The original Bring It On movie was an instantly quotable classic immediately upon release (“these are spirit fingers,” anyone?) and its cultural impact cannot be denied. From being the highlight of children’s slumber parties to its willingness to bring awareness to issues like racial inequality, the cheerleading film is still considered a favorite in the genre. While a direct sequel to the standout 2000 original has yet to be made, Bring It On has inspired its own cinematic universe of sorts — with very mixed results.
While none of the resulting follow-ups share the same characters or actors, they have some common plot points. The most obvious commonality would be cheer (as another fave teen movie icon would say, “duh”) but most of the films are about struggling schools, rivalries, and a hyper-competitive queen bee character leading the cheer squad. It makes for a repetitive formula, and sometimes it works; but when it fails, it does so spectacularly.
If you’ve never watched the Bring It On films, or have only seen the original, it might come as a surprise that the hit teen movie inspired multiple direct-to-video sequels. Here’s how we feel about the seven chapters in the Bring It On franchise.
7. Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack (2017)
By the time Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack came out, many viewers had grown tired of the Bring It On formula, and that formula is especially egregious here. The plot follows the Rebels, a cheerleading team so popular that fans across the world tune in during competitions (and post comments consisting almost entirely of hashtags, which is naturally how all the hippest teens type online). During one such competition, the Rebels’ performance is interrupted by a broadcast of a masked cheerleading squad known as the Truth, who threaten to defeat the Rebels and ruin their perfect winning streak.
Lead cheerleader Destiny is very threatened by this and enlists a group of street dancers (who, of course, think cheerleading sucks) to help make the Rebels’ routines fresh enough to prove they have what it takes to beat the Truth in a streamed competition hosted by cheerleading veteran/podcaster Cheer Goddess (played by Vivica A. Fox). There are plot twists that don’t make sense, rivalries that seem forced, and a plot that combines Bring It On with Step Up by somehow utilizing the worst parts of both movies. That’s not to say this movie is irredeemably bad — it actually has a decent following in the cheer community — but the 8 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes does not bode well.
6. Bring It On: Cheer or Die (2022)
Bring It On: Cheer or Die is an attempt at infusing the dying franchise with some life by adding some horror to the mix. The film starts out strong with a perfectly passable cheer routine and some campy dialogue but when the film tries to go serious, it fails. This is not a movie that should be taken seriously at any point; the whole appeal of a Bring It On horror film is that we expect a campy, hilarious, self-aware slasher. And at times, it is that which makes it difficult to rank this entry in the franchise. When it leans into the comedy of a bunch of cheerleaders literally using their cheer skills to evade a killer, it’s a great watch.
Bring It On: Cheer or Die also takes a beating from its PG-13 limitations; any gruesome deaths are implied offscreen and bodies are miraculously devoid of blood. A horror film does not need to be full of gore to be great (full disclosure: this author can’t stomach most gore), but the complete lack of blood does ruin what little immersion there is. It’s another example of what could have been an enjoyable film not meeting its potential.
5. Bring It On Again (2004)
After the success of the original Bring It On, the producers decided to create a sequel that not only included none of the characters from the first film, but also completely missed the reason people enjoyed Bring It On. The uninspired Bring It On Again follows freshman Whittier as she tries out for her college’s (the fictional California State College) nationally ranked cheerleading team but after making the squad, she butts heads with the head cheerleader Tina and her second in command, Marni. After Whittier’s friend Monica suffers an injury due to Tina’s actions, Whittier and Monica leave the team and decide to make their own.
Their team, composed entirely of college misfits — actors, artists, and dancers, oh my! — challenges the school’s official team and you can probably piece together what happens next. There’s no social commentary to be seen, and the stale plot makes this one that just kind of exists in the franchise. There’s a cameo from the actor who plays Spencer on iCarly for some reason, so there’s that?
4. Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009)
2009’s Bring It On: Fight to the Finish is not the best movie, but it’s a solid enough film and one of the better ones in the Bring It On cinematic universe. Singer Christina Milian — best known for hits like “AM to PM,” “Dip It Low,” and my personal fave, the Kim Possible theme song — stars as Catalina “Lina” Cruz who transfers to a rich private school after her working class mother remarries a wealthy man after Lina’s father’s death.
Along with her new stepsister, Skyler (played by Teen Wolf‘s Holland Roden), Lina learns to navigate her new school and faces blatant racism and classism from some of her classmates, including the captain of the school’s cheerleading team, Avery. It’s not a Bring It On movie if there’s no overly competitive cheer rivalry and Lina, no doubt inspired by the plot of Bring It On Again, helps Skyler’s less impressive united shape up in order to compete with Avery’s high-performing squad. In the spirit of the first movie, there’s some great one-liners in here (“You’re so lucky I found Jesus” is a highlight), and the routines are fun.
3. Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007)
Fun fact: all the Bring It On films start with a dream sequence, including 2007’s Bring It On: In It to Win It. The fourth film in the cheerleading series is unique in that the two rival teams actually must learn to work together in order to achieve their cheer dreams. Two rival teams, the West Coast Sharks and the East Coast Jets, face off at the Cheer Camp Championships every year but this year things are different; after both lose members to injury (it’s a long story), they no longer have enough people to compete.
The Sharks leader Carson (played by Pretty Little Liars Ashley Benson) then persuades Jets leader Brooke (Cassandra Scerbo) to combine the two teams into one super cheer squad so they can still compete. There’s multiple nods to West Side Story (including a cheer “rumble” between the two squads) and bizarrely, it works. Ashley Tisdale also makes an appearance to bless our ears with her song “He Said, She Said” as her sister Jennifer plays one of the cheerleaders.
2. Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
If you thought an Ashley Tisdale cameo was cool (and you’d be right), Bring It On: All or Nothing features Rihanna as the host of a cheerleading competition. This is the third Bring It On movie, and in many ways, it feels like a return to form after the lackluster Bring It On Again. Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) stars as Britney, cheerleading captain of her competitive Pacific Vista High School team and she has her whole year planned out — that is, until her dad loses his job and her family must relocate to South Los Angeles.
Britney enrolls at Crenshaw Heights, an underfunded school where she sticks out as one of the few white students. Tensions are initially high when she joins the school cheerleading team (led by Solange as Camille), but the squad pulls together to compete against Britney’s former team and (hopefully) impress Rihanna — a relatable goal. It’s far from a perfect movie but if you’re part of the film’s intended audience, you’ll enjoy this; the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for Bring It On: All or Nothing is a certified fresh 70 percent.
1. Bring It On (2000)
Was there ever any doubt? The best Bring It On film is the first, and it’s hardly a competition; after over 20 years, Bring It On has earned its place as one of the best teen movies made during the height of the genre’s popularity. Opening with a cheer routine that doubles as my morning affirmation, Bring It On is easily the most well-written of the seven films. Screenwriter Jessica Bendinger — who wrote standout films Aquamarine and Stick It —reportedly faced nearly 30 rejections before the script was ultimately picked up.
Bring It On is a hilarious movie about cheerleading, but it’s also a rare commentary on racism and cultural appropriation in the U.S. It’s not an accident that the wealthy, majority white school wins championships using cheers they stole from the more skilled predominantly Black school, but it’s rare to see that story being told in a mainstream teen feature. Bring It On deftly sticks the landing when it comes to discussing the intersection of race and class, especially for something made in 2000, and despite some jokes aging poorly, is still able to make us laugh.
