Honestly, if you grew up in the 2000s, there is a very high chance you spent at least one Friday night trying to learn a "spirit finger" routine in your living room. It started with Kirsten Dunst and a stolen routine, but it spiraled into a seven-movie saga that somehow navigated the transition from peak cinema to direct-to-video cult status.
Most people think of the first one and then maybe "the one with Hayden Panettiere." But all of the Bring It On movies collectively represent this weird, fascinating time capsule of teen culture. They’ve got everything: early 2000s low-rise jeans, aggressive lip gloss, and surprisingly heavy themes like cultural appropriation and class warfare that were way ahead of their time.
The One That Started It All (And Why It’s Actually Good)
The original Bring It On (2000) wasn't supposed to be a revolution. Director Peyton Reed and writer Jessica Bendinger originally called the script Cheer Fever. It was rejected 28 times before someone finally bit.
Think about that.
Twenty-eight people looked at a script about the Rancho Carne Toros and the East Compton Clovers and said, "Nah."
What makes the first film the gold standard isn't just the snappy dialogue—though "This is not a democracy, it's a cheer-ocracy" is legendary. It’s the fact that it actually had something to say. While Toros captain Torrance Shipman (Dunst) is freaking out about a "spirit stick" curse, she’s also realizing her entire legacy is built on the labor of Black cheerleaders from East Compton. Gabrielle Union’s Isis remains one of the most badass characters in teen movie history because she didn't want Torrance’s pity; she wanted the trophy her team actually earned.
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The Direct-to-Video Years: A Mixed Bag of Spirit
After the massive $90 million success of the original, Hollywood did what it does best: it started churning out sequels. None of the original cast returned. No Dunst. No Dushku. Just new squads, new locations, and increasingly creative ways to use the word "cheer" as a prefix.
Bring It On Again (2004)
This is the only sequel that really tried to keep the vibe of the original by moving the action to college. Whittier (Anne Judson-Yager) arrives at California State University and realizes the varsity squad is run by a total tyrant. It’s basically Mean Girls but on a football field. It’s fine. It’s cute. But it lacked that sharp edge the first one had.
Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
Now we’re talking. If you ask a millennial which sequel is the best, they’ll say this one. Why? Hayden Panettiere and Solange Knowles.
Britney (Panettiere) moves from a posh school to the "rough" Crenshaw Heights. It’s a classic fish-out-of-water story, but the choreography is genuinely incredible. Also, Rihanna makes a cameo as herself because it was 2006 and Rihanna was everywhere. This movie leaned hard into the "krumping" trend, which feels a little dated now, but at the time? Absolute fire.
Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007)
This one is basically Romeo and Juliet with poms. You’ve got the West High Sharks and the East High Jets. Carson (Ashley Benson) falls for Penn (Michael Copon), only to realize he’s on the rival team.
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The highlight? The "cheer-off" that turns into a full-blown rumble. It’s theatrical, it’s campy, and it features a very young Ashley Benson before she became a Pretty Little Liar.
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009)
Christina Milian takes the lead here as Lina Cruz. Her mom marries a rich guy, she moves to Malibu, and she has to turn a "pathetic" JV squad into winners. It’s a very "East LA meets Malibu" clash. It follows the formula to a T, but Milian has enough charisma to make it work.
The Later Years and the Pivot to Horror
By the time the 2010s rolled around, the franchise seemed like it might be running out of steam. Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack (2017) tried to modernize things by focusing on a virtual global competition. It felt a bit like a long YouTube video, honestly.
Then came the curveball.
In 2022, we got Bring It On: Cheer or Die.
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Imagine a slasher movie, but the victims are cheerleaders practicing in an abandoned school. It was a Syfy original and a total departure from the bright, poppy energy of the previous six films. It didn't have much of the "banter" we love, and the PG-13 rating kept the gore to a minimum, but you have to respect the audacity of turning a cheerleading franchise into a horror flick.
Ranking the Vibes
If you’re planning a marathon of all of the Bring It On movies, you need to know what you’re getting into.
- The Original: Best script, best social commentary.
- All or Nothing: Best music and "early 2000s" energy.
- In It to Win It: Best if you want pure, unadulterated camp.
- Cheer or Die: Only if you’re a completionist or really like Missi Pyle (who plays the principal).
Why We Still Care
There’s a reason these movies didn't just disappear into the bargain bin of history. They represent a very specific kind of female ambition. These girls aren't just fighting over boys; they’re fighting for championships. They’re athletes.
The franchise also never shied away from the fact that cheerleading is expensive and often exclusionary. From the very first movie, the series pointed out that talent doesn't always win if you don't have the resources—a lesson that still feels relevant in 2026.
Your Next Step for a Bring It On Binge
If you want to experience the full evolution of the series, don't watch them in order of "best to worst." Watch them chronologically. You’ll see the fashion shift from baggy cargos to tiny spandex, and the music move from 90s alt-rock to EDM.
Start by checking out the original Bring It On (2000) on your favorite streaming platform—most of them rotate through Max or Hulu. Once you’ve refreshed your memory on the Toros and Clovers, hunt down All or Nothing to see Solange and Hayden at their peak. It’s the perfect double feature to understand why this franchise refused to quit for over two decades.