All 11 ‘Pink Panther’ Movies in Order

The ‘Pink Panther’ franchise is the most iconic series of comedy-mystery films in the world, featuring the bumbling French detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers. The franchise kicked off in 1963 with the release of ‘The Pink Panther,’ and most films were written and directed by Blake Edwards, featuring theme music composed by Henry Mancini. Inspired by a valuable pink diamond with a distinctive flaw resembling a leaping panther, the franchise expanded into various media, including books, comics, video games, and animated series.

Today, we’re going to focus specifically on the movies, and it’s impressive to say that ‘The Pink Panther’ franchise so far consists of 11 movies in total, with more on the way. Today, we’re going to tell you how to watch the existing movies in order.

Editor’s Note: this watch order was updated in November 2023 with the news of upcoming installments in the ‘Pink Panther’ franchise.

All 11 ‘Pink Panther’ movies in release date order

The franchise kicked off with the release of ‘The Pink Panther’ back in 1963, and over the span of 30 years, it gave rise to 9 installments. The franchise was eventually rebooted in 2006, with Steve Martin in the main role. Here’s the release date order of all ‘Pink Panther’ movies.

1. ‘The Pink Panther’ (1963)
2. ‘A Shot in the Dark’ (1964)
3. ‘Inspector Clouseau’ (1968)
4. ‘The Return of the Pink Panther’ (1975)
5. ‘The Pink Panther Strikes Again’ (1976)
6. ‘Revenge of the Pink Panther’ (1978)
7. ‘Trail of the Pink Panther’ (1982)
8. ‘Curse of the Pink Panther’ (1983)
9. ‘Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
10. ‘The Pink Panther’ (2006)
11. ‘The Pink Panther 2’ (2009)

Are all ‘Pink Panther’ movies connected? What’s the best way to watch them?

While the majority of the ‘Pink Panther’ movies are connected through the character of Inspector Jacques Clouseau and the recurring theme of the pink diamond, there are some distinctions within the franchise. The films primarily revolve around Clouseau’s comedic detective adventures, with Peter Sellers originating and being closely associated with the role. This includes films where Peter Sellers portrayed Inspector Clouseau.

After Peter Sellers’ death, other actors took on the role of Clouseau. These films include ‘Trail of the Pink Panther’ (1982) and ‘Curse of the Pink Panther’ (1983). They used existing footage of Sellers from previous films and added new material to create a storyline.

So, while the core Clouseau films form a continuity, there are later films that deviate from this continuity due to Sellers’ absence. There was also the reboot of the franchise in 2006, with a sequel that was released in 2009. The best way to watch the movies in any case is to follow the release order.

All ‘Pink Panther’ movies in chronological order

As we’ve mentioned, the first 9 ‘Pink Panther movies form one continuity, with the last two being reboots. We can separate the ‘Pink Panther’ movies into three distinctive eras based on Peter Sellers’s presence. The first era of ‘Pink Panther’ movies was “The Clouseau” Era, and it consisted of the following movies:

1. ‘The Pink Panther’ (1963)
2. ‘A Shot in the Dark’ (1964)
3. ‘The Return of the Pink Panther’ (1975)
4. ‘The Pink Panther Strikes Again’ (1976)
5. ‘Revenge of the Pink Panther’ (1978)

The second era is “The Post-Sellers Era” where the franchise was supposed to be revived following the passing of Sellers; however, the movies didn’t come even close to the success of the original movies. We decided to start this era with ‘Inspector Clouseau’ because, quite frankly, we have no idea where else to put it.

1. ‘Inspector Clouseau’ (1968)
2. ‘Trail of the Pink Panther’ (1982)
3. ‘Curse of the Pink Panther’ (1983)
4. ‘Son of the Pink Panther’ (1993)

The third era is the reboot era with Steve Martin in the main role, and those ‘Pink Panther’ movies were most likely the most popular among our younger readers. These two movies completely rebooted the continuity and the main characters involved in the franchise.

1. ‘The Pink Panther’ (2006)
2. ‘The Pink Panther 2’ (2009)

Where to watch the above-mentioned movies?

The rights surrounding all movies in the franchise are all over the place, and there’s no single streaming platform where you can watch all the movies in the franchise. We decided to make it easier for you and located all the places where you can watch the ‘Pink Panther’ movies, both older and newer ones.

Will there be more ‘Pink Panther’ movies?

The ‘Pink Panther’ continuation was in the works for quite some time. In November 2020, Jeff Fowler took over as the director, replacing Silverman, with Chris Bremner on board to write the script and Lawrence Mirisch joining as an additional producer for an upcoming ‘Pink Panther’ film focusing on the iconic characters. By April 2023, following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, plans for new additions to the ‘Pink Panther’ franchise emerged, including a movie and a television series produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Eddie Murphy was later reported to be in talks to star as Inspector Clouseau in the film.

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