyable feature.
Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
Box Office: $363 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Cast: George Clooney (Danny Ocean), Brad Pitt (Robert “Rusty” Ryan), Matt Damon (Linus Caldwell), Bernie Mac (Frank Catton), Elliott Gould (Reuben Tishkoff), Casey Affleck (Virgil Malloy), Scott Caan (Turk Malloy), Eddie Jemison (Livingston Dell), Don Cheadle (Basher Tarr), Qin Shaobo (“The Amazing” Yen), Carl Reiner (Saul Bloom), Julia Roberts (Tess Ocean), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Isabel Lahiri), Andy García (Terry Benedict), Bruce Willis (Himself), Topher Grace (Himself)
Ocean’s Twelve was the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven, which was the fifth highest-grossing movie in the world of that year. Ocean’s Twelve was slightly less financially successful at the global box office compared to its predecessor, but the sequel was still profitable despite its franchise-high $110 million budget. The 2004 film featured many of the original characters and picked up right after the end of Ocean’s Eleven, making it crucial to watch the 2001 instant classic before checking out its direct sequel in Ocean’s Twelve. Julia Roberts notably joined the group of heist members as Tess Ocean, to expand the original 11 as the wife of Clooney’s Danny.
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Box Office: $312 million | Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Cast: George Clooney (Danny Ocean), Brad Pitt (Rusty Ryan), Matt Damon (Linus Caldwell), Andy García (Terry Benedict), Don Cheadle (Basher Tarr), Bernie Mac (Frank Catton), Elliott Gould (Reuben Tishkoff), Casey Affleck (Virgil Malloy), Scott Caan (Turk Malloy), Eddie Jemison (Livingston Dell), Qin Shaobo (“The Amazing” Yen), Carl Reiner (Saul Bloom), Eddie Izzard (Roman Nagel), Al Pacino (Willy Bank)
The trio of Clooney, Pitt, and Damon returned one last time in 2007’s Ocean’s Thirteen and introduced a new character and antagonist in Al Pacino. Ocean’s Thirteen ended up being slightly more profitable than its predecessor mainly due to the budget reduction from $110 million to $85 million. Critics and audiences were split on whether the final film of the Ocean’s trilogy was better than the second, however, Ocean’s Thirteen did not let true fans of the franchise down. As with nearly all sequels, Ocean’s Thirteen provides much of the same wit, charm, and sleek stylistic elements as the first two films while raising the stakes to new heights, which Ocean’s Thirteen certainly succeeds in doing effectively.
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
Box Office: $298 million | Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Cast: Sandra Bullock (Deborah “Debbie” Ocean), Cate Blanchett (Lou Miller), Anne Hathaway (Daphne Kluger), Mindy Kaling (Amita), Sarah Paulson (Tammy), Awkwafina (Constance), Rihanna (Leslie “Nine Ball” Jordan), Helena Bonham Carter (Rose Weil), Richard Armitage (Claude Becker), James Corden (John Frazier), Dakota Fanning (Penelope Stern), Nathanya Alexander (Veronica Jordan), Damian Young (David Welch), Michael Gandolfini (Bus Boy), Elliott Gould (Reuben Tishkoff), Katie Holmes (Herself), Maria Sharapova (Herself), Serena Williams (Herself), Kim Kardashian (Herself), Common (Himself), Kylie Jenner (Herself), Kendall Jenner (Herself), Olivia Munn (Herself), Heidi Klum (Herself)
Sandra Bullock took the reins of the Ocean’s franchise with 2018’s Ocean’s 8, which notably features an entirely female group of heist members as opposed to the original male-dominated group in the previous films. While Ocean’s 8 was a box-office success, many fans of the original trilogy were disappointed by the film for not including the original characters and for not updating the franchise effectively with equally interesting and entertaining characters. Although Ocean’s 8 proved that there is still great interest in the Ocean’s film franchise, it also showed that it will be a difficult task trying to update the series in exciting ways without exhausting the same old tropes or deviating too far from the elements that made Soderbergh’s trilogy so enjoyable.
