Earlier this year, we broke down the best rock and metal sneaker collabs ever, and now we’re pivoting over to television and movies. In honor of today’s launch of the Jurassic Park x Nike Ja 3 collection, we’re ranking the best TV and movie sneaker collabs.
For this list, we’re only considering officially licensed sneakers that have been made available to the public and not just pairs that have made appearances on the big or silver screen. This includes coveted styles like the Nike Mag and the ‘Space Jam’ Air Jordan 11, which have been omitted from this list.
Despite that, the list still features a number of notable collabs, like the “Towelie” South Park x Adidas Campus, the “Origin Story” Spider-Man x Air Jordan 1, and the “Paranorman” Nike Foamposite One, just to name a few.
With that criteria established, this is our list of the best TV and Movie sneaker collabs, ranked.
15.Dragon Ball Z x Adidas
Year: 2018
As a fan of the Dragon Ball Z anime series, I was excited when the Adidas collab first dropped, but it felt like they tried to do too much. Similar to the Game of Thrones x Adidas Ultra Boost rollout, the concept got a little lost in the sauce. The Dragon Ball Z x Adidas collection ended up spanning eight pairs—if you include the special edition Shenron release. That said, the standout pairs still delivered. The “Goku” colorway was the most recognizable and told a clear story, and carried an orange palette and Flying Nimbus-inspired details. Personally, the “Vegeta” pair is my favorite, mainly because he’s my guy. And the Adidas Oregon Ultra Tech is a silhouette Adidas should touch again in its collabs. Overall, the project had strong moments, but trimming it down to four pairs probably would’ve made it age a lot better. —Douglas Jase
14.Missing Link x Nike Air Max 1
Year: 2019
Although the “Susan” Missing Link x Nike Air Max 1 wasn’t as coveted as some of the other collabs between stop-motion studio Laika and the Swoosh, it’s still one of the more memorable and well-executed colorways from the duo. This colorway pays homage to the film’s Mr. Link’s ties to the Pacific Northwest as well as his colorful ensemble. With that being said, this is one of the best movie sneaker collabs. —Victor Deng
13.Star Wars x Adidas ZX 8000 ‘Darth Vader’
Year: 2010
Heck yeah. The Star Wars movie series hasn’t been cool for some time now, but these are from when it was. And is based off the original series. ZX 8000s that were made to look like Darth Vader that came in the action figure packaging. I’m here for it. The Micropacer in the OG silver with Star Wars scenes on the side was good too. Also the Yoda pair as well that they did on the ZX Boat. I’m nostalgic for that silhouette. Adidas also did a ZX 800 for Boba Fett that is great. But I still like the Darth Vader one the most. —Matt Welty
12.Gundam x Nike SB Dunk High ‘RX-0 Unicorn’
Year: 2021
The “Gundam” Nike Air Max 98 is easily a top five, maybe even top three, Air Max for me. Seeing it touch a Nike SB Dunk sold it for me. Fans of the anime and collectibles really showed up for this one, and adding a mini figure with the initial release almost felt mandatory. It proved how strong that crossover can be—turning anime fans into sneaker fans, and vice versa. It first dropped in late 2021 in two colorways inspired by the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn anime series: "Unicorn" and "Banshee." It’s definitely a maximalist design, which might not be for everyone, but that’s exactly what gives the collab an identity. Overall, a solid collab and you can catch some pairs in aftermarket for about $250. Between the two colorways, the “Unicorn” pair takes it for me. —Douglas Jase
11.Rick and Morty x Puma MB.01
Year: 2022
The Rick and Morty x Puma MB.01 was a big deal when it released in 2022. It was the first collaboration in LaMelo Ball’s Puma signature shoe line. The sneaker itself donned a loud mismatched color scheme, with the left pair dressed in a neon green and the right shoe in infrared. At its peak, the TV show collab was selling on the secondary marketplace for upwards of $500, and now, years later, it still stands as one of the best releases in Ball’s signature line. —Victor Deng
10.Powerpuff Girls x Nike SB Dunk Low
Year: 2023
For a majority of Nike SB’s history, it bypassed officially licensed SB Dunk collabs by simply releasing styles that donned color palettes loosely referencing the respective entities. But in December 2023, Nike SB celebrated the 25th anniversary of the cartoon series The Powerpuff Girls with an official trio of SB Dunk Lows. Each colorway is inspired by the superhero sisters, including a pink makeup for Blossom, a blue version of Bubbles, and a green iteration for Buttercup. The heel tab of the respective sneakers also featured an embroidery of the characters’ eyes on the heel. You can’t go wrong with any of the colorways here. —Victor Deng
9.Stranger Things x Nike Collection
Years: 2019-2026
Nike’s Stranger Things collaboration spanned multiple seasons and even more years, and incorporated the same nostalgia that made the series feel so special. Tapping in to period models like the Blazer, Dunk, and Air Max 1, and adding subtle details like upside-down logos, allowed the project to feel more like a tribute to the era and less like licensed merch. One exception to that rule was the Vecna-themed Nike Air Foamposite One, which dropped after the Netflix TV series ended as a reminder of just how wild things got at the end. —Zac Dubasik
8.Southpark x Adidas Campus ‘Towelie’
Year: 2021
People went nuts for Towelie-themed Southpark x Adidas Campus and I didn’t see that happening, especially when they came out around the time when these sort of partnerships had hit absolute corniness, with brands slapping movie logos on any shoe. With that said, doing a 4/20 shoe off Towelie that turned the Campus into a towel was smart. The eyes on the shoes changed colors with heat too to make them red. Adidas restocked this shoe and kind of plummeted the original appeal, but everyone who wanted them got them. —Matt Welty
7.Spongebob x Nike Kyrie Collection
Year: 2019
Prior to calling one of his signature Nike designs trash, reposting antisemitic propaganda, and eventually signing a new endorsement deal with Anta, Kyrie Irving and Nike had a good thing going. The line was notable, in general, for its performance at a mid-tier price point, and its popularity grew accordingly. Collaborations had long been a part of the line—beginning with the Ky-Rispy Kreme Kyrie 2—but peaked on the Kyrie 5. The most popular was this SpongeBob partnership that was not just a single collab but an entire collection. It’s hard to pick just one, but Patrick and SpongeBob Nike Kyrie 5s stand out for how well they each were executed. The theming was certainly on the nose, but it worked surprisingly well with such a performance-based model. —Zac Dubasik
6.Yu-Gi-Oh! X Nike Air Max 95
Year: 2025
Although Adidas had the honor of releasing the first official Yu-Gi-Oh! sneaker collab in 2022, it only made sense that Nike joined forces with the anime series to collaborate on the Air Max 95. The classic silhouette originally appeared in the manga as the “Air Muscle” and was worn by the character Joey Wheeler in the series. So when Nike turned the fictional pair into a real-life shoe, it was a special moment for anime and sneaker fans alike. There was a “Joey” version that donned a navy and grey gradient color scheme, true to the look of the anime, as well as a Japan-exclusive ‘Jonouchi’ iteration that came in a greyscale makeup identical to its first appearance in the series. The tongues also had “Air Muscle” branding and came with special packaging that included a Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card—talk about a well executed collab. —Victor Deng
5.The Wizard of Oz x Nike SB Dunk Low
Year: 2024
Nike SB’s collaboration with The Wizard of Oz is easily one of the most intriguing projects on this list. The duo’s SB Dunk Low that released in December 2024 initially seemed like nothing out of the ordinary. It featured a “hydro-dipped” design inspired by the film’s poppy field scene and came in a black blind-bag packaging. As weeks passed, an alternate and more limited version of the collab was discovered to be part of the release, which sent the internet into a frenzy. It had a red sequin upper referencing the character Dorothy’s ruby red slippers. Some pairs have since hit the secondary marketplace, with one pair selling for nearly $19,000 on StockX. Who knows if there are still any Dorothy-inspired pairs out there in the wild? —Victor Deng
4.Jurassic Park x Nike Ja 3
Year: 2026
The Jurassic Park x Nike Ja 3 are pretty high on the list. Time will tell if they stay this high or if it’s recency bias. The collaboration is good, flipping Ja-Rassic into a Jurassic Park collaboration—especially making it an official partnership and using the amber from the movie as a detail on the shoes’ packaging. I can say with all certainty that we didn’t need three colorways. So Nike, if you’re reading this, you didn’t need to do that. But the green pair is really good and will be a future classic I think. The green is almost Kobe Grinch-esque. —Matt Welty
3.Coraline x Nike Dunk High
Year: 2009
Movie and TV-based sneaker collaborations typically incorporate obvious elements like logos and signature colors into their designs, but the Coraline x Nike Dunk High took a more subtle, yet artistic, approach. Rather than looking like a promotional tool for the movie, the textile covered sneaker felt more like a prop that could have come right out of the 2009 stop-motion animation film. In fact, some pairs actually did come with movie props. While only 100 pairs were created, period, 50 special boxes included actual artifacts from the move. The sneakers never had a standard retail release, but were available to the public via a special code found after the movie’s credits. The Coraline x Nike Dunk has never had the kind of hype that some of the elite SBs have enjoyed, but it embodies what makes a great collaboration as well as any of them. —Zac Dubasik
2.Spiderman x Air Jordan 1 ‘Origin Story’
Year: 2018
Not only is Spider-Man a sneakerhead, but he’s a fan of Air Jordans. We’re specifically talking about Miles Morales here, who wears a pair of “Chicago” Jordan 1s in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. What makes it even cooler is that Jordan Brand decided to drop a special “Origin Story” version of the classic colorway, coinciding with the release of the film in 2018. Years later, the duo continued their partnership for the follow-up Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse film with the “Next Chapter” Air Jordan 1. —Victor Deng
1.Paranorman x Nike Air Foamposite One
Year: 2012
The Paranorman x Nike Air Foamposite One is the best movie-inspired collab, and it’s not even close. The sneaker was produced in 2012 in conjunction with Laika’s film Paranorman, which released in theaters that year. The sneaker was limited to only 800 pairs, and you couldn’t actually buy them. Instead, Nike and Paranorman ran a competition on Twitter (now known as X) where sneaker fans would post their “weirdest” childhood photo using the hashtag #WeirdWins. Shortly after the contest closed in August that year, the sneakers began arriving at the winners’ doorsteps in September. Now that we’re more than a decade removed from the contest, the black and green-colored Paranorman x Nike Air Foamposite One is considered by many to be their grail sneaker and still stands as one of the most memorable releases Nike has ever done. —Victor Deng
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