Start SpongeBob SquarePants with the original series (1999), which the films and spin-offs all build on; its first three seasons are the classic era. Watch the theatrical films in release order: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Sponge Out of Water (2015), Sponge on the Run (2020) and Search for SquarePants (2025). Kamp Koral is a prequel about SpongeBob as a kid, and the Netflix films about Sandy and Plankton are optional side stories.
- Titles
- 9
- Films
- 6
- Series
- 3
- Watch time
- 203 hours
- Box office
- $734 million
- Avg IMDb
- 5.4
SpongeBob movies in release order
Here is every SpongeBob title in the order it came out, 1999 to 2025: 6 films and 3 series. Optional entries are marked; you can skip them on a first watch.
| # | Title | Year | Type | Runtime | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SpongeBob SquarePants | 1999 | Series | 147h 45m | 8.2 |
| 2 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | 2004 | Film | 1h 27m | 7.2 |
| 3 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | 2015 | Film | 1h 33m | 6 |
| 4 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | 2020 | Film | 1h 35m | 5.9 |
| 5 | Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years optional | 2021 | Series | 14h 18m | 3.6 |
| 6 | The Patrick Star Show optional | 2021 | Series | 31h 55m | 3.6 |
| 7 | Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie optional | 2024 | Film | 1h 27m | 3.6 |
| 8 | Plankton: The Movie optional | 2025 | Film | 1h 23m | 5.3 |
| 9 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | 2025 | Film | 1h 28m |
SpongeBob timeline: movies in chronological order
The same titles in story order, by when they take place, with the year or era each one is set in.
| # | Title | Set in | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years | SpongeBob at age 10 | 2021 |
| 2 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Bikini Bottom | 1999 |
| 3 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | Shell City | 2004 |
| 4 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Bikini Bottom and the surface | 2015 |
| 5 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | The Lost City of Atlantic City | 2020 |
| 6 | The Patrick Star Show | Patrick's home TV show | 2021 |
| 7 | Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie | Texas | 2024 |
| 8 | Plankton: The Movie | The Chum Bucket | 2025 |
| 9 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | The Underworld | 2025 |
Release or chronological: which order is best?
Release order and story order disagree on 5 titles here. In release order you start with SpongeBob SquarePants (1999); in story order you start with Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, set in SpongeBob at age 10, which came out 22 years later.
First time through, watch in release order. That is how the twists, returning characters and callbacks were built to land, and later entries assume you have seen the earlier ones. On a rewatch, try story order. It turns SpongeBob SquarePants into one continuous story and makes the prequels play as setup instead of backstory.
Where to start
Start with SpongeBob SquarePants and go in release order, skipping the 4 optional titles on the first pass.
The essentials are 5 titles and about 154 hours, 24% less than the full run.
The three highest rated: SpongeBob SquarePants (8.2), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (7.2), and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (6).
Every SpongeBob movie, explained
One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.
No. 01 · 1999 · Series · 147h 45m · 2nd in story order
SpongeBob SquarePants
Deep down in the Pacific Ocean in the subterranean city of Bikini Bottom lives a square yellow sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, Gary, loves his job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, and has a knack for getting into all kinds of trouble without really trying. When he's not getting on the nerves of his cranky next door neighbor Squidward, SpongeBob can usually be found smack in the middle of all sorts of strange situations with his best buddy, the simple yet lovable starfish, Patrick, or his thrill-seeking surfer-girl squirrel pal, Sandy Cheeks.
Why it matters: The main show, from 1999 and still running; everything else spins off from it.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass
- Creator
- Stephen Hillenburg
- Scores
- IMDb 8.2
- Episodes
- 689 across 19 seasons
No. 02 · 2004 · Film · 1h 27m · 3rd in story order
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
There's trouble brewing in Bikini Bottom. Someone has stolen King Neptune's crown, and it looks like Mr. Krab, SpongeBob's boss, is the culprit. Though he's just been passed over for the promotion of his dreams, SpongeBob stands by his boss, and along with his best pal Patrick, sets out on a treacherous mission to Shell City to reclaim the crown and save Mr. Krab's life.
Why it matters: SpongeBob and Patrick leave Bikini Bottom to recover King Neptune's crown and save Mr. Krabs.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, and Rodger Bumpass
- Director
- Stephen Hillenburg
- Box office
- $141 million on a $30 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 7.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 68%
No. 03 · 2015 · Film · 1h 33m · 4th in story order
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
Evil pirate Burger Beard is in search of the final page of a magical book that makes any evil plan he writes in it come true, but the final page happens to be the Krabby Patty secret formula. When Burger Beard endangers Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy, and Plankton must embark on a quest to retrieve the recipe and save their city...a quest that takes them to the surface world and transforms them into superheroes.
Why it matters: The Krabby Patty formula vanishes and the gang ends up on land as superheroes.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass
- Director
- Paul Tibbitt and Mike Mitchell
- Box office
- $325 million on a $74 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6 · Rotten Tomatoes 80%
No. 04 · 2020 · Film · 1h 35m · 5th in story order
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.
Why it matters: Gary is snail-napped, and SpongeBob and Patrick head to the Lost City of Atlantic City.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass
- Director
- Tim Hill
- Box office
- $5 million on a $60 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.9 · Rotten Tomatoes 66%
No. 05 · 2021 · Series · 14h 18m · 1st in story order · optional
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years
SpongeBob and friends spend the summer catching jellyfish, building camp-fires, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at Camp Coral, located in the Kelp Forest.
Why it matters: A CGI prequel: 10-year-old SpongeBob and friends at summer camp.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, and Rodger Bumpass
- Creator
- Vincent Waller, Marc Ceccarelli, Luke Brookshier, Mr. Lawrence, Kaz, and Andrew Goodman
- Scores
- IMDb 3.6
- Episodes
- 75 across 2 seasons
No. 06 · 2021 · Series · 31h 55m · optional
The Patrick Star Show
Follow a younger Patrick Star living at home with his family, where he hosts his own variety show for the neighborhood from his television-turned-bedroom.
Why it matters: Patrick hosts a TV show from his family's home.
- Starring
- Bill Fagerbakke, Thomas F. Wilson, and Cree Summer
- Creator
- Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Andrew Goodman, Kaz, Mr. Lawrence, and Vincent Waller
- Scores
- IMDb 3.6
- Episodes
- 162 across 6 seasons
No. 07 · 2024 · Film · 1h 27m · optional
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
When Bikini Bottom is scooped from the ocean, scientific squirrel Sandy Cheeks and her pal SpongeBob SquarePants saddle up for Texas to save their town.
Why it matters: Bikini Bottom is scooped from the sea, and SpongeBob goes with Sandy to Texas.
- Starring
- Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, and Clancy Brown
- Director
- Liza Johnson
- Box office
- $100 million on a $100 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 3.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 50%
No. 08 · 2025 · Film · 1h 23m · optional
Plankton: The Movie
Plankton's tangled love story with his sentient computer wife goes sideways when she takes a stand — and decides to destroy the world without him.
Why it matters: Plankton's computer wife Karen goes rogue and tries to take over the world.
- Starring
- Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, and Tom Kenny
- Director
- Dave Needham
- Scores
- IMDb 5.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 73%
No. 09 · 2025 · Film · 1h 28m
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.
Why it matters: SpongeBob follows the Flying Dutchman into the Underworld to prove he is a big guy.
- Starring
- Tom Kenny, Mark Hamill, and Clancy Brown
- Director
- Derek Drymon
- Box office
- $163 million on a $64 million budget
- Scores
- Rotten Tomatoes 78%
SpongeBob box office and budgets
The 5 SpongeBob films with reported numbers have grossed $734 million worldwide on about $328 million in combined budgets, roughly 2.2 times what they cost. The biggest is The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water at $325 million, 44% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants ($163 million) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ($141 million).
Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which made 4.7 times its $30 million budget. The weakest was The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run at 8% of its $60 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.
The best and worst rated SpongeBob movies
Across 8 rated titles, SpongeBob SquarePants averages 5.4 on IMDb. The top of the list is SpongeBob SquarePants at 8.2, then The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (7.2) and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (6). At the bottom: Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (3.6) and The Patrick Star Show (3.6).
- SpongeBob SquarePants8.2
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie7.2 · RT 68%
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water6 · RT 80%
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run5.9 · RT 66%
- Plankton: The Movie5.3 · RT 73%
- Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years3.6
- The Patrick Star Show3.6
- Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie3.6 · RT 50%
Who appears in the most SpongeBob movies
Tom Kenny leads with 9 appearances as SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary the Snail, ahead of Bill Fagerbakke (9) and Rodger Bumpass (9). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.
| Actor | Role | Titles | First and latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kenny | SpongeBob SquarePants / Gary the Snail | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Bill Fagerbakke | Patrick Star / Fish #2 | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Rodger Bumpass | Squidward / Fish #4 | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Clancy Brown | Mr. Krabs / Eugene H. Krabs | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Carolyn Lawrence | Sandy Cheeks / Sandy | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Mr. Lawrence | Plankton / Larry the Lobster | 9 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) |
| Mary Jo Catlett | Mrs. Puff | 5 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to Plankton: The Movie (2025) |
| Jill Talley | Karen Plankton / Karen | 5 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to Plankton: The Movie (2025) |
| Dee Bradley Baker | Farmer / Sailor | 4 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to Plankton: The Movie (2025) |
| Lori Alan | Pearl Krabs / Pearl | 3 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to Plankton: The Movie (2025) |
| Sirena Irwin | Lady Upturn / Prudence | 3 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The Patrick Star Show (2021) |
| Thomas F. Wilson | Customer #1 / Customer #2 | 2 | SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) to The Patrick Star Show (2021) |
SpongeBob directors and creators
13 filmmakers have directed or created SpongeBob SquarePants; Stephen Hillenburg has the most, with 2.
- Stephen HillenburgSpongeBob SquarePants (1999) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
- Vincent WallerKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- Marc CeccarelliKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- Luke BrookshierKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- Mr. LawrenceKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- KazKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- Andrew GoodmanKamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years (2021) and The Patrick Star Show (2021)
- Paul TibbittThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
- Mike MitchellThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
- Tim HillThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020)
- Liza JohnsonSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)
- Dave NeedhamPlankton: The Movie (2025)
- Derek DrymonThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
How long it takes to watch every SpongeBob movie
All 9 titles add up to 203 hours: 9 hours of film and 194 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 102 two-hour evenings, or 21 days of ten-hour binges. The essentials cut it to 154 hours. The longest film is The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run at 1h 35m.
The 4 best rated films: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, and Plankton: The Movie.
Everything takes about 7 months; the essentials about 5 months.
Track what you've watched on the timeline and it counts the hours left.
Which SpongeBob movies can you skip?
4 titles can go without losing the main story. They are side stories, spin-offs or entries the later films ignore. Dropping them saves 49 hours.
- Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years2021 · Series · 14h 18m · optionalA CGI prequel: 10-year-old SpongeBob and friends at summer camp.
- The Patrick Star Show2021 · Series · 31h 55m · optionalPatrick hosts a TV show from his family's home.
- Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie2024 · Film · 1h 27m · optionalBikini Bottom is scooped from the sea, and SpongeBob goes with Sandy to Texas.
- Plankton: The Movie2025 · Film · 1h 23m · optionalPlankton's computer wife Karen goes rogue and tries to take over the world.
Common questions
What order should I watch the SpongeBob movies in?
Start SpongeBob SquarePants with the original series (1999), which the films and spin-offs all build on; its first three seasons are the classic era. Watch the theatrical films in release order: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Sponge Out of Water (2015), Sponge on the Run (2020) and Search for SquarePants (2025). Kamp Koral is a prequel about SpongeBob as a kid, and the Netflix films about Sandy and Plankton are optional side stories.
How many SpongeBob movies and shows are there?
There are 9 titles in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise: 6 films and 3 series, released from 1999 to 2025.
How long does it take to watch all the SpongeBob movies?
About 203 hours for all 9 titles, counting every episode. The essentials only (5 titles) take about 154 hours.
What is the first SpongeBob title in chronological order?
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, set in SpongeBob at age 10. In release order the first is SpongeBob SquarePants (1999).
Which SpongeBob titles can I skip?
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, The Patrick Star Show, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, and Plankton: The Movie. They are spin-offs, side stories or non-canon entries; the main story holds without them.
What is the best SpongeBob movie?
By IMDb score, SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) at 8.2, followed by The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at 7.2.
What is the highest-grossing SpongeBob movie?
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015), with $325 million worldwide. SpongeBob SquarePants films have made $734 million in total.
Who has appeared in the most SpongeBob movies?
Tom Kenny, in 9 of them as SpongeBob SquarePants.
What is the longest SpongeBob movie?
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, at 1h 35m.
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