The Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises Of All Time

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• X-Men - $6.08 Billion

• DC Extended Universe - $6.68 Billion

• Batman - $6.84 Billion

• Fast & Furious - $7.33 Billion

• Avengers - $7.77 Billion

• James Bond - $7.84 Billion

• The Wizarding World (Harry Potter) - $9.66 Billion

• Star Wars - $10.32 Billion

• Spider-Man - $10.51 Billion

• Marvel Cinematic Universe - $29.62 Billion

Highlights

• Franchise filmmaking has a long history, beginning in the early 1900s and gaining popularity with box office hits like James Bond and Star Wars in the mid-20th century.
• The success of franchises is attributed to factors such as a dedicated fan base, blockbuster appeal, and additional revenue streams like merchandising and theme parks.
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is currently the highest-grossing franchise, but other notable franchises include the X-Men , DC Extended Universe, Batman , Fast & Furious, Avengers, James Bond, Spider-Man, The Wizarding World (Harry Potter) , and Star Wars .

Franchise filmmaking began in the early 1900s with the release of Zorro And The Lone Ranger.

These movies were popular among movie-goers, and film production companies realized they could rake in cash at the box office by spawning sequels.

In the 1950s and 1960s, franchises took off with blockbuster hits like James Bond, Star Wars, and Superman.

The idea of creating a string of stories with familiar characters fascinated audiences by offering something recognizable yet new and suspenseful.

There are a good number of reasons why franchises are commercially successful.

Franchises often have a large dedicated fan base, which helps generate buzz and excitement for new films in the series.

In addition, the rise of blockbuster films helped franchise movie-making as they are designed to appeal to a general audience due to their big budgets and star-studded casts.

Franchise movies also generate revenue through merchandising, theme parks, and video games, making them very profitable for studios.

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10 X-Men - $6.08 Billion

Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe prides itself as the biggest superhero franchise of all time, the X-Men franchise ran so the MCU could walk.

The X-Men movies used to do incredible numbers at the box office.

The first movie in the franchise, X-Men, was released in 2000 and followed the usual format for blockbusters: an action-thriller, a star-studded cast, and a great story.

The film secured $296 million at the box office on a budget of $75 million, paving the way for the X-Men franchise.

As of 2023, the X-Men film franchise has released 13 films and has grossed over $6.08 billion worldwide.

The total budget of the franchise is estimated to be around $1.74 billion.

In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company purchased the film and television rights for X-Men after the acquisition deal of 21st Century Fox was completed for $71 billion. The X-Men film franchise is currently in a state of flux.

Exact details of the X-Men's integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe are yet to be disclosed, but it is clear that the franchise remains one of the most popular and profitable superhero film franchises of all time.

9 DC Extended Universe - $6.68 Billion

The DCEU, managed by Warner Bros. Pictures, is a household name in comic book adaptation.

Recently, the DC franchise has been languishing in the wake of its rival superhero franchise, the MCU.

The DCEU began in 2013 with the release of Man Of Steel, followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and twelve other movies.

The franchise has had a mixed reception, with lukewarm critical acclaim and respectable box office returns.

Despite its flaws, the DCEU has a large and dedicated fan base who are always eager to devour whatever cinematic concoctions they are served to help keep the franchise afloat.

The DCEU has 14 movies that have grossed $6.68 billion worldwide, with a total budget of around $2.7 billion.

The DCEU has a great future ahead as Warner Bros.'s plan to restructure the franchise is already underway, with the appointment of James Gunn as the chairman to spearhead the movie productions.

8 Batman - $6.84 Billion

As one of the most popular comic book heroes of all time, Batman has had immense success in any medium; live-action, animation or printed pages, solidifying its iconic status across diverse storytelling platforms.

The Caped Crusader has been brought to life by ten different actors in both live-action films and on television.

The Batman film franchise has been through a number of different iterations over the years, from the campy and colorful Batman: The Movie released in 1966, to Matt Reeves' The Batman.

The Batman film franchise has released 14 films and has grossed over $6.84 billion at the box office.

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises is the highest-grossing installment, earning over a billion, with The Joker right behind it, pulling in $1.06 billion.

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7 Fast & Furious - $7.33 Billion

No one could have foreseen that what started as a simplistic action-packed car chase film would grow into a multi-billion dollar household franchise.

The Fast & Furious franchise centers on illegal street racing, heists, and espionage, creating thrilling stories that have raked in $7.33 billion at the box office.

The F&F stands out as one of the highest-grossing franchises that do not rely on superheroes, wizards, Jedis, and things that go bump in the night to deliver a fantastic cinematic experience to its loyal fan base.

The franchise began in 2001 with the release of The Fast And The Furious, which starred Vin Diesel and the now-late Paul Walker.

The franchise has since spawned nine sequels, all of which have been successful at the box office.

The highest-grossing installment in the franchise is Furious 7, which grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.

6 Avengers - $7.77 Billion

Marvel's superhero ensemble, the Avengers, assembled for the first time in 2012.

Although the Avengers' plot is woven throughout the broader storyline of the MCU, the franchise has carved out its own identity and has achieved box office clout in the process.

The Avengers franchise currently has four movies to its name, grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide.

All four movies crossed the one billion dollar mark, with the grand finale (Endgame) hitting $2.7 billion and becoming the second highest-grossing movie of all time.

Tony Stark's crew is the only franchise on the list with the fewest movies to its name, a testament to their strategic storytelling and box office flex.

The franchise mastered the art of transforming comic book characters that few people cared about into iconic movie characters that not only spellbound dedicated fans but also resonated with the general audience.

5 James Bond - $7.84 Billion

Based on Ian Fleming's award-winning book series, the James Bond movie franchise is one of the very first major franchises in the industry.

The franchise's first entry Dr. No was released in 1962 and starred the legendary Sir Sean Connery as the titular character.

The Academy-award-winning actor went on to portray the British secret agent six more times in 21 years. The James Bond film franchise is one of the longest-running, spawning 27 films in six decades.

The James Bond film franchise has grossed over $7.87 billion at the box office, with Daniel Craig's Skyfall at the apex as the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, bringing in $1.1 million worldwide.

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4 The Wizarding World (Harry Potter) - $9.66 Billion

The Wizarding World encompasses the Harry Potter franchise as well as its spin-off prequel series, Fantastic Beasts.

J.K. Rowling's magical world was brought to life on screen with the premiere of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone in 2001.

It was followed by seven Harry Potter sequels, beginning with Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets in 2002, and ending with Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, nearly ten years after the first film's release.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is the first film in the spin-off/prequel Fantastic Beasts series. A sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, was released in 2018.

A third film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore, was released in 2022. The Wizarding World has brought in $9.66 billion at the box office.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 generated $1.34 billion worldwide, making it the most profitable installment in the franchise.

3 Star Wars - $10.32 Billion

The now legendary director George Lucas created this fictional universe in 1977, when Episode IV: A New Hope premiered.

The film grossed $775,398,007, which was huge at the time. Adjusted for inflation,A New Hope made more than $2.5 billion.

Star Wars as a franchise has expanded to include ten additional feature films, as well as various spin-off films, television series, books, comics, video games, and theme park attractions.

The franchise has morphed into a cultural phenomenon that has entertained audiences for over four decades.

The Star Wars franchise is the most successful non-superhero franchise, spanning trilogies, a pair of anthology films, and an animated iteration (Clone Wars).

The highest-grossing Star Wars film by nominal revenue is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which grossed slightly more than $2 billion worldwide and is the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time.

2 Spider-Man - $10.51 Billion

As one of the holy trinity of superheroes alongside Superman and Batman, Spider-Man's place on this list comes as no surprise.

Spider-Man swung into action in 2002 with Tobey Maguire donning the iconic suit. The web-slinger's franchise encompasses four distinct iterations, with 13 movies in total.

The franchise has earned $10.51 billion, making it the most successful single-character franchise, superhero or otherwise.

After Marvel Studios sold the character's rights to Sony for $7 billion in 1999, Sony later negotiated with Disney to integrate Spider-Man into the MCU.

Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man earned over $820 million worldwide and garnered massive critical acclaim, reminding fans that their beloved wall-crawler remained an unparalleled force in superhero cinema.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the highest-grossing film in the franchise; it earned almost $2 billion at the worldwide box office.

1 Marvel Cinematic Universe - $29.62 Billion

When Marvel made the decision to bring its comic characters to the silver screen, it was far from the box office juggernaut it turned out to be today.

The studio was mired in bankruptcy and decided to bank its entire revenue on its first movie.

What sets this franchise apart is how they have woven a tapestry of interconnected narratives, a storytelling feat spanning over a decade and a half.

This cinematic universe has turned the general audience into devoted fans through a series of films divided into phases.

The MCU kicked off in 2008 with the release of Iron Man and has never looked back. The MCU is the highest-grossing movie franchise, earning a total of $29.55 billion across 34 movies.

Avengers: Endgame is the most profitable film in the MCU, making $2.79 billion; Endgame is also the second highest-grossing movie of all time and the highest-grossing film out of any movie from any franchise in the top ten.

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