List Of Films Split Into Multiple Parts

Over the history of cinema, some films have been split into multiple parts. This has been done for creative, practical, and financial reasons. Originally done in the form of low-budget serial films, more recently it has often been done with big-budget feature films.

History

Early examples were serials, which were produced in chapters of 10–30 minutes each, and presented in theaters one each week as a prelude to feature films on the same ticket. With each episode typically ending in a cliffhanger, they encouraged regular attendance at the cinema, and the short running length kept down the cost of each installment, and the number of reels needed to show them.

Later feature films would be produced with a similar strategy in mind, deliberately setting up plot developments to be developed in subsequent features. When the initial film has been highly successful, additional installments may be produced concurrently, taking advantage of economies of scale and the availability of actors and directors to facilitate production. (e.g. ''The Matrix'', ''Back to the Future'')

A common reason for splitting a film has been to accommodate an extended running time; many people would find it uncomfortable to sit for a single three- or four-hour presentation. Some films have addressed this by adopting a practice typical in stage theater: having an intermission at the approximate midpoint of the film, during which members of the audience can stand and walk around, use the restroom if needed, or get a snack or refill their beverage at the concession stand. (e.g. ''Gandhi'', '' Gods and Generals'') Other directors have instead split the film into separate releases. (e.g. '' Kill Bill'')

In the 21st century, it became increasingly common for big-budget films – usually those based on novels which might otherwise have to be substantially condensed, but especially the last in a series – to be released as multiple features. The film adaptation of ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' was one of the first to do so with the final book in a series, a pattern followed by the ''Twilight'', ''The Hunger Games'', and '' Divergent'' series. Peter Jackson's film adaptation of ''The Hobbit'' – a final follow-up to his ''The Lord of the Rings'' series – was released as three separate features.

Criticism

In many cases, the process of splitting films has been criticized, citing financial motivations in turning successful books into longer film series. In 2012, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation called it "a recent Hollywood trend of splitting a single book into multiple movies to maximise box office returns from blockbuster franchises". ''The Hobbit'' proved particularly controversial because the running time was the result of adding material that was not part of the original book.

Notable examples

* ''Die Nibelungen'' were fantasy epics directed by Fritz Lang in 1924. The first half of the film is called ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and the second half of the film is called ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (Kriemhild's Revenge)''.
* Soviet war drama film ''War and Peace'' was released in four parts in 1966 and 1967.
* ''A Touch of Zen'', was originally released in two parts in 1970 and 1971 running for a total of 200 minutes. A version combining the two parts was released later in 1971 with a runtime of 180 minutes.
* ''The Three Musketeers'' and '' The Four Musketeers'' were originally filmed as one film adapting the novel by Alexandre Dumas, but were released as separate films in 1973 and 1974.
*Polish historical drama film ''The Deluge'' from 1974 was split into two parts, due to its length (over 5 hours).
* Bernardo Bertolucci's 317-minute-long epic historical drama film '' 1900 (Novecento)'' was originally presented in two parts upon its European theatrical release (the American release was edited into a single 247-minute version); this presentation was preserved for most of the film's DVD and Blu-ray releases, which present both parts on separate discs.
* In 1987, a nearly six-hour film adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel ''Little Dorrit'' was released; it was split into two parts released simultaneously.
* In 1989, '' The Toxic Avenger Part II'' and '' The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie'' were produced as one film but later re-edited into two.
* ''The Lord of the Rings'' is a three part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's book series ''The Lord of the Rings''. ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', ''The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King'' were released at one-year intervals beginning in December 2001.
* '' Kill Bill'' by Quentin Tarantino was originally planned as one film, but was split into two films – '' Volume 1'' and '' Volume 2'', released six months apart in 2003 and 2004 – to avoid cutting it to a shorter length.
* The Japanese epic film trilogy '' The Human Condition'', directed by Masaki Kobayashi and based on the six-volume novel by Junpei Gomikawa, had a run time of almost ten hours as a single film, resulting in the one film being split into three; Volume 1, '' No Greater Love'', was released in 1959, Volume 2, ''Road to Eternity'', also in 1959, and Volume 3, '' A Soldier's Prayer'', in 1961. These were also further split into two parts each for a total of 6 films for the Japanese theatrical release.
* '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' is a direct continuation of '' Dead Man's Chest'', partly due to both films being in production back-to-back. ''Dead Man's Chest'' released in 2006, and ''At World's End'' a year later in 2007.
* ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' of the ''Harry Potter'' film series was one of the first franchise novels split into multiple parts. '' Part 1'' was released in November 2010 and '' Part 2'' was released in July 2011.
*''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions'' were shot back-to-back and released six months apart in 2003, with ''Revolutions'' picking up immediately where ''Reloaded'' ended.
*In 2010, Indian film '' Rakta Charitra'' was released as two films back-to-back months apart.
* In 2012, Indian films '' Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1'' and '' Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2'' were originally shot as a single film of 319 minutes, but since no Indian cinema would screen a film of that length, it was divided into two parts (160 mins and 159 minutes) for the Indian market.
* ''Breaking Dawn'' of the ''Twilight'' film series was split into two parts. '' Part 1'' was released in November 2011 and '' Part 2'' in November 2012.
* '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' is a two-part animated adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, made for video. The first part was released in 2012, and the second in 2013. A Deluxe Edition combining both parts into an unabridged film was released in late 2013.
* '' Nymphomaniac'' was originally intended to be a single film, but, because of its four-hour length, Lars von Trier made the decision to split the project into two separate films.
* ''The Hobbit'' is a three-part adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Hobbit''. As director Peter Jackson developed the script, the additional material added from Tolkien's notes and The Lord of the Rings Appendices required splitting the single planned film into two parts, and later, into three. '' An Unexpected Journey'', '' The Desolation of Smaug'', and '' The Battle of the Five Armies'' were released at one-year intervals beginning in December 2012.
* The film adaptation of ''The Hunger Games'' novel '' Mockingjay'' is split into two parts with '' Part 1'' released in November 2014 and '' Part 2'' in November 2015.
* ''Attack on Titan'', a live-action film adaptation of the manga series, was split into two parts, both released a month apart in 2015.
* The film adaptation of Stephen King's novel '' It'' is split into two parts with '' Chapter One'' released in September 2017 and '' Chapter Two'' in September 2019.
*An anime film adaptation of '' Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern'' was split into two parts with ''Part 1'' released in 2017, and '' Part 2'' in 2018.
*'' Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion'', an anime compilation film of the anime television series of the same name was split into three parts: ''Initiation'' was released on 21 October 2017, ''Transgression'' was released on 10 February 2018, and ''Glorification'' was released on 26 May 2018.
*''Blood-Club Dolls'', a live-action film of '' Blood-C'' anime series was split into two parts: ''1'' was released on 13 October 2018, and '' 2'' was released on 11 July 2020.
*'' KGF'' were Kannada language period action film series written and created by Prashanth Neel. '' KGF Chapter 1'' was released on 21st December 2018 while '' KGF Chapter 2'' was released on 14th April 2022.
* '' Avengers: Endgame'' is a direct continuation of '' Infinity War'' and was subtitled ''Infinity War – Part 2'' at one point in its development. ''Infinity War'' was released on 27 April 2018 and ''Endgame'' a year later on 26 April 2019.
* The biography of N. T. Rama Rao was originally supposed to be a single film but because of its length, it was split into the films '' NTR: Kathanayakudu'' and '' NTR: Mahanayakudu''. Both were released one month apart in January and February 2019.
*'' Sailor Moon Eternal'' is a two-part anime film that is a direct continuation (and a "fourth season") for the '' Sailor Moon Crystal'' anime series. Both were released in January and February 2021.
**'' Sailor Moon Cosmos'', a sequel to ''Sailor Moon Eternal'' (and a "fifth and final season" for ''Sailor Moon Crystal'') is also presented in two parts, with both films releasing in June 2023.
*The 2021 film ''Dune'' is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 science-fiction novel. However, it is titled onscreen as ''Dune: Part One'' as it only adapts the first half of Herbert's novel. A sequel titled '' Dune: Part Two'' was released in March 2024, adapting the second half of Herbert's novel.
*The film adaptation of the novel '' Ponniyin Selvan'' was split into two parts, the first being 167 minutes and the second being 165 minutes, with release dates 30 September 2022 and 28 April 2023 respectively.
*The sequel to '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' was split into two parts as '' Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse'' with ''Part One'' releasing on June 2, 2023 and ''Part Two'' set to release a year later on March 29, 2024 before it was removed from Sony's release calendar due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Initially promoted as ''Part One'', this was later removed from the title of ''Across the Spider-Verse'', while the second was renamed to ''Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse''.
*The seventh film in the ''Mission: Impossible'' franchise, '' Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'' was planned to be shot back-to-back with '' Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning'', initially intended to be titled ''Dead Reckoning Part Two''. However, plans for the film changed in February 2021. ''Part One'' was released on July 12, 2023, while ''The Final Reckoning'' was released on May 23, 2025.
*''Rebel Moon'' was originally pitched as a singular film, which concerned Netflix Films chairman Scott Stuber due to its length. Unwilling to "lose all the character", director Zack Snyder then decided to split the film into two parts, respectively titled '' A Child of Fire'' and '' The Scargiver''.
*Based on Ugramm and directed by Prashanth Neel, the Indian film ''Salaar'' was announced as a single movie. On 8 July 2023, Hombale Films revealed that ''Salaar'' would be released in two parts. '' Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire'' was released on 22 December 2023. The ''Part 2 – Shouryaanga Parvam'' will be released in the latter half of 2025.
*'' Horizon: An American Saga'', a film by Kevin Costner, is a planned four-part film with the first two films being released in June and August 2024. Costner plans for two more films.
*The film adaptation of the Broadway musical '' Wicked'' is being split into two parts, with the first part released in November 2024 and the second scheduled for November 2025.

Incomplete multi-part films

Some multi-part films have been ended up being unfinished due to the cancelation of the second part. Examples include the following:
* The 1978 animated film adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'', directed by Ralph Bakshi, was originally set to be split into two parts, but for various reasons, the sequel was never made.
* The 2000 film adaptation of '' Battlefield Earth'' was set to be split into two parts. The first part was released in May 2000 and the sequel was set to be released in May 2002, but because of the first film's bad reviews and poor box-office performance, the sequel was permanently canceled.
* The film adaptation of the third '' Divergent'' novel '' Allegiant'' was set to be split into two parts: '' Allegiant'' released in March 2016 and ''Ascendant'' was set to be released on 9 June 2017. Due to ''Allegiant''s poor box office performance, a theatrical release for ''Ascendant'' was dropped in favor of reconfiguring the project as a television film for Starz that would be followed by a spinoff series. Both projects were later canceled, effectively ending the franchise.

See also

*Back-to-back film production
* List of films produced back-to-back
* Split television season

References

Further reading

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