All 3 Knives Out Movies, Ranked

This article contains light spoilers for the first two "Knives Out" films; keep reading at your own risk if you haven't seen them!

Before 2019, Rian Johnson was probably best known for movies with original concepts like "Looper" and "Brick" as well as his "Star Wars" sequel "The Last Jedi" (which I will personally defend until my dying breath), but these days, his name is basically synonymous with the "Knives Out" franchise. Late that year, Johnson released his first whodunit with Daniel Craig in the lead role of Benoit Blanc, a charming Southern detective with a knack for solving seemingly impossible crimes, murders, and misdemeanors ... and it became a massive success at the box office, with "Knives Out" making an absolutely astounding $312.9 million on a $40 million budget.

That's when Netflix swooped in and offered Johnson a deal to write two "Knives Out" sequels, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since 2019, Johnson has crafted those two movies: "Glass Onion" and "Wake Up Dead Man," both of which bear the subtitle "A Knives Out Mystery" and both of which center around Benoit Blanc solving a new murder surrounded by a new cast of all-star actors happily chewing on the scenery alongside Craig. So, which movies are the very best in the "Knives Out" franchise (which will, hopefully, go on for as long as Craig and Johnson want to continue playing around in this world)? Here are all three "Knives Out" films ranked from "genuinely very good" to "game-changing and amazing."

After "Knives Out" earned near-universal critical acclaim and a ton of money at the box office, Rian Johnson returned in fine form in 2022 with "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," which brings the COVID-19 pandemic into the mix as Benoit and the rest of the world endure lockdowns and social distancing. (The name "Glass Onion" refers to a ridiculous glass house that serves as the main setting but also, of course, pays homage to the song of the same name by the Beatles, which plays over the credits.) Despite that, tech billionaire Miles Bron, played by a wonderfully smarmy Edward Norton, invites a bunch of his closest friends to an isolated private island to safely party, and he also invites Benoit Blanc, intending to stage a fake murder mystery for his guests to solve. (In 2020, the real-life billionaire Kim Kardashian received backlash over actually hosting a private party on an island during the COVID-19 quarantines; Johnson's script certainly seems to obliquely reference her attempt to throw a birthday bash during a deadly worldwide pandemic.)

Benoit arrives on the island and solves Miles' shoddy, self-made "murder mystery" in no time at all ... but when one of Miles' guests, right-wing influencer Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), drops dead during cocktail hour, Benoit's suddenly thrust into a real mystery. Add in the fact that Janelle Monáe's character, Andi Brand, seems to have a major score to settle with Miles and her other old friends, and you've got an excellent and wonderfully claustrophobic whodunit. So, why is "Glass Onion" last on this list? It's very good, but it's not quite as good as the other two movies in the franchise.

"Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery," which shares a name with a U2 song (I'm remiss for not mentioning that "Knives Out" itself is a Radiohead track, but better late than never), is easily the darkest and most serious entry in the "Knives Out" franchise, but that doesn't mean that Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig get too dour. In fact, the movie is immensely funny as it follows a young priest, Reverend Jud Duplenticy (a wonderful Josh O'Connor), who's transferred to an isolated and insular church known as Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude run by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (a brutish Josh Brolin). After Jud and Wicks get off to a terrible start as coworkers (which is entirely the fault of Wicks, a petty bully who uses his pulpit to spread hate and division to his "flock" of congregants), Wicks is found dead. The problem? Wicks is found dead in a tiny room off the main pulpit, and though he was stabbed, nobody can figure out how.

Enter Benoit Blanc, who doesn't even properly show up until halfway through "Wake Up Dead Man" but brings his same distinct and wonderful presence to this new mystery. With a distinct political edge, a bold and timely script, and an undercurrent of true darkness, "Wake Up Dead Man" is a worthy second place in the franchise, but truly, nothing can ever beat the original film.

Truly, how could any future "Knives Out" film ever top the original? Even though "Wake Up Dead Man" honestly is a close second, nothing will ever beat out the movie that changed Rian Johnson's career for the better, reminded everyone that Daniel Craig is hilarious when he's not breaking his back as James Bond, and assembled a cast of beloved and wildly talented actors to present this gripping and perfectly plotted story. When the massively successful crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer, who passed away in 2021 after making the film) dies under strange circumstances after his own 85th birthday party, Benoit Blanc shows up to figure out what actually happened and ends up allying himself with Harlan's nurse Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas). 

Benoit speaks to the rest of the Thrombey family, including Harlan's only daughter Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis), her husband Richard and their son Hugh "Ransom" Drysdale (Don Johnson and Chris Evans, respectively), Harlan's son Walt Thrombey (Michael Shannon) and his wife Donna (Riki Lindhome), and Harlan's daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) and granddaughter Meg (Katherine Langford), just to name a few. It's only with Marta's help, though, that he's able to figure out precisely what happened that led to Harlan's death, and the solution is as complex as it is beautifully constructed by Johnson. The original "Knives Out" is a stone-cold classic, and it launched a proper franchise for a reason.

The first "Knives Out" movie is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" is streaming on Netflix, and "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" is currently playing in theaters and will begin streaming on Netflix on December 12, 2025.