Movie series

A film series or movie series (which is also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series.[1]

Description

Sometimes the work is conceived from the beginning as a multiple-film work – for example, the Three Colours series – but in most cases the success of the original film inspires further films to be made. Individual sequels are relatively common, but are not always successful enough to spawn further installments.

The 25 films (as of 2021) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe form the highest grossing film series even when adjusted for inflation, surpassing J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World (10 films) Star Wars (11 films), Ian Fleming's James Bond (25 films), and J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth (6 films) series.[2]

Box office

Worldwide

North America

The following list is ordered by the highest-grossing film franchises (minimum $500 million gross) based upon box office gross in the U.S. and Canada. Updated to October 13, 2019.[3]

  Indicates sub-series (such as the Harry Potter series within the larger Wizarding World franchise).
  Indicates a franchise which contains a movie that crosses franchises (example: "The LEGO Batman Movie" is included in both the Batman franchise and the LEGO franchise).
# Franchise Total gross Movie count Highest-grossing film Gross First
1 Marvel Cinematic Universe $8,942.9 25 Avengers: Endgame $858,3 2008
2 James Bond $7,446.6 26 Skyfall $943.5 1962
3 Star Wars $5,081.2 11 Star Wars: The Force Awakens $936,6 1977
4 Batman $3,015.8 18 The Dark Knight $535.2 1943
5 Wizarding World $2,786,9 10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $381.4 2001
6 Avengers $2,619.5 4 Avengers: Endgame $858,3 2012
7 Spider-Man $2,496.9 8 Spider-Man $407.0 1977
8 X-Men $2,458.4 13 Deadpool $363.0 2000
9 Harry Potter $2,393.3 8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 $381.4 2001
10 DC Extended Universe $2,250.0 10 Aquaman $335.0 2013
11 Jurassic Park $1,884.5 5 Jurassic World $652.3 1993
12 Middle-earth $1,882.9 6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377.8 2001
13 Fast & Furious $1,816.6 10 Furious 7 $353.0 2001
14 Transformers $1,582.4 6 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen $402.1 2007
15 Pirates of the Caribbean $1,451.7 5 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest $423.3 2003
16 The Hunger Games $1,451.5 4 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire $424.6 2012
17 Shrek $1,419.6 5 Shrek 2 $441.2 2001
18 Star Trek $1,400.9 13 Star Trek $257.7 1979
19 Superman $1,397.1 9 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice $330.3 1978
20 The Twilight Saga $1,365.9 5 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $300.5 2008
21 Toy Story $1,317.3 4 Toy Story 4 $434.0 1995
22 Despicable Me $1,220.2 4 Despicable Me 2 $368.0 2010
23 The Dark Knight Trilogy $1,190.2 3 The Dark Knight $535.2 2005
24 Mission: Impossible $1,155.0 6 Mission: Impossible – Fallout $220.1 1996
25 The Lord of the Rings $1,036.1 3 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $377.8 2001
26 The Lion King $966.4 2 The Lion King $543.6 1994
27 Indiana Jones $942.3 4 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull $317.1 1981
28 Frozen $878.1 2 Frozen II $477.3 2013
29 The Incredibles $870.0 2 Incredibles 2 $608.5 2004
30 Finding Nemo $867.1 2 Finding Dory $486.2 2003
31 Jumanji $853.4 4 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle $404.5 1995
32 Captain America $844.5 3 Captain America: Civil War $408.1 2011
33 Iron Man $844.5 3 Iron Man 3 $408.0 2008
34 The Hobbit $816.4 3 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey $303.0 2012
35 Bourne $801.0 5 The Bourne Ultimatum $227.4 2002
36 Planet of the Apes $794.0 9 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes $208.5 1968
37 Ice Age $793.6 5 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs $196.5 2002
38 Rocky $788.4 8 Rocky IV $127.8 1976
39 Cars $787.3 5 Cars $244.0 2006
40 Star Wars Anthology series $745.9 2 Rogue One $532,1 2016
41 The Conjuring $738.0 8 The Conjuring $137.4 2013
42 Guardians of the Galaxy $723.5 2 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $389.8 2014
43 Thor $702.4 3 Thor: Ragnarok $315.0 2011
44 Men in Black $700.1 4 Men in Black $250.6 1997
45 Deadpool $687.6 2 Deadpool $363.0 2016
46 Terminator $671.9 6 Terminator 2: Judgment Day $205.8 1984
47 Alvin and the Chipmunks $661.9 4 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel $219.6 1987
48 Madagascar $656.2 4 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted $216.3 2005
49 The Hangover $643.9 3 The Hangover $277.3 2009
50 The Lego Movie $598.5 4 The Lego Movie $257.7 2014
51 Meet the Parents $593.9 3 Meet the Fockers $279.2 2000
52 The Matrix $592.3 3 The Matrix Reloaded $281.5 1999
53 Alien $590.2 8 Prometheus $126.5 1979
54 MonsterVerse $579.7 4 Godzilla $200.6 2014
55 Madea ? 9 Madea Goes to Jail ? 2005
56 Ocean's $566.3 4 Ocean's Eleven $183.4 2001
57 Monsters, Inc. $558.1 2 Monsters, Inc. $289.9 2001
58 How to Train Your Dragon $555.3 3 How to Train Your Dragon $217.5 2010
59 The Mummy $550.9? 19 The Mummy Returns $202? 1932
60 Night at the Museum $541.9 3 Night at the Museum $250.9 2006
61 Wolverine $538.7 3 Logan $226.2 2009
62 The Chronicles of Narnia $537.7 3 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe $291.7 2005
63 Planet of the Apes (2011-2017) $532.1 3 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes $208.5 2011
64 The Secret Life of Pets $526.4 2 The Secret Life of Pets $368.3 2016
65 Kung Fu Panda $524.0 3 Kung Fu Panda $215.4 2008
66 Rush Hour $507.4 3 Rush Hour 2 $226.1 1998
67 Die Hard $502.4 5 Live Free or Die Hard $383.5 1988

References

  1. "Greatest Movie Series - Film Franchises of All-Time". filmsite.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020. A film series is a collection of related movies released in succession over a period of time, for instance, the Tarzan movies. Usually, films in a series include common elements, such as characters (i.e., the Frankenstein films), actors/actresses (Astaire & Rogers), or names in a title (the Pink Panther films), etc. Sometimes, a film series is based upon the same director (i.e., Robert Rodriguez' Mariachi Trilogy, or Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy), or it can be based upon the studio (i.e., Hammer's Dracula films).[permanent dead link]
  2. "Movie Franchises - Box Office History". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
  3. "Franchise Index - Total Gross". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2019.