Release OrderRecommended
0 / 6 watchedThe five Bronson films in release order, then the 2018 remake as a standalone. One list, two continuities.
Original series
- 1 Death Wish Directed by Michael Winner. Architect Kersey patrols New York after his wife's murder. Based on Garfield's novel.
- 2 Death Wish II Directed by Michael Winner. Kersey follows the men who attacked his daughter to Los Angeles.
- 3 Death Wish 3 Directed by Michael Winner. Kersey arms a whole New York neighborhood against a street gang.
- 4 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Kersey takes on two rival drug cartels in Los Angeles.
- 5 Death Wish V: The Face of Death Directed by Allan A. Goldstein. Kersey protects his fiancee from her mobster ex. Bronson's final outing at 72.
Remake (separate continuity)
- 6 Death Wish Directed by Eli Roth. Bruce Willis plays Chicago surgeon Paul Kersey. A remake of the 1974 film, not a sequel.
About Death Wish
Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is a New York architect turned vigilante after a home invasion kills his wife in Death Wish (1974), loosely based on Brian Garfield's 1972 novel. Michael Winner directed the first three films, then J. Lee Thompson and Allan A. Goldstein closed out the run. Bronson is the only actor to appear in all five originals.
Release order is story order across the five Bronson films, which grow progressively more explosive through the Cannon-era sequels. The 2018 Death Wish with Bruce Willis is a remake set in Chicago, not a sixth chapter, so it sits apart at the end of the list.
Good to know
Release years follow US premieres: Death Wish on July 24, 1974; Death Wish II on February 19, 1982; Death Wish 3 on November 1, 1985; Death Wish 4: The Crackdown on November 6, 1987; Death Wish V: The Face of Death on January 14, 1994; and the remake on March 2, 2018. The six films earned roughly $87 million worldwide against about $61 million in combined budgets. No seventh film has been announced, so the franchise reads as completed.
