Most successful movie franchises

Total worlwide box office: $17,264,626,642
Number of movies: 20
When was the first movie released?: 2008 (Iron Man)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
Most successful movie: Avengers: Infinity War ($2,043,702,469)
Note: According to Wikipedia, 'the Marvel Cinematic Universe' is a shared fictional universe that is the setting of superhero films independently developed by Marvel Studios, based on characters published in Marvel Comics. Since 2013, they have been ruling the box-office and it seems that they will remain at the top for quite some time.

Total worlwide box office: $9,237,050,925
Number of movies: 11
When was the first movie released?: 1977 (Star Wars)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Solo: A Star Wars Story)
Most successful movie: Star Wars Episode VII:
The Force Awakens ($2,068,223,624)
Note: Since George Lucas keeps releasing those movies in various shapes (lately in 3D), they keep making some money decades after the original movies have been released. On top of that, he sold the rights to Disney who will definitely milk the whole thing for at least the next decade.

Total worlwide box office: $8,530,994,121
Number of movies: 9
When was the first movie released?: 2001 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
When was the last movie released?: 2016 (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
Most successful movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($1,328,074,762)
Note: To be honest, I have never been a huge fan of this franchise but I can't deny its popularity. Furthermore, with 'Fantastic Beasts...', they have launched a succesful spin-off so we not are done yet with J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World.

Total worlwide box office: $7,040,275,645
Number of movies: 26
When was the first movie released?: 1962 (Dr. No)
When was the last movie released?: 2015 (Spectre)
Most successful movie: Skyfall ($1,108,348,855)
Note: It is the oldest movie franchise, already 50 years old and, even though the formula didn't change much through the years, those movies are still quite popular. You might wonder which direction they will take now since it doesn't seem that Daniel Craig will come back for the next installment.

Total worlwide box office: $5,880,468,587
Number of movies: 6
When was the first movie released?: 2001 (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
When was the last movie released?: 2014 (The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies)
Most successful movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1,119,263,306)
Note: It used to be the most successful trilogy ever and the only franchise on this list including a Best Picture Academy Award winner. Good job, Frodo!

Total worlwide box office: $5,731,769,486
Number of movies: 11
When was the first movie released?: 2000 (X-Men)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Deadpool 2)
Most successful movie: Deadpool ($783,112,979)
Note: Thanks to the 'Days of Future Past', it became for a short while one of the most exciting super-hero franchises out there. Unfortunately, with the next installment 'Apocalypse', all the good work done seemed to be ruined again. Anyway, it is rather funny that 'Deadpool', its most successful movie, is only very loosely linked to the X-Men franchise.

Total worlwide box office: $5,134,560,479
Number of movies: 8
When was the first movie released?: 2001 (The Fast and The Furious)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (The Fate of the Furious)
Most successful movie: Furious 7 ($1,511,726,205)
Note: Honestly, 10 years ago, who would have expected this franchise to make such a tremendous come-back? Personally, I have never been a fan of these movies but its success is pretty impressive. Indeed, after 2 disappointing sequels, you would have expected the whole thing to slowly die and disappear but, instead, they brought back the original cast and every new installment has been more successful than the previous one. Ok, the 8th installment was slightly less successful than the 7th installment but it was still huge at the box-office nonetheless.

Total worlwide box office: $4,994,673,485
Number of movies: 8
When was the first movie released?: 1989 (Batman)
When was the last movie released?: 2016 (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)
Most successful movie: The Dark Knight Rises ($1,084,439,099)
Note: It is one of the longest running super-hero movie franchise and is also the most successful one (at least based only on one character), above all thanks to Nolan who managed to resurrect this awesome character.

Total worlwide box office: $4,967,919,151
Number of movies: 3
When was the first movie released?: 2012 (The Avengers)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Avengers: Infinity War)
Most successful movie: Avengers: Infinity War ($2,043,702,469)
Note: Even though the 2nd installment turned out to slightly disappointing, it was still pretty huge at the box-office and this franchise managed to be the only one in this list including only 3 movies. It is also the most recent franchise in this list.

Total worlwide box office: $4,891,183,280
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 1993 (Jurassic Park)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom)
Most successful movie: Jurassic World ($1,651,028,461)
Note: Jurassic Park was the biggest movie ever from 1993 until 1998 when Titanic claimed the title. Surprisingly, more than 20 years later, Jurassic World became a huge success at the box-office and managed to relaunch this franchise.

Total worlwide box office: $4,843,258,335
Number of movies: 6
When was the first movie released?: 2002 (Spider-Man)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Most successful movie: Spider-Man 3 ($890,449,338)
Note: For a while, it was the most succesful stand-alone super-hero franchise. Anyway, in less than 10 years, this character managed to get already its 3rd incarnation which might have been too much. However, Marvel again delivered something really impressive and their take on this iconic character turned out to be easily the best one so far.

Total worlwide box office: $4,524,340,401
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2003 (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
Most successful movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1,066,179,725)
Note: 10 years ago, who would have expected Johnny Depp, a rather excentric actor, to become the n.1 moneymaker in Hollywood ?

Total worlwide box office: $4,385,136,428
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2007 (Transformers)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (Transformers: The Last Knight)
Most successful movie: Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1,123,196,189)
Note: It was the only franchise with only 2 movies and still managing a spot on this list. Thanks to the 4th installment, it was the most profitable quadrilogy ever made (it was already the most profitable trilogy ever made at the time). However, the last installment had been slightly underperforming so it could be the end of a rather impressive run, even if most of these movies were actually seriously underwhelming.

Total worlwide box office: $3,768,298,638
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2013 (Man of Steel)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (Justice League)
Most successful movie: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($873,260,194)
Note: Even though DC had the ambition to compete with Marvel with their almitghty MCU, so far, all their movies have been very poorly received and none of them have really managed to set the box-office. However, they finally got a break with 'Wonder Woman' which was a critical and commercial hit. Still, you might wonder if it was a good move to have Zak Snyder directing most of the movies in this cinematic universe.

Total worlwide box office: $3,704,808,182
Number of movies: 4
When was the first movie released?: 2010 (Despicable Me)
When was the last movie released?: 2017 (Despicable Me 3)
Most successful movie: Minions ($1,156,879,357)
Note: To be honest, I tend to think that this franchise is rather overrated. Surprisingly, even though the spin-off/prequel focusing on the minions was rather underwhelming, it turned out to be most successful installment in this franchise so you should expect to see more of these characters in the future. Furthermore, in the mean time, it has also managed to become the most successful animated movie franchise ever.

Total worlwide box office: $3,504,767,509
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2001 (Shrek)
When was the last movie released?: 2011 (Puss in Boots)
Most successful movie: Shrek 2 ($919,838,758)
Note: For a very long time, it used to be the most successful animated movie franchise ever. Since this franchise became so huge, DreamWorks has tried to deliver some sequels with almost all their animated features with some really various results.

Total worlwide box office: $3,345,177,904
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2008 (Twilight)
When was the last movie released?: 2012 (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2)
Most successful movie: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 ($829,224,737)
Note: Even if they were critically bashed, you can't deny that the Twilight movies were commercially successful. It was also one of the most recent franchises which started only in 2008.

Total worlwide box office: $3,217,251,681
Number of movies: 5
When was the first movie released?: 2002 (Ice Age)
When was the last movie released?: 2016 (Ice Age: Collision Course)
Most successful movie: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($886,686,817)
Note: Who would have expected Ice age to become one of the biggest franchises ever? To be honest, I think they should leave the damned thing alone by now but since the last installment was still quite successful, I'm afraid they will keep milking the damned thing forever.

Total worlwide box office: $2,936,561,140
Number of movies: 4
When was the first movie released?: 2012 (The Hunger Games)
When was the last movie released?: 2015 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2)
Most successful movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($864,912,963)
Note: After watching the whole thing, to be honest, even though the first 2 installments were decent enough, the last part divided in 2 movies turned out to be seriously underwhelming. Still, there is no doubt that it was definitely a massive box-office success and you wonder if another actress after Jennifer Lawrence will ever manage to have such a successful franchise attached to their name.

Total worlwide box office: $2,778,790,233
Number of movies: 6
When was the first movie released?: 1996 (Mission: Impossible)
When was the last movie released?: 2018 (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)
Most successful movie: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ($693,054,071)
Note: Even though it seems that Tom Cruise has passed his prime, he still manages to be in one of the most successful franchises ever made. It is above all thanks to the 4th installment that this franchise was back on this chart.