Here are the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time

An iconic superhero, childhood toy or even a classic book can turn a standalone film into a movie franchise. Here are the highest grossing movie franchises of all time, based on worldwide box-office collections:

Marvel Cinematic Universe

$9.76 billion

The whole of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — which includes The Avengers, Iron Man and the most recent Captain America Civil War — is officially a single franchise in Hollywood’s eyes. With 12 (and counting) films in the past seven years, this franchise is tough to beat.

Harry Potter

$7.72 billion

Since 2001, eight movie adaptations of JK Rowling’s series have been released. While nearly all of them have approached the $1 billion mark, the last of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, brought in the biggest profit, with a worldwide take of $1.34 billion.

James Bond

$6.29 billion

In its first week of release, Spectre — the latest film in the Bond franchise — managed to rake in more than $108 million. But the franchise’s high position on this list is largely thanks to Skyfall (2012), which earned $1.11 billion worldwide.

The Lord of the Rings

$5.89 billion

Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth franchise includes not just The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but all three of The Hobbit movies as well. Among the six films, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) are the two biggest moneymakers.

Star Wars

$4.48 billion

The story began in 1977 when George Lucas produced the first Star Wars movie. That film made history and remains one of the highest grossing movies of all time. The franchise created an entire generation of Star Wars fans, generating billions of dollars in box-office receipts, with the appeal spreading globally.


Sources: mentalfloss, screenrant