Five decades ago, Rocky Balboa went the distance. Written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, Rocky premiered in 1976, and introduced the world to the eponymous small-time boxer and loan shark who would go on to become one of the most beloved characters in American pop culture. The iconic Academy Award–winning sports drama gave birth to five sequels as well as a spin-off trilogy, the Creed films, which star Michael B. Jordan as the titular fighter. If just thinking about Sly Stallone’s famed underdog has you hankering to jump into the ring, you’re in luck: All nine movies in the Rocky universe are now streaming on Netflix. Read on to learn more.
The movie that started it all. Directed by John G. Avildsen (The Karate Kid), Rocky is written by and stars Stallone as Rocky Balboa, who’s handpicked by heavyweight boxing world champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) for a title match after Creed’s original opponent is unable to compete. Rocky, aka “The Italian Stallion,” is a southpaw with a sordid past, and regularly works as a loan collector for the Mafia. Despite his hesitations, Rocky agrees to the challenge, and undergoes an unorthodox training regimen under the watchful eye of former in-ring champ Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), who now owns Mighty Mick’s gym. During his grueling preparation, Rocky attempts to woo his best friend Paulie’s (Burt Young) beautiful sister, Adrian (Talia Shire), who helps him begin to believe that he can go the distance. But is Rocky really a match for a legend like Creed? He’ll have to step into the ring to find out. This 1976 critically acclaimed sports drama was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and received three, including for Best Director and Best Picture, and is considered a classic.
The Italian Stallion returns in this 1979 sequel, written and directed by Stallone. Directly following the events of the first film, Creed (Weathers) demands a rematch to prove that Rocky going 15 rounds in the ring was a fluke. Rocky declines, and instead announces his retirement and marries Adrian (Shire), who soon reveals that she’s pregnant. But Creed isn’t so easily deterred when his otherwise spotless reputation is on the line. Combined with Rocky’s penchant for bad decisions, the pair find themselves on another collision course despite fears over Rocky’s ability to take another brutal beating.
Three years after the events of Rocky II, Rocky has successfully defended his World Heavyweight title 10 times, and is seriously considering retirement when he’s publicly challenged by an up-and-coming fighter, James “Clubber” Lang, played by Mr. T (The A-Team). At first, Rocky demurs, but is soon goaded into the ring after learning a shocking secret and losing a beloved friend. Distracted, Rocky turns to his wife, Adrian, and his former rival, Creed, for help — but is it too little, too late? This 1982 film’s theme song, “Eye of the Tiger,” by the band Survivor, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Soviet Union fighter Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) steps into the ring in the franchise’s fourth entry. Spurred on by American patriotism, retired legend Apollo Creed challenges Drago to a match, and asks his old pal Rocky Balboa to help him prepare. While Rocky is at first hesitant, he agrees — and soon regrets it. After a devastating loss, Rocky is forced to challenge Drago, and agrees for their Cold War–tinged showdown to take place in Moscow on Christmas Day. Brigitte Nielsen (Red Sonja) also joins the cast in this 1985 flick.
Avildsen returned to direct 1990’s Rocky V, which finds the titular hero having lost his worldly possessions in the aftermath of his bout with Drago. Suffering from brain damage, Rocky officially retires and reopens Mighty Mick’s gym with his best friend and brother-in-law, Paulie (Young). He also begins training a young fighter, Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison), while neglecting his own son, Robert (Sage Stallone). When a blusterous promoter, George Washington Duke (Richard Gant), sets his sights on Tommy, Rocky finds himself on a dangerous collision course with his protégé, who sees his former mentor as his final obstacle to greatness.
In 2006, 16 years after the events of Rocky V and four years after the death of his beloved wife, Adrian, a grieving Rocky runs a small, bustling Italian restaurant in Philly. Unable to let go of the past, he also continues to struggle with his relationship with his now-grown son, Robert (Milo Ventimiglia). When a hotheaded young fighter, the newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion, Mason “The Line” Dixon (Antonio Tarver), grows resentful of fans and the media comparing him to Rocky, he challenges the former champ to a charity exhibition. But does The Italian Stallion have anything left to give?
Directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler (Sinners), Creed stars Jordan as Adonis Johnson — the illegitimate son of the famed Apollo Creed — who’s taken in and raised by his father’s widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad). While Adonis longs to follow in his estranged father’s footsteps, Mary Anne urges him away, as she still carries the scars left by her husband’s death in the ring 30 years prior. Adonis defies her wishes and travels from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, where he finds his father’s former rival, now friend Rocky Balboa (Stallone) and begs the former champ to train him. Rocky agrees, and, much like his own coach Mickey did for him, puts Adonis through an unconventional program to whip him into shape. During his time in Philly, Adonis also meets a beautiful musician, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), with whom he forms a connection. But as the fighting world learns that Creed’s heir apparent has taken up his father’s gloves, hungry challengers begin to circle, hoping for a chance to knock out a legend’s son before he can take the throne. Stallone was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this 2015 spin-off film.
Three years after the events of Creed, Adonis (Jordan) has fought his way to the top to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Now an international superstar, Adonis proposes to Bianca (Thompson) and moves back to LA after initially hesitating to leave Rocky behind in Philly. But he’s spurred on to do so by a challenge from the vicious Russian fighter Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of the now-impoverished former Soviet champ Ivan Drago (Lundgren), who killed Apollo Creed three decades ago. Despite Rocky and his other loved ones’ fears that he’s focused more on his father’s legacy than his own future, Adonis accepts Viktor’s challenge. The 2018 film, co-written by Stallone, marks his final onscreen appearance as Rocky Balboa.
Adonis’s past comes back to haunt him in Jordan’s directorial debut, 2023’s Creed III — which became the first sports movie to take in more than $100 million at the box office. The eponymous fighter has retired from the ring to spend more time with his wife, Bianca, and their 6-year-old daughter, Amara (played by Mila Davis-Kent, the first Deaf and Black actor to be featured in a major film). Adonis now runs Delphi Boxing Academy, and has taken on an apprentice, Felix “El Guerrero” Chavez (Jose Benavidez Jr.), whom he’s training for a bout with Viktor Drago (Munteanu). That’s when Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), Adonis’s childhood best friend, rolls into town after being released from prison. Growing up, Damian was a boxing prodigy who took the fall for Adonis’s mistake. Now he’s out to reclaim his standing — and get his revenge by any means necessary.
