
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film, co-produced and directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first film of The Hangover franchise. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Jeffrey Tambor. The Hangover tells the story of Phil Wenneck, Stu Price and Alan Garner, who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate their friend Doug Billings' impending marriage. However, Phil, Stu and Alan have no memory of the previous night's events and must find Doug before the wedding can take place. It was followed by 2 sequels.
Release order — click any era to expand or collapse. All 3 released films shown below.
All 3 films in release order — the recommended way to experience the full series.
Watch The Hangover movies in release order, starting with The Hangover (2009) and continuing through The Hangover Part III (2013). The series spans 3 films, released between 2009 and 2013. Audiences rate the franchise 6.7/10 on average.
For most viewers, release order is the recommended way to watch The Hangover. This is how the story was crafted and revealed to audiences — earlier films seed details, callbacks, and twists that pay off in later entries. Watching in release order preserves those reveals and matches the pacing the filmmakers intended.
The Hangover largely tracks its own in-universe chronology, so release order and chronological order overlap closely. You can use either without losing much, though release order is still the safest first watch.
The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film, co-produced and directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first film of The Hangover franchise. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, and Jeffrey Tambor. The Hangover tells the story of Phil Wenneck, Stu Price and Alan Garner, who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate their friend Doug Billings' impending marriage. However, Phil, Stu and Alan have no memory of the previous night's events and must find Doug before the wedding can take place. It was followed by 2 sequels.
Each film builds on the previous one, rewarding viewers who watch in sequence.
Every figure below is calculated from the full film list on this page.
The Hangover has 3 released films, the first in 2009 and the most recent in 2013.
The series has been running for 4 years, from 2009 to 2013.
Across its 3 rated films, The Hangover averages 6.7/10 on TMDB, from 39,423 audience ratings.
The highest-rated entry is The Hangover (2009) at 7.3/10 on TMDB.
The lowest-rated entry is The Hangover Part III (2013) at 6.2/10 on TMDB.
The longest gap between consecutive films is 2 years, between The Hangover (2009) and The Hangover Part II (2011).
Computed by Movies in Order from The Movie Database (TMDB) collection data for The Hangover, covering all 3 released films. Last recalculated September 2026.
The Hangover franchise spans 4 years, from 2009 to 2013.
The highest-rated entry is The Hangover with a 7.3/10 audience score.
Across all films, the franchise averages a 6.7/10 rating from audiences.
The Hangover films have collected over 39k audience ratings combined.
The most recent entry, The Hangover Part III (2013), continues a franchise that began 4 years earlier.
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See the original timeline, full stats, and editorial intro on the franchise overview page.
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