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
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]
# | 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 |
Related pages
References
- "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).
- "Movie Franchises - Box Office History". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- "Franchise Index - Total Gross". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2019.