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

Related pages

Media franchise

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).^{[permanent dead link]}
↑ "Movie Franchises - Box Office History". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
↑ "Franchise Index - Total Gross". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2019.

[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.

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