# Top 5 Movie Franchises of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712 "2018-10-09T17:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/1 "2018-10-09T17:50:13Z")
1. James Bond 2. Back to the Future 3. The Avengers (MCU et al) 4. Mission Impossible 5. Lord of the Rings (Hobbit et al) Honorable mention: Star Wars Dark Knight ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/2 "2018-10-10T00:28:56Z")
My top 13 favorite movie franchises: 1. Marvel Cinematic Universe 2. Star Wars 3. Star Trek 4. Terminator 5. Alien/Predator 6. Robocop 7. Back to the Future 8. Mad Max 9. Planet of The Apes 10. Rambo 11. Die Hard 12. Superman (the series with Christopher Reeve) 13. Batman (the series with Christian Bale) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/3 "2018-10-10T01:08:41Z")
The Lord of the Rings (but not The Hobbit movies) The MCU Toy Story Underworld (because of Kate Beckinsale in a leather catsuit) View Askewniverse ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/4 "2018-10-10T01:33:26Z")
Francis the Talking Mule. Kenneth Anger, particularly **The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome** and **Scorpio Rising.** > **[Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_of_the_Pleasure_Dome)** > > Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome is a 38-minute avant-garde short film by Kenneth Anger. It was filmed in December 1953 and completed in 1954. Anger created two other versions of this film in 1966 and the late 1970s. According to him, the film takes the name "pleasure dome" from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's atmospheric 1816 poem Kubla Khan. Anger was inspired to make the film after attending a Halloween party called "Come as your Madness". The film has gained cult film status. > Earlier prints of th... > **[Scorpio Rising (film)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpio_Rising_(film))** > > Scorpio Rising is a 1963 American experimental short film shot, edited, co-written and directed by Kenneth Anger, and starring Bruce Byron as Scorpio. Central themes include the occult, biker subculture, homosexuality, Christianity and Nazism. Scorpio Rising also explores the worship of rebel icons of the era, such as James Dean and Marlon Brando (referred to by Anger as Byron's "heroes"). Like many of Anger's films, Scorpio Rising does not contain any dialogue, but features a prominent soundt In... ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/5 "2018-10-10T01:48:48Z")
1. Harry Potter 2. Star Wars 3. Star Trek 4. Lord of the Rings 5. Alien/Predator ETA: That’s the order that I think the rest of the world has placed them in, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/6 "2018-10-10T02:02:35Z")
Godzilla Lone Wolf and Cub Sinbad (Harryhausen movies only) Tarzan Zatoichi ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/7 "2018-10-10T02:56:26Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Sinbad (Harryhausen movies only) The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Catherine Munro. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/8 "2018-10-10T03:02:41Z")
Evil Dead Lord of the Rings (NOT hobbit) Alien (The first two were so good that the rest of the crappy ones get in by default) Terminator(same deal as Alien) Police Story (same deal as above, but 3 is tolerable) Mad Max Machete ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/9 "2018-10-10T03:07:41Z")
Seems relevant: 10 Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises of All Time (per Mental Floss) [http://mentalfloss.com/article/70920/10-highest-grossing-movie-franchises-all-time](http://mentalfloss.com/article/70920/10-highest-grossing-movie-franchises-all-time) From the article: Here are the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, based on worldwide box office stats, courtesy of The Numbers. [ED: These are obviously not corrected for inflation. Which would be an interesting project, or just go by gross numbers of tickets sold.] 1. MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Worldwide Gross: $15,482,764,918 2. STAR WARS Worldwide Gross: $8,926,772,232 3. HARRY POTTER Worldwide Gross: $8,532,684,345 4. JAMES BOND Worldwide Gross: $7,077,929,291 5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS Worldwide Gross: $5,895,804,182 6. FAST AND THE FURIOUS Worldwide Gross: $5,139,434,105 7. X-MEN [this really should be in the MCU, but 20th Century Fox owns a piece of them so…] Worldwide Gross: $5,016,911,347 8. SPIDER-MAN [ditto, though I don’t know why this gets it’s own category. Jesus, there have been a ton of superhero movies.] Worldwide Gross: $4,858,774,307 9. BATMAN Worldwide Gross: $4,572,000,197 10. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Worldwide Gross: $4,505,013,091 I’m stunned Transformers aren’t on this list. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/10 "2018-10-10T14:53:46Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. > > Catherine Munro. > > Yum. Caroline, not Catherine. Your sentiment is otherwise accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/11 "2018-10-10T17:39:55Z")
Star Trek Star Wars MCU James Bond Godzilla Harry Potter also maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/12 "2018-10-10T17:59:44Z")
James Bond Indiana Jones Warren Miller films, all 3,574,610 of them, that are all exactly the same Dirty Harry The Spaghetti Westerns ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/13 "2018-10-10T18:27:10Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Seems relevant: 10 Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises of All Time (per Mental Floss) [10 Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises of All Time | Mental Floss](http://mentalfloss.com/article/70920/10-highest-grossing-movie-franchises-all-time) > > From the article: Here are the 10 highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, based on worldwide box office stats, courtesy of The Numbers. [ED: These are obviously not corrected for inflation. Which would be an interesting project, or just go by gross numbers of tickets sold.] > > 1. MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE > Worldwide Gross: $15,482,764,918 > > 2. STAR WARS > Worldwide Gross: $8,926,772,232 > > 3. HARRY POTTER > Worldwide Gross: $8,532,684,345 > > 4. JAMES BOND > Worldwide Gross: $7,077,929,291 > > 5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS > Worldwide Gross: $5,895,804,182 > > 6. FAST AND THE FURIOUS > Worldwide Gross: $5,139,434,105 > > 7. X-MEN [this really should be in the MCU, but 20th Century Fox owns a piece of them so…] > Worldwide Gross: $5,016,911,347 > > 8. SPIDER-MAN [ditto, though I don’t know why this gets it’s own category. Jesus, there have been a ton of superhero movies.] > Worldwide Gross: $4,858,774,307 > > 9. BATMAN > Worldwide Gross: $4,572,000,197 > > 10. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN > Worldwide Gross: $4,505,013,091 > > I’m stunned Transformers aren’t on this list. Would be interesting to know how many films are in each of these groups. How many Marvel universe films have there been? I have no idea. With Star Wars, are we just talking about the ones with Episode numbers, or all the other movies? Does the LOTR franchise include the Hobbit movies? And I’d have to look up how many Bond, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean movies there have been. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/14 "2018-10-10T18:35:57Z")
1 - Star Wars 2 - Alien 3 - Indiana Jones 4 - The Lord of the Rings 5 - James Bond Showing my age I guess, but while I’ve seen quite a few enjoyable films, or even franchises since the most recent one on my list came out, none has recaptured the feelings of wonder, terror or fun that these had. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/15 "2018-10-10T20:21:27Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Would be interesting to know how many films are in each of these groups. How many Marvel universe films have there been? I have no idea. With Star Wars, are we just talking about the ones with Episode numbers, or all the other movies? Does the LOTR franchise include the Hobbit movies? And I’d have to look up how many Bond, Batman, Pirates of the Caribbean movies there have been. The article is from April of this year, and appears to be broadly inclusive in its definitions of those franchises (i.e., they’re including Rogue One with the Star Wars franchise, Fantastic Beasts with Harry Potter, the Hobbit films in with LotR, etc.) It notes that there had, at that point, been 19 films in the MCU (the article was written just as _Infinity War_ had premiered, but before _Ant-Man and the Wasp_ had been released). Edit: there have been [26 Bond films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_filmography), to date, though that number appears to include the 1967 _Casino Royale_, which is of questionable canon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-5-movie-franchises-of-all-time/822712/16 "2018-10-10T20:56:58Z")
From that list of the top-grossing franchises, Disney has at least $30 billion of that, between the Marvel, Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean movies. And if you add the theme park rides, TV shows and merchandising, those three represent probably more than fifty billion in revenues. That’s over time, of course, but it’s a staggering number. And remember that Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm for about four billion each, so those are almost certainly very profitable investments.