Naruto Movies Explained: Complete Watch Order From Naruto to Boruto

How Many Naruto Movies Are There?

If you’ve finished—or are slowly making your way through—the Naruto anime, sooner or later you’ll discover that Naruto’s story doesn’t exist only across its 720 television episodes. There is another part of the franchise waiting outside the main series: the movies. Over the years, Naruto received a collection of theatrical adventures featuring Naruto Uzumaki, Team 7 and many of the characters fans had already grown attached to.

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So, how many Naruto movies are there? The answer depends slightly on what you count. There are 11 feature-length animated films carrying the Naruto name, consisting of three movies based on the original Naruto series, seven Naruto Shippuden movies and one film that continues the story into the next generation, Boruto: Naruto the Movie. If you’re counting only movies released under Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, there are 10. Add Boruto: Naruto the Movie, and the total becomes 11.

That number can be confusing because the movies don’t all fit into the main story in the same way. Some are essentially standalone adventures, while others are much more closely connected to the established continuity. One movie in particular, The Last: Naruto the Movie, is especially important because it takes place after the Fourth Great Ninja War and before Naruto’s story moves into the next generation.

The movies are therefore best understood as extra chapters surrounding the main anime rather than 11 essential pieces that you must watch to understand Naruto.

The First Naruto Movie Era

The first Naruto movie arrived while Naruto and his friends were still young. At this stage, the franchise was already enormously popular, but the television story had not yet reached the massive conflicts that would eventually define Shippuden. The movies therefore took the characters we knew from the anime and placed them in new missions that could stand on their own.

The first film, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, follows Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura as they are assigned to protect actress Yukie Fujikaze during the filming of a movie in the Land of Snow. The mission quickly becomes much more dangerous than Team 7 expected, and Naruto finds himself involved in a conflict involving the country’s past and its mysterious ruler.

What makes this movie interesting isn’t necessarily its importance to the larger Naruto mythology. It is the novelty of seeing the early Team 7 dynamic in a feature-length adventure. Naruto is still the energetic young ninja who wants everyone to recognize him, Sasuke is still his competitive rival and Sakura is still learning how to keep up with both of them. It feels like an extended side mission from the era of the original series.

The second original-series movie, Legend of the Stone of Gelel, takes Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru into another dangerous adventure involving a mysterious stone and a powerful conflict. The story introduces new characters and a threat unrelated to the central manga storyline.

The third film, Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, follows Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee and Kakashi as they protect a wealthy prince and become involved in a political struggle. Like the previous two films, it offers an entertaining Naruto adventure without being necessary to follow the central manga narrative.

These three movies are best watched as bonus adventures from Naruto’s younger years. They capture the personality of the original anime particularly well, but viewers primarily interested in the main story can treat them as optional.

Naruto Shippuden Takes the Movies to a New Level

When Naruto Shippuden began, the characters were older, the enemies were more dangerous and the story had become significantly darker. Naturally, the movies changed with them.

The first Shippuden movie, Naruto Shippuden the Movie, introduces a prophecy involving Naruto and a dangerous enemy. Naruto and his teammates become involved in a mission surrounding the priestess Shion, whose visions suggest that Naruto himself may be destined to die.

The movie captures one of the recurring themes of Naruto: the struggle against fate. Naruto has spent his entire life refusing to accept that his circumstances determine his future, so a prophecy predicting his death creates an interesting challenge for him.

The second Shippuden movie, Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds, expands the scale of the conflict by introducing a mysterious group from the Land of Sky and forcing Naruto to confront another powerful enemy. The movie also gives Naruto and Sasuke a brief opportunity to fight on the same side, something fans naturally found significant because of their increasingly complicated relationship.

Then comes Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire, which puts Kakashi at the center of the story. Kakashi becomes involved in a dangerous situation connected to the legacy of the shinobi world and the bonds between ninja. For longtime fans, the movie’s emotional connection to the concept of the “Will of Fire” makes it more interesting than a simple standalone battle.

The fourth Shippuden film, The Lost Tower, takes Naruto on a journey through time. During a mission involving the mysterious city of Roran, Naruto is transported into the past and encounters Minato Namikaze, his father and the Fourth Hokage. The story creates one of those emotional situations that Naruto fans had been waiting years to see: Naruto coming face-to-face with the man he never had the chance to know as his father.

The fifth Shippuden movie, Blood Prison, takes a darker approach. Naruto is imprisoned at Hozuki Castle after being accused of a crime he claims he did not commit. Instead of the familiar village setting, the story places him inside a dangerous prison filled with criminals and secrets.

The sixth film, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, is particularly memorable because it plays with the idea of an alternate reality. Naruto and Sakura are transported into a different world where familiar characters have personalities that are dramatically different from what fans know. The film explores what Naruto’s life might have looked like if his family situation had been different, making it one of the more emotionally interesting standalone movies.

The final Shippuden-era movie, The Last: Naruto the Movie, is where the movies become especially important to the overall story.

The Last: Naruto the Movie Is Different

Released after the Fourth Great Ninja War, The Last occupies a unique position in the Naruto franchise. Unlike most of the earlier films, it is directly connected to the ending portion of Naruto’s main story and is generally regarded as part of the official continuity.

The film takes place after the war and focuses heavily on Naruto and Hinata. The world is finally recovering from years of conflict, but a new threat emerges that could once again place the planet in danger.

More importantly, Naruto is no longer the immature boy from the early series. He has become a hero recognized by almost everyone around him. Yet there is one part of his life that he has never fully understood: his feelings for Hinata.

For years, Hinata had quietly cared about Naruto. She admired his determination when almost everyone else saw him as a failure. While Naruto spent much of his childhood chasing recognition, Hinata was one of the people who saw the value in him before the rest of the village did.

The Last finally gives their relationship the attention it had been building toward for years.

This is why the movie is more important than most Naruto films. If you’re interested in Naruto’s personal journey, the development of his relationship with Hinata and what happens between the end of the war and the later era, The Last is absolutely worth watching.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie

After Naruto’s story reaches its conclusion, the franchise moves into a new generation.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie shifts the spotlight toward Naruto’s son, Boruto Uzumaki. Naruto is now the Seventh Hokage, which means the dream he chased throughout his childhood has finally become reality. But becoming Hokage creates a new problem: Naruto has become so committed to his responsibilities that he struggles to spend enough time with his own family.

Boruto sees his father very differently from how the villagers once saw Naruto.

He doesn’t see a lonely child trying to earn recognition.

He sees the Hokage who is always busy.

That difference creates the emotional foundation of the movie. Boruto wants his father’s attention but doesn’t fully understand what Naruto sacrificed to reach the position he now holds.

The movie also brings together Naruto, Sasuke and the next generation, making it a bridge between the original Naruto era and the world that eventually becomes the focus of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Are All Naruto Movies Canon?

This is where Naruto movie discussions can become complicated.

Most of the earlier Naruto movies are generally treated as anime-original side stories rather than essential manga canon. They feature familiar characters and fit the general world of Naruto, but their events aren’t necessary to understand the main manga storyline.

The Last: Naruto the Movie is different. It was created with direct involvement from Masashi Kishimoto and fits into the official story following the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie also occupies an important position in the wider continuity, although many of its events were later adapted and expanded in the Boruto anime and manga.

For a casual viewer, the simplest approach is to think of the movies in three categories: optional side adventures, important continuity material and next-generation stories.

That way, you don’t have to worry about treating every movie as equally important.

How Many Naruto Movies Are There in Total?

Here’s the complete count:

So the answer to how many Naruto movies are there is 11 feature-length animated films if Boruto is included.

If you’re counting only movies specifically released under Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, the number is 10.

That distinction is useful because Boruto: Naruto the Movie technically belongs to the next generation of the franchise, even though Naruto himself remains one of its central characters.

Naruto Movies in Release Order

The easiest way to explore the movies is by release order.

1. Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

2. Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

3. Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

4. Naruto Shippuden the Movie

5. Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds

6. Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire

7. Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower

8. Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison

9. Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

10. The Last: Naruto the Movie

11. Boruto: Naruto the Movie

Release order is generally the simplest option because it allows you to experience the movies in the same broad progression as the franchise itself.

Which Naruto Movies Are Most Important?

If you’re not interested in watching all 11, there are a few that deserve priority.

The Last: Naruto the Movie is the most important if you want to understand Naruto’s post-war story and his relationship with Hinata. It provides meaningful material between the end of the main conflict and the later era.

Road to Ninja is worth watching for fans who enjoy alternate-universe stories and want something emotionally different from the standard Naruto formula.

The Lost Tower is another popular choice because of its connection between Naruto and Minato. The opportunity to see Naruto interact with his father gives the film an emotional quality that many of the other movies don’t have.

Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is a good choice if you simply want to experience the classic Team 7 era again.

And Boruto: Naruto the Movie is essential if you’re interested in how Naruto’s story transitions into the next generation.

Do You Need to Watch the Movies to Understand Naruto?

No.

You can watch all 720 episodes of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden without seeing most of the movies and still understand the main story.

The movies are mostly additional adventures rather than missing chapters from the television series. The major exception is The Last, which adds important context to the post-war period and Naruto’s relationship with Hinata.

That means you don’t need to stop halfway through the anime every time a movie was released. If your goal is simply to follow Naruto’s central story, finishing the television series is the priority.

But if you’re already invested in the characters, the movies can be a fun way to spend more time in the Naruto universe.

The Best Way to Think About the Naruto Movies

The Naruto movies are not one giant second storyline running alongside the anime. They’re more like extra journeys scattered throughout Naruto’s life.

Some take Naruto back to the days when Team 7 was still young. Others explore what happens when familiar characters encounter completely new enemies. Some experiment with alternate realities. One takes Naruto into the past and lets him encounter his father. Another finally explores the relationship between Naruto and Hinata.

And eventually, one hands the story over to the next generation.

That’s what makes the movies interesting.

They allow you to see different versions of Naruto without changing the central journey that takes him from the lonely child of the Hidden Leaf to the Seventh Hokage.

Final Answer: How Many Naruto Movies Are There?

So, how many Naruto movies are there?

There are 11 feature-length animated movies when Boruto: Naruto the Movie is included: three original Naruto films, seven Naruto Shippuden films and one Boruto film.

However, don’t feel as though you need to watch every movie to understand Naruto.

The main story lives across the 720 episodes of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. The movies are mostly additional adventures, with The Last standing out as one of the most important pieces of continuity.

If you’re building your Naruto watchlist, the smartest approach is to watch the main anime first and then explore the movies according to how deeply you want to dive into the world.

Because after spending hundreds of episodes watching Naruto chase his dream, there is something satisfying about seeing the extra stories that surround the journey.

The boy who once sat alone outside the Academy eventually becomes the Seventh Hokage.

And these movies give us a few more chances to see what that journey looked like along the way.

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