How To Watch The American Pie Movies In Order (2024)

Whether in chronological order or by release date, all nine American Pie movies in the franchise are sure to give viewers a good laugh. While the teen comedy genre has faded, American Pie left a strong impression on audiences mainly because of its cast, originality, and ridiculously memorable moments. Even though other teen comedies, like Not Another Teen Movie, She's All That, and Get Over It, have their supporters, American Pie reigns supreme as the quintessential teen comedy franchise.

American Pie debuted in 1999 and has had at least one entry per decade since. While the American Pie movies consist of four releases, five spin-offs have been released maintaining its legacy throughout the years. Fans are even still hoping for American Pie 5. With that many movies in the series and few of them numerically titled, it can be challenging to decide how to watch them. As such, the definitive way to watch all the American Pie movies, either by release date or chronological order, will simplify things.

American Pie Movies In Release Order

American Pie Movies Released From 1999 To 2020

Directed by Paul Weitz and written by Adam Herz, 1999's American Pie was a massive commercial success, grossing over $235 million dollars against a budget of just $11 million. After a series of commercially successful sequels, the producers of the American Pie franchise eventually introduced a series of spin-offs with mostly new characters that kept things going well beyond what anyone expected. While the direct-to-video spin-offs aren't as popular, American Pie is one of the best '90s teen comedies.

It's also the first entry in the American Pie franchise by release date. Following this, the franchise moved on to tell the stories of these close friends as they moved on from high school and eventually saw a wedding occur. Not all the friends were back for every movie. Those who returned helped keep the franchise popular until the spinoffs really only kept Eugene Levy in the cast, and that never seemed to find the audience until the main cast members came back one more time, with another possibly on the way.

American Pie Movies In Chronological Order Of Events

American Pie (1999)

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Director

Paul Weitz , Chris Weitz

Release Date

July 9, 1999

Writers

Adam Herz

Cast

Jason Biggs , Chris Klein , Thomas Ian Nicholas , Alyson Hannigan , Shannon Elizabeth , Tara Reid

Runtime

95 minutes

American Pie follows a group of high school friends who all make a pact to lose their virginity before their high school graduation. As raunchy as that may seem, the original is still the best of the American Pie movies for its humor and relatively accurate depictions of high school life. Moreover, the movie's success at the box office guaranteed that audiences would eventually see more of the protagonists in future installments.

This first movie introduces Jim, Kevin, Oz, Finch, Stifler, and the young women in their lives: Michelle, Heather, Vicky, and Nadia. It also introduces Jim's dad, Noah, and Stifler's mom, known as the MILF, both of whom remain a constant throughout the franchise. This film starts the story and is the first step in the series, as it shows the friends as seniors in high school before their prom. They have their entire lives in front of them, which this franchise explores every step of the way.

American Pie 2 (2001)

American Pie 2 follows the same five characters from American Pie, but this time, they're looking to have the best summer vacation ever at a rented beach house. Despite featuring much of the same brand of humor as seen before, American Pie 2 brought in just under $300 million dollars, making it the highest-grossing movie in the franchise. Jim, Kevin, Oz, Finch, and Stifler have been at college since graduating from high school, and this movie gives them a chance to get back together for the summer.

Whereas the first movie represents the spirit of high school bliss and angst, American Pie2 perfectly captures the feeling of seeing old friends for the first time in a long time while being fun to watch. As for watching the movies chronologically, this movie is an easy second step in the characters' journeys and their lives. They are out of high school, and college introduces them to a much bigger world. Now, they are getting back together and seeing how much things are changing in their lives.

American Wedding (2003)

Also known as American Pie 3: The Wedding and American Pie: The Wedding, American Wedding is the last movie in the series written by franchise creator Adam Herz. The film focuses on Jim and Michelle's wedding and the multiple shenanigans Stifler does that almost ruin it. Perhaps the most notable change in the third installment was that many of the characters in American Wedding were new to the franchise, and they weren't as positively received.

This led to the movie's weak group dynamic and the lowest box-office earnings of the original series. However, this was the next logical step in watching films in order. After high school and college, the next part of life is starting to live as adults, and the wedding is the perfect metaphor for that stage of adulthood. It also shows the characters are moving further apart as they each adjust to their jobs and lives outside of school, which displays why these high school friends might not have as much in common as before.

American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005)

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Director

Steve Rash

Release Date

December 26, 2005

Studio(s)

Rogue Pictures

Writers

Brad Riddell , Adam Herz

Cast

Tad Hilgenbrinck , Arielle Kebbel , jason earles , Crystle Lightning , Jun Hee Lee , Chris Owen , Eugene Levy

Runtime

87 Minutes

American Pie Presents: Band Camp is the first installment in the straight-to-video American Pie Presents series of movies. Although Eugene Levy and Chris Owen reprise their roles as Noah Levenstein and Chuck Sherman, respectively, the movie didn't bode well with longtime supporters of the original series. While one would be hard-pressed to consider any of the original movies critical darlings, they have an undeniable charm.

In the case of American Pie Presents: Band Camp, the movie received harsh reviews (as it was considered low-brow even by the franchise's standards and sorely lacking from the beloved cast of the original series' absence. The main way to figure out its place in the American Pie movies timeline is to see that it is about Stifler’s younger brother, Matt, who is still in high school. This means it is nowhere near American Reunion, and while it is not mentioned, it is almost surely after American Wedding.

American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile (2006)

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Director

Joe Nussbaum

Release Date

December 19, 2006

Studio(s)

Neo Art & Logic , Rogue Pictures

Writers

Erik Lindsay

Cast

John White , Jessy Schram , Steve Talley , Christopher McDonald , Eugene Levy

Runtime

98 Minutes

The second installment in the American Pie Presents series, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, features Stifler's cousins as the central characters, and it follows them as they engage in acts of hedonism at a fraternity house. Whereas American Pie Presents: Band Camp retained some of the charm seen in the original series, this movie was completely lacking in it, thus leading to its overwhelming negative reviews (0% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes).

Despite this, Eugene Levy's continued presence in American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile was the movie's saving grace. This takes place after Band Camp but is not far from that spot in the timeline, so it is still years before American Reunion. The fact that it has Stifler's cousins but not his brother makes it a little hard to pinpoint, but at least it is around the same time and almost surely after the previous movie based on its release date. In the end, it is a minor addition to the franchise.

American Pie Presents: Beta House (2007)

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Director

Andrew Waller

Release Date

December 26, 2007

Studio(s)

Neo Art & Logic , Rogue Pictures

Writers

Erik Lindsay

Cast

John White , Steve Talley , Christopher McDonald , Eugene Levy , Jake Siegel , Nick Nicotera , Meghan Heffern

Runtime

85 Minutes

American Pie Presents: Beta House is the highest-rated entry in the spinoff series and that's largely due to the filmmaker's decision to follow the first American Pie's formula more than the previous two entries did. The movie follows Erik and Dwight Stifler as the siblings engage in raunchy sex acts at the University of Michigan. While the movie doesn't necessarily provide anything fresh, its decision to follow an already-proven formula worked out to the movie's benefit.

Since this brings back Erik, this is easily placed after American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile since it mentions the movie's events in this one. It also takes the same form as the original timeline of movies because it shows Erik is now out of high school and has moved on to college. Just like American Pie and American Pie 2, this allows viewers to follow someone from one step of their life (high school) to the next step (college), and this time, the story was much closer aligned to what fans might have wanted to see.

American Pie Presents: The Book Of Love (2009)

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Director

John Putch

Release Date

December 22, 2009

Studio(s)

Capital Arts Entertainment

Cast

Bug Hall , Brandon Hardesty , Kevin M. Horton , Beth Behrs , Jennifer Holland , John Patrick Jordan , Rosanna Arquette , Eugene Levy

Runtime

96 Minutes

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love follows three virgin high school students in their pursuit of losing their virginity. While perusing the aisles at their school's library, they stumble upon a legendary sex book with contributions from previous male students, resulting in over 40 years' worth of tips for losing one's virginity. The boys then misappropriate much of the information in the book, thus resulting in outrageous scenarios involving sex and low-brow jokes.

However, thanks to the addition of many stories in the book they found, the movie at least lines up after every other movie in the franchise to this time. Eugene Levy is back as Jim's dad (and the creator of the Book of Love), and there is a new Stifler in Scott, the younger cousin of Steve and Erik. Since he is younger, it places this movie right in this spot in the timeline, as the Stifler family has basically become how to teach the movie without any of the original cast members other than Noah.

American Reunion (2012)

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Director

Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg

Release Date

April 4, 2012

Studio(s)

Universal Pictures

Writers

Adam Herz , Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg

Cast

Jason Biggs , Alyson Hannigan , Chris Klein , Seann William Scott , Eddie Kaye Thomas , Eugene Levy , Tara Reid , Mena Suvari , Jennifer Coolidge , Thomas Ian Nicholas

Runtime

113 minutes

At 113 minutes, American Reunion is the longest entry in the original American Pie series of movies. It is also recognizable for bringing back the original cast that made the franchise so popular. Even though American Pie is not as popular as it once was, the fourth movie's $235 million gross (via Box Office Mojo) proved that enough people were still excited about seeing the gang again, even if they were full-grown adults at that point.

Despite its mixed reception, American Reunion resonates because of how it handles the reality most people face from friends drifting apart. Despite the franchise's raucous humor, American Reunion works because of its surprising amount of depth. The movie takes place after several of the spinoffs because this brought about the 10th high school reunion of the original cast, and it was a clear next step in the main timeline, as the characters had grown and moved far apart but still maintained memories of their past lives.

American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules (2020)

American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules is unique in that it doesn't feature any nudity and is the only movie in the series with a predominantly female cast. Additionally, American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules doesn't feature Eugene Levy, as it is a standalone sequel and boasts brand-new characters. Despite its negative reviews (30% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes), American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules does its part to keep the franchise alive.

Once again, it is about a Stifler, this time another relative named Stephanie (Lizze Broadway). Annie, Kayla, Michelle, and Stephanie make a pact but it isn't just about losing virginity. These young women want to get what they want in life (although, for one, that is losing their virginity), and they will do anything to make it happen. Since this is keeping up the Stifler family, it takes place after the other spinoffs, and since it arrived years after American Reunion, it is expected it follows that movie as well.

A New American Pie Movie Has Been Teased

There might be a new American Pie movie coming, and the good news for fans of the franchise is that it will feature the original cast. This would be American Pie 5, which would feature the next step in these characters' lives. The characters went from high school students wanting to lose their virginity to college students trying to find their way to getting married and becoming adults, only to return for their 10-year reunion. What is next for these friends that would keep the chronological timeline intact?

However, two other characters might play a bigger role in the fifth movie. American Reunion co-writer Jon Hurwitz said that if the studio wants to know what happened with the romance between Jim’s dad and Stifler’s mom, “they know where to find us.” That is an interesting idea because Jim's dad is a widow and seems to have found a love connection with Stifler's mom in American Reunion, which is much better than her precious relationship with one of her son's friends.

However, there are also rumors that a movie focusing on the high school friends who are now adults is in the works. Tara Reid even said that a script for American Pie 5 had been written. There is no telling what the movie could be about, but the previous films open up one big door. The obvious next step for the characters is to deal with teenagers of their own, and seeing how Jim and Michelle might react, knowing what they did as teens, could make American Pie 5 a perfect way to end the story.