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Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, DC Extended Universe, and Fast & Furious logos.
A film series or movie series (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 Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing film series even when adjusted for inflation, surpassing the Wizarding World, Star Wars, James Bond, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth 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 | Average Gross | Highest Grossing Film | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | $8,525.3 | 23 | $370.7 | Avengers: Endgame | $857.9 |
| 2 | Star Wars | $4,220.7 | 11 | $383.7 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | $936.7 |
| 3 | Wizarding World | $2,785.4 | 10 | $253.2 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | $381 |
| 4 | Avengers | $2,619.1 | 4 | $654.8 | Avengers: Endgame | $857.9 |
| 5 | Spider-Man | $2,474.1 | 8 | $309.3 | Spider-Man | $403.7 |
| 6 | X-Men | $2,428.5 | 12 | $202.4 | Deadpool | $363.1 |
| 7 | Batman | $2,407.7 | 11 | $218.9 | The Dark Knight Rises | $533.3 |
| 8 | Harry Potter | $2,391.8 | 8 | $265.8 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | $381 |
| 9 | James Bond | $2,112.9 | 25 | $84.5 | Skyfall | $304.4 |
| 10 | DC Extended Universe | $2,063.5 | 9 | $294.8 | Aquaman | $335.1 |
| 11 | Middle Earth | $1,846.7 | 6 | $307.8 | The Return of the King | $377 |
| 12 | Jurassic Park | $1,837.3 | 5 | $367.5 | Jurassic World | $652.3 |
| 13 | Fast & Furious | $1,625.3 | 9 | $180.6 | Furious 7 | $353 |
| 14 | Transformers | $1,582.4 | 6 | $226.1 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | $402.1 |
| 15 | Pirates of the Caribbean | $1,451.8 | 5 | $290.4 | Dead Man's Chest | $423.3 |
| 16 | The Hunger Games | $1,451.5 | 4 | $362.9 | Catching Fire | $424.7 |
| 17 | Shrek | $1,419.6 | 5 | $283.9 | Shrek 2 | $441.2 |
| 18 | Star Trek | $1,401 | 13 | $107.8 | Star Trek | $257.7 |
| 19 | The Twilight Saga | $1,363.5 | 5 | $272.7 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | $300.5 |
| 20 | Toy Story | $1,302.9 | 4 | $260.6 | Toy Story 4 | $419.6 |
| 21 | Despicable Me | $1,220.2 | 4 | $305.1 | Despicable Me 2 | $368.1 |
| 22 | The Dark Knight Trilogy | $1,186.8 | 3 | $395.6 | The Dark Knight | $533.3 |
| 23 | Mission: Impossible | $1,155 | 6 | $192.5 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | $220.2 |
| 24 | Superman | $1,139.5 | 7 | $162.8 | Batman v Superman | $330.4 |
| 25 | The Lord of the Rings | $1,060.7 | 3 | $265.2 | The Return of the King | $377 |
| 26 | Iron Man | $1,039.9 | 3 | $346.6 | Iron Man 3 | $409 |
| 27 | Indiana Jones | $906.4 | 4 | $226.6 | Indiana Jones 4 | $317.1 |
| 28 | The Incredibles | $870 | 2 | $435 | Incredibles 2 | $608.6 |
| 29 | Captain America | $844.5 | 3 | $281.5 | Civil War | $408.1 |
| 30 | Finding Nemo | $826 | 2 | $413 | Finding Dory | $486.3 |
| 31 | Jumanji | $817.7 | 4 | $252.5 | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | $404.5 |
| 32 | The Hobbit | $816.5 | 3 | $272.2 | An Unexpected Journey | $303.0 |
| 33 | Bourne | $801 | 5 | $160.2 | The Bourne Ultimatum | $227.5 |
| 34 | Planet of the Apes | $794 | 9 | $88.2 | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | $208.5 |
| 35 | Ice Age | $793.7 | 5 | $158.7 | Ice Age 3 | $196.6 |
| 36 | Rocky | $791.1 | 8 | $98.9 | Rocky IV | $127.9 |
| 37 | Rambo | $793 | 5 | $88 | Rambo: First Blood Part II | $$150.4 |
| 38 | Star Wars Anthology Series | $745.9 | 2 | $373 | Rogue One | $532.2 |
| 39 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $723 | 2 | $361.5 | Guardians of the Galaxy 2 | $389.8 |
| 40 | Thor | $702.5 | 3 | $234.2 | Thor: Ragnarok | $315.1 |
| 41 | Men in Black | $699.4 | 4 | $174.9 | Men in Black | $250.7 |
| 42 | Deadpool | $681.6 | 2 | $340.8 | Deadpool | $363.1 |
| 43 | Madagascar | $673.3 | 4 | $168.3 | Madagascar 3 | $216.4 |
| 44 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | $662.7 | 4 | $132.5 | Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 | $219.6 |
| 45 | The Hangover | $644 | 3 | $214.7 | The Hangover | $277.3 |
| 46 | The Conjuring | $672.6 | 7 | $96.2 | The Conjuring | $137.4 |
| 47 | Terminator | $608.7 | 6 | $121.7 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | $204.8 |
| 48 | The Lego Movie | $598.6 | 4 | $149.6 | The LEGO Movie | $257.8 |
| 49 | Fockers | $593.9 | 3 | $198 | Meet the Fockers | $279.3 |
| 50 | The Matrix | $592.4 | 3 | $197.5 | The Matrix Reloaded | $281.6 |
| 51 | Alien | $590.2 | 8 | $73.8 | Prometheus | $126.5 |
| 52 | Cars | $588.4 | 5 | $196.1 | Cars | $244.1 |
| 53 | John Wick | $306 | 3 | $88.8 | John Wick 3 Parabellum | $171 |
| 54 | Madea | $569.7 | 9 | $63.2 | Madea Goes to Jail | $90.5 |
| 55 | Ocean's 11 | $566.3 | 4 | $141.6 | Ocean's Eleven | $183.4 |
| 56 | How to Train Your Dragon | $555.4 | 3 | $185.1 | How to Train Your Dragon | $217.6 |
| 57 | The Mummy | $550.9 | 4 | $137.7 | Mummy Returns | $202 |
| 58 | Night at the Museum | $541.9 | 3 | $180.6 | Night at the Museum | $250.9 |
| 59 | Wolverine | $538.7 | 3 | $179.6 | Logan | $226.3 |
| 60 | The Chronicles of Narnia | $537.7 | 3 | $179.2 | The Chronicles of Narnia | $291.7 |
| 61 | Planet of the Apes (2011-2017) | $532.2 | 3 | $177.4 | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | $208.5 |
| 62 | The Secret Life of Pets | $525 | 2 | $262.5 | The Secret Life of Pets | $368.4 |
| 63 | Monsters, Inc. | $524.4 | 2 | $262.2 | Monsters University | $268.5 |
| 64 | Kung Fu Panda | $524.2 | 3 | $174.7 | Kung Fu Panda | $215.4 |
| 65 | Rush Hour | $507.5 | 3 | $169.2 | Rush Hour 2 | $226.1 |
| 66 | Die Hard | $502.4 | 5 | $100.5 | Live Free or Die Hard | $134.5 |
| 66 | Blondie | 28 |
See also
- Lists of feature film series
- Highest-grossing franchises and film series
- Media franchise
- List of highest-grossing media franchises
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.