# What Was The Best Movie Franchise With Multiple Sequels? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524 "2012-05-01T16:26:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/1 "2012-05-01T16:26:19Z")
As we all know, movie franchises that have a lot of sequels generally tend to really start to suck (Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, Police Academy, etc). So what movie franchise has been consistently good to at least pretty good through 3 or more sequels? The Shrek series comes to mind…Star Wars, although that’s certainly debatable around here (and please lets not nitpick about the later/earlier sequence of that series!). Indiana Jones. Star Trek movies have been generally good. What else? What movie series has had the most quality titles before it too succumbed to jumping the shark? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/2 "2012-05-01T16:29:11Z")
Toy Story is IMHO the most consistantly great trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/3 "2012-05-01T16:29:15Z")
James Bond? ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/4 "2012-05-01T16:33:32Z")
_The Godfather_ is my nomination for outstanding series of films that never lost what was great about the original. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/5 "2012-05-01T16:35:56Z")
Godzilla? [http://dailyfill.com/9-of-the-longest-running-film-franchises-39452](http://dailyfill.com/9-of-the-longest-running-film-franchises-39452) ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/6 "2012-05-01T16:37:19Z")
Back to the Future. (Shrek :dubious:) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/7 "2012-05-01T16:37:46Z")
Tarzan? > **[Tarzan | Film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan#Film)** > > The first Tarzan films were silent pictures adapted from the original Tarzan novels, which appeared within a few years of the character's creation. The first actor to portray the adult Tarzan was Elmo Lincoln in 1918's film Tarzan of the Apes. With the advent of talking pictures, a popular Tarzan film franchise was developed, lasting from the 1930s through the 1960s. Starting with Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932 through twelve films until 1948, the franchise was anchored by former Olympic swimmer John... ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/8 "2012-05-01T16:38:49Z")
Bond. James Bond. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/9 "2012-05-01T16:48:45Z")
Alien is in the conversation, but things tailed off after Aliens. Terminator had a similar pattern Lord of the Rings was pretty amazing ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/10 "2012-05-01T17:06:19Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > Lord of the Rings was pretty amazing But LOTR was really just one, long movie - the whole thing was based on one story and actually filmed at one time. Sort of what Star Wars could possibly have been if Lucas had actually written all 6 (or 9) stories before he filmed them. I think the idea of the thread is sequels made because the original was so successful. The Christian Bale Batman is having a good run (assuming the third film holds up). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/11 "2012-05-01T17:12:03Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > The Christian Bale Batman is having a good run (assuming the third film holds up). Can we put THE AVENGERS on a list with IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THOR, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, or does that not quite count? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/12 "2012-05-01T17:13:14Z")
James Bond is the obvious choice. There’s also the **Inspector Clouseau** series, starting with **The Pink Panther** which lasted more than three films before shark-jumping, and has been rebooted several times (Alan Arkin played the character at one point, as has Steve Martin, and at one point they tried to center it in Clouseau’s nephew) ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/13 "2012-05-01T17:19:50Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Tarzan? Even as a massive Tarzan fan I’ll be the first to say that most of the films are bad. Of the (official) Tarzan films there’s only maybe 5 or 6 that I’d say were genuinely good or great films, and only a handful more that I’d say were fun and enjoyable, but not really good. The rest are either bad in a boring way (E.G. that snoosefest called _The New Adventures of Tarzan_), or just bad in a terrible way (E.G. Tarzan of the Apes 1959 or 1981) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/14 "2012-05-01T17:23:26Z")
Tarzan’s been mentioned. How about **Nick and Nora Charles** (The “Thin Man” series) **Abbott and Costello** **The Dead End Kids/Tough Little Guys/Bowery Boys** **Francis the Talking Mule** ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/15 "2012-05-01T19:46:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Can we put THE AVENGERS on a list with IRON MAN, IRON MAN 2, THOR, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, or does that not quite count? I suppose that should count. I absolutely love those movies, particularly Robert Downey as Iron Man and Ed Norton’s Banner/Hulk. How did I possibly overlook The Bond series? Crap. That’s got to be the best choice as it spans so many decades, has multiple lead actors and has produced so many good movies. So is the consensus the James Bond movies then? Is there any other series of movies that surpassed its breadth and scope? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/16 "2012-05-01T20:07:15Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Toy Story is IMHO the most consistantly great trilogy. Yes, can’t really argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/17 "2012-05-01T20:10:24Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > As we all know, movie franchises that have a lot of sequels generally tend to really start to suck (Friday The 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street, Police Academy, etc). So what movie franchise has been consistently good to at least pretty good through 3 or more sequels? In my opinion successful franchises that keep their appeal are a relatively recent phenomenon - although it depends if you treat (for example) the Laurel & Hardy films as a _movie_ franchise, rather than a _Laurel & Hardy_ franchise, as individual movies that had Laurel & Hardy in them. I think of the Marx Brothers films as being different to, for example, the _Thin Man_ series. The former had a bunch of comedians acting out their comic personas in otherwise unrelated comic adventures, the latter had the same characters acting their parts in the same _universe_, with a rough continuity. And there are borderline cases like the Basil Rathbone _Sherlock Holmes_ movies, which started in the 1800s and then magically he was fighting Nazis, and (mind bursts) Still, there was a time when the sequel was always rubbish, and there was no third film, or it went straight to video. Successful, long-running franchises that manage to maintain a decent level of quality and boffo box-office were very, very rare until the last decade and a half or so. _Toy Story_, the _Spiderman_ films, the loose _X-Men_ series, _Pirates of the Caribbean_, the _Harry Potter_ movies. Particularly the Harry Potter movies, which must hold the record for the longest, consistently decent - not stellar, but none of them are _bad_ - financially successful linked film franchise, aside from the Bond movies. Can you imagine what a burst mind looks like? Brains aren’t white, they’re red, because they’re full of blood. Like a flower, splutch, opening up. Decayed into mist. My pet theory is that it’s all down to the Burton / Schumacher _Batman_ films. For a time it looked as if the Batman franchise could keep going indefinitely, despite the vastly different approach to the material that the two directors took. Of course it fell apart with _Batman & Robin_, and no-one in Hollywood wants to be the man who greenlit and masterminded the franchise-killer, so now franchises tend to be even _more_ conservative, a bit blander, more anonymous, but more consistent with it. There aren’t as many triumphs, but there aren’t as many disasters either. None of the _Fast and Furious_ films are masterpieces, but they’re consistently profitable and are released into cinemas. In a wider sense you could tie it in with the stagnation of celebrity culture. Time was when celebs came and went; now transient bubblegum pop stars seem to hang on in the public eye forever. Another topic. Casting my mind back, the _Planet of the Apes_ series had about three films’ worth of goodness. The first was great fun; the sequel was dire; the third one was actually not bad - the bit with the man painting a painting of a man painting a painting always sticks with me - the fourth was sort of okayish, from what I remember, but needed to be a lot darker, last was just the dismal 1970s in a nutshell. The aforementioned _Thin Man_ films stood up pretty well for a while. The original run of James Bond films were hit and miss, although that’s a slightly different case, in the sense that each film is more or less a stand-alone entity, with sometimes wild variations of tone and approach. E.g. _For Your Eyes Only_ (despite starting with a direct reference to an earlier film in the series, which was very rare) is completely different to the preceding film, _Moonraker_. _Moonraker_ had invisible spaceships and humanity-destroying space plagues, _For Your Eyes Only_ had a Cold War tussle over a Royal Navy encoding device. _Octopussy_ grafted the two extremes into one film. It’s as if each entry belongs in its own separate universe. The _Rocky_ franchise, there’s another one. You can sense Stallone actually trying to come up with a way to extend the story that makes sense organically, instead of just rehashing the same ideas over again, or doing the old cop-out of taking the original star and putting him in a different location. At least he _tried_. And, dammit, the first four are entertaining in their own way. The fourth is entertaining and _hilarious_. And _entertaining_. Especially if you grew up in the 1980s. The, er, _Rambo_ franchise. Alongside _Alien_, another example where the filmmakers tried to do something different with each film, following a relatively sober original with a straightforward but well-made action film, and then an indulgent load of rubbish that had a troubled production, and then a go at modernising the whole thing. You know, the four _Rambo_ films would be a good centrepiece for some kind of event involving drinking whilst watching television with other people who are drinking, and also girls (who are drinking). It’s an unlikely fantasy - girls don’t like _Rambo_ - but a man can dream? Eh? A man can dream. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/18 "2012-05-01T20:14:52Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Toy Story is IMHO the most consistantly great trilogy. > [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Yes, can’t really argue with that. I dunno; I didn’t really care for the third one. It’s just lacking the consistent quality of the first two, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/19 "2012-05-01T20:30:43Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Nick and Nora Charles** (The “Thin Man” series) I just saw (most of) _Song of the Thin Man_ on TV the other day. The last and not the best. Keenan Wynn plays the sort of fast-talking jazz clarinetist that only existed in old movies. But William Powell is always good; and nobody did upper-class snark like Myrna Loy. Someone should mention the _Die Hard_ series; one classic, two over-the-top-but-entertaining, and one I haven’t seen enough of to have an opinion. That’s not a bad batting average. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524/20 "2012-05-01T20:34:25Z")
I’d vote for the Harry Potter series. A lot of good films in that bunch - my favorite being Order of the Phoenix. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-best-movie-franchise-with-multiple-sequels/620524.md?page=2)