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Sharknado Movie Watch Order in the correct order

How to watch the Sharknado movies in order

Last updated: August 4 2026

Written by: ChronoChris

Sharknado turned a ridiculous disaster-movie premise into one of the defining cult franchises of the 2010s. If you want the jokes, cameos, and escalating madness to land properly, it helps to watch the movies in the right order.

What began as a made-for-TV creature feature quickly became a full-blown pop-culture event. The Sharknado franchise mixes tornadoes, sharks, celebrity cameos, self-aware humor, and increasingly outrageous end-of-the-world stakes. Ian Ziering and Tara Reid anchor the series as Fin Shepard and April Wexler, the family at the center of the chaos, while each sequel tries to top the last in scale and absurdity. Because the movies build directly on one another and repeatedly call back earlier disasters, this is one franchise where release order is easily the best way to go.

🕐 Release Order

Release order is the ideal first watch because each film raises the stakes, adds recurring characters, and leans harder into the running jokes fans expect.

  1. Sharknado (2013)
  2. Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)
  3. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)
  4. Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (2016)
  5. Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017)
  6. The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018)

Unlike some long-running horror or sci-fi series, Sharknado does not really have a separate chronology puzzle to solve. The timeline gets weirder later on, but the story still assumes you have seen everything that came before.

📖 Story Chronology

The in-universe chronology is effectively the same as release order, even once time travel enters the picture in the finale. Watching in sequence keeps the emotional beats and returning gags intact.

  1. Sharknado (2013)
  2. Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)
  3. Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)
  4. Sharknado: The 4th Awakens (2016)
  5. Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017)
  6. The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018)

Which Order Should You Choose?

Go with release order, no question. A big part of Sharknado's appeal is watching the franchise become more shamelessly over-the-top from one movie to the next. The first film plays the concept relatively straight compared with the sequels, while later entries reward you for knowing the characters, the family dynamics, and the series' increasingly goofy mythology. If you only want a taste, the original is enough to tell you whether this style of camp works for you. But if you're here for the full joke, watch all six in order and enjoy the escalation.

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