Peter Jackson movies in order
From a splatter comedy shot in his mother's kitchen to seventeen Academy Awards.
Updated 6 August 2026 · 13 titles tracked
Thirteen features, and they split almost violently in two. The first five were made in New Zealand on almost no money, and three of them are extreme gore comedies. Everything after 2001 is a very large studio film.
The trilogies have their own required order — that is covered on the Middle-earth page. This is the filmography, which is a different question.
Peter Jackson films, in a suggested starting order
An entry path rather than release order. Toggle on the filmography page.
- 1The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001 · Major work
- 2The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers2002 · Major work
- 3The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003 · Major work
- 4Heavenly Creatures1994 · Major work
- 5Braindead1992 · Major work
- 6King Kong2005 · Major work
- 7The Frighteners1996
- 8The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey2012
- 9The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug2013
- 10The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies2014
- 11Bad Taste1987
- 12The Lovely Bones2009
- 13Meet the Feebles1989
Start with The Fellowship of the Ring
The three Lord of the Rings films were shot simultaneously over 438 days, which had never been attempted at that scale. Fellowship is the one that proved it could work, and it remains the best-paced of the three.
The Return of the King went eleven for eleven at the Oscars. No film has matched that sweep since.
Then go backwards to Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures (1994) is the bridge between the two halves of his career — a true 1954 murder case, Kate Winslet's screen debut, and the film that got him taken seriously by people who had written him off as the Bad Taste guy.
It is also the best-acted thing he has made, which is not the reputation the trilogies gave him.
The splatter years
Bad Taste (1987) was shot over four years of weekends with friends; Jackson plays two roles and made the prosthetics in his mother's kitchen. Braindead (1992, released as Dead Alive in America) is still one of the bloodiest films ever released, and genuinely very funny.
Meet the Feebles (1989) is the Muppets as addicts, and is deliberately repellent. It is a real film with a real following, and it is not a general recommendation.
None of this is required viewing. It is, however, the only way to understand how the same person made both halves of the filmography.
The Hobbit is optional
One short book became three films on a schedule Jackson inherited from Guillermo del Toro weeks before shooting started, and it shows in all three. The Desolation of Smaug is the best of them, largely because of Smaug.
If you have watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy and want more Middle-earth, watch them. If you are working through Jackson as a director, King Kong (2005) is the more interesting large film — overlong, and with an extraordinary final hour.
Common questions
What order should I watch Peter Jackson movies in?
Start with The Lord of the Rings trilogy in release order, then Heavenly Creatures, Braindead and King Kong. The Hobbit trilogy is optional and weaker.
Which Peter Jackson film should I watch first?
The Fellowship of the Ring. If you already know the trilogy, Heavenly Creatures (1994) is the best entry into his pre-Hollywood work.
How many films has Peter Jackson directed?
Thirteen features, from Bad Taste (1987) to The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). He has since worked mainly as a producer and on archive documentaries.
Do I need to watch The Hobbit before The Lord of the Rings?
No. The Hobbit is set sixty years earlier but was made a decade later and assumes you already know the trilogy. Watch The Lord of the Rings first.