Every Bridget Jones Film Ranked From Worst To Best

Spanning 2001 to 2025 with four films, the Bridget Jones films are some of the most popular rom-coms to be released. With the recent release of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, it seemed like the best time to rank all four films.

Based on the Helen Fielding novels, and with the films also co-written by the author, they follow the life of Bridget Jones, who starts the first film, Bridget Jones Diary, at the age of 30 and is looking to find love. She meets two love interests in that film, Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth and Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant. Both go on to be mainstays in the films as Bridget’s love life and, at times, love triangles offer all sorts of drama and laughs for us in the audience.

We recently discussed each of the films in the lead-up to Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy on our ‘What Do You Wanna Watch’ podcast. Below are links to each episode.

Here are our rankings of all four of the Bridget Jones films:

4.) BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON

The second film feels the weakest simply because it’s the most similar to the one that came before it. Things start off differently with Bridget and Mark Darcy living together and seeming to have a great life going for them at the start of the film, but when Bridget heads off with Daniel Cleave, who is now working in TV with Bridget, to Thailand, things get too comfortable between them.

The opening scene aside, as that is generally very funny, the jokes here are the most slapstick of the series, and there are even a few here that are somewhat questionable when you watch the films back. The all-women prison in Thailand comes off as a bit unaware of how it’s playing into stereotypes.

Of course, how it all comes together is rather predictable. The film even attempts to recreate the fight scene that everyone loves between Mark and Daniel in the first film, but it does not achieve the same effect.

– Dylan Blight

3.) BRIDGET JONES’S BABY

The third film in the series really moves things forward, with over a decade having passed since we first met our heroine, and Mark and her have long been separated. After a drunk night of sex with Mark, which takes place not long after a drunken night of sex with a stranger at a music festival, Bridget finds herself pregnant but doesn’t know who the father is. Shenanigans ensue.

This film is the broadest comedy of the series, with a lot more comedy setpieces and bigger characters, as you would expect from more modern and American romantic comedies. Sarah Solemani, as Miranda, Bridget’s friend and Hard News’s anchorwoman, is a fantastic addition to the series as someone more like Bridget herself, who she can relate to and bounce off of. Emma Thompson is also brilliant as Bridget’s gynecologist, with many of the film’s best jokes.

Adding Patrick Dempsey to the love triangle changes things up and avoids making it feel like a rehash of the previous two films. The dynamic between the trio is a lot of fun to watch and allows for some of the more slapstick and absurd moments to not break the suspension of disbelief. This really should have been the sequel to the original film.

– Ashley Hobley

2.) BRIDGET JONES DIARY

The original film in the series, Bridget Jones Diary, is a comedy and romantic all-timer. Fans of the books were happy to see Bridget come to life, with Renee Zellweger bringing the character to life here in a way that, in time, it’s hard to appreciate how well she did at the time. Zellweger was even nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for this role at the 2022 Academy Awards.

From the moment the film starts, Bridget is very likable, and audiences gravitate to Renee Zellweger in this role. But it’s also a role that wasn’t, and still isn’t, one you’ll still see many stories focused on. 30-year-old woman, an age that is disgustingly considered “middle-age,” and a romance where the lead character gets to be more than just sexy; she’s also funny, shows humility, and moments of weakness we haven’t seen before in films like this, especially for this early in the 2000s.

Pair all of that with Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, who had the character more-or-less written for him, and then Hugh Grant, who nearly built a career on playing characters like this, post-Bridget Jones. There’s more than a handful of standout and memorable moments in this film, but it’s that final scene in the snow between Bridget and Mark that became one of rom-com’s most famous.

– Dylan Blight

1.) BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY

This may be a case of recency bias, but it feels like the best of these Bridget Jones films. Although it succeeds at being a really good romantic comedy, it is also a beautiful and moving story about dealing with grief and the struggle of continuing to live when you no longer have the one you love the most.

Set around a decade after the last film, Mark was tragically killed on a humanitarian mission four years prior, and Bridget is still struggling to move on while caring for their two children. After getting a lot of push from her group of friends and her gynecologist, Bridget finally gets back out there and soon finds two romantic interests in Mr. Scott Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Roxter (Leo Woodall).

The film walks the incredible tightrope of balancing comedy with the exploration of the grieving process, mostly down to Renee Zellweger’s stellar performance. The comedic moments have you laughing and the moving moments will make your eyes get a little misty. The film makes great use of the ensemble cast it has built around Zellweger over the years, with all your favourites getting a chance to shine, even Hugh Grant‘s returning Daniel Cleaver, who also has a serious and heartwarming subplot. This is really a superb way to bring this beloved series to a close.

– Ashley Hobley