History Main / FirstInstallmentWins

* ''Film/TheCrow'' has three sequels, but most people have usually only seen the first one.

* ''Film/SawI'' is widely regarded as the best ''Saw'' movie. Despite having six sequels, most believe that none of them compare to the original; some fans even consider the first movie the only good ''Saw'' movie. Ironically, the first movie [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness lacked most of the franchise's signature elements]]; the deathtraps weren't particularly elaborate nor overly gory, being much more of a psychological thriller about kidnapping victims and the police trying to figure out what happened; to some this is the reason why the first film is the best one.

** Creator/DanDiDio has used this as justification for replacing many characters with their [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] incarnations, specifically Characters/{{Supergirl|TheCharacter}} (Kara Zor-El), ComicBook/TheFlash ([[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]]), ComicBook/GreenLantern (Hal Jordan) and Characters/{{Batgirl}} (Barbara Gordon).[[note]] although in the case of the latter three; that honor goes to Jay Garrick, Alan Scott (and InUniverse, Hal was replacing Abin Sur), and Bette Kane[[/note]]

* Every single Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon film with a direct-to-video sequel is always better remembered than its sequel.
** This is the main reason why [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturntotheSea Melody]], [[SpinOffspring Ariel's daughter]], is not considered as an official Franchise/DisneyPrincess, despite her own mother actually being considered as one.

* When it comes to ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'' the first film ''Film/TheMummy1999'' is near universally loved, the sequel ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' has plenty of fans but is not a patch on and the threequel ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'' is a [[BoxOfficeBomb strong reminder]] of how good the first film is. And the less said about ''Film/TheScorpionKing'', its sequels and ''Film/TheMummy2017'' the better.
** Fair to note the 1999 film is not even the first instalment but ''Film/TheMummy1932'' has simply been overshadowed in the public zeitgeist by its 90s revamp.

* ''Film/JurassicPark'' is a widely-acclaimed visual masterpiece, whose [[Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark two]] [[Film/JurassicParkIII sequels]] are generally reviled. Although the belated fourth entry ''Film/JurassicWorld'' was much better received commercially, most people would agree that it doesn't live up to the first film's standards, and its followup ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' even less so (to the point that the reputation of the second film ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', which shares some plot points, was slightly upgraded). Once ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' came out, it ended up creating a subsection of this trope, as everyone agreed the first of the ''World'' trilogy was the best.

* Music/LizPhair's ''Music/ExileInGuyville'' got a '''huge''' amount of praise, and [[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/4 is considered one of the best albums of all time]]. Too bad the rest of her albums didn't match up to the success of her debut. Not the same level of critical success perhaps, but they got a lot more radio airplay.

* Concerning the Creator/DisneyPlus MCU shows, easily the best reviewed, the most bang for the buck, least controversial (barring its final episode) and most liked all around is ''Series/WandaVision'' the first one. ''[=WandaVision=]'''s refreshingly different and weird direction for the studio and generally good pacing and character drama make it effortlessly the favourite of the bunch.

* Creator/{{Netflix}}:
** The network has released ten original comedy series, but its first (''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'') remains its most popular.
** When it comes to MCU Netflix shows ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'' especially its first season is considered the absolute best despite ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'', ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'' and ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}'' having their fans (''Series/{{Iron Fist|2017}}'', not so much). ''Daredevil'' is also considered superior to the official Creator/DisneyPlus Marvel TV shows which have plenty of broken bases and critics. Such is the acclaim and popularity of Creator/CharlieCox's Daredevil that he's the first Netflix Marvel character to make his way into a mainline film: ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome''.
** ''Series/ThirteenReasonsWhy'' caused a huge impact upon its release. The following seasons, on the other hand, are considered exploitative and non-sensical and gathered negative reviews all around (the Rotten Tomatoes score dip is particularly impressive: 78% for the first season, ''27%'' for the second, and everything after scored on the 10% mark).
** For a lot of people the first season of ''Series/StrangerThings'' will always dwarf the second and third seasons, simply for having the right combination of 80s grittiness and heart with its cast as well as having enough unexplained mystery and intrigue. When discussing the series, the now iconic moments of Joyce using the Christmas lights to communicate to Will and Eleven saving Mike and Dustin before having a GroupHug are brought up far more than moments from the second and third seasons. Incredibly, the fourth season, thanks to numerous great scenes and new characters and what is generally considered a huge improvement from Seasons 2 and 3, has managed to rival the first, being extremely acclaimed and discussed, even if the first season is still the best liked overall.

* Many ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' fans prefer to watch ''Film/{{Alien}}'' and ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' and then stop there. There are fanbases for ''Film/Alien3'' and ''Film/AlienResurrection'' (which to be fair are actually okay films - though the over-the-topness of the fourth one is a point of contention - though definitely not as good as the original). Opinions are split on ''Film/{{Prometheus}}''; half the Alien fanbase considers it to be an incredible and intriguing new entry into the canon which gives a whole new area of the Alien Universe to explore and accepts it as canon, the other half believes it to be an unoriginal mess of ideas and tries to ignore it. ''Film/AlienCovenant'' featured a lot of PanderingToTheBase starring the Xenomorphs heavily but ironically only managed to divide fans further and make people appreciate the first's film subtlety and smaller scope even more.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'': This show is easily the most popular and well-liked of the three shows Creator/DreamworksAnimation made in association with Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} (partly because ''[[WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness Legends of Awesomeness]]'' is very divisive among the ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' fanbase and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens2013'' is universally regarded as [[{{Sequelitis}} a weak effort]]). Some fans would go further and argue is still the best show based on a Dreamworks movie, although ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' and ''WesternAnimation/AllHailKingJulien'' have solid fanbases who disagree.

* The original Wrestling/BigGoldBelt used in [[Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance NWA]] and Wrestling/{{WCW}} from February 1986 to January 2001 is almost unanimously considered to be superior to the versions that replaced it, especially the ones made by WWE. [[note]]The original was hand-engraved by a silversmith whose exact methods are a closely-guarded trade secret, making it impossible for anyone to make an exact copy of it (even Crumrine Jewelers themselves weren't able to perfectly replicate the original when a fan named Teddy Srour ordered a personal copy from Crumrine). The replacement used in the last few months of WCW and in WWF until early 2003 was a cast copy of the original, but the plates were entirely gold-plated instead of the silver and gold two-tone of the original, making it harder to see the detailing on the plates and overall looking more generic. When WWE made their own version of the Big Gold with their company logo on it, it was smaller and less detailed than both the original and its cast copy.[[/note]]