Best movie series of all time

Best Franchise Ever: What Is the Greatest Film Series of Them All

So you have some time on your hands? Might we suggest a movie franchise? If you’ve been scrolling through Netflix looking for something to watch, these movies will replace those wasted hours with wonderful entertainment. These films are for people who enjoy a story told over the course of several stories, and to be honest, some of them aren’t even that good at times. But each of them is filled with characters who grow on you, so don’t be surprised if you end up spending the whole weekend on the couch.

The best movie franchises

So you have some time on your hands? Might we suggest a movie franchise? If you’ve been scrolling through Netflix looking for something to watch, these movies will replace those wasted hours with wonderful entertainment. These films are for people who enjoy a story told over the course of several stories, and to be honest, some of them aren’t even that good at times. But each of them is filled with characters who grow on you, so don’t be surprised if you end up spending the whole weekend on the couch.

James Bond

Ah, Mr. Bond. We’ve been expecting you. We couldn’t think of a more iconic franchise to start our list, and chances are you’ve already seen a few of the films. But if you’re missing a couple or just getting into the series, know that most of them are the same. The tone, style and actors may vary, but the vibe remains intact.

Toy Story

When your kids watch Toy Story for the first time, they are going to want to spend more time with Woody and Buzz after it’s over. Luckily, there are three more chapters, each of which is filled with the imagination of a director who sees the world as their toy box. There’s really no limit to what these toys can do.

Harry Potter

Nothing against Dumbledore, but Harry Potter was the best wizard there ever was. If for some reason you don’t know the plot, Harry is a child who gets transferred to a school for aspiring wizards. The result is magic — a collection of spellbinding scenes that see our hero become the main character.

The Alien Series

We assume by now you’ve seen the first two Alien flicks, but if you haven’t. what are you waiting for? If you want to see some of the best science fiction out there, then you should watch Ripley grill these aliens like hamburgers. If you want to see even more, check out the sequels for another serving of barbecue.

The Before Trilogy

Ahh, my heart. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy meet on a train to Vienna, spend the whole night wandering the streets and maybe even fall in love. In the Before trilogy, we watch two people meet, grow, laugh and learn, all while Richard Linklater’s camera follows them in long takes over the course of 10 years. It’s about as romantic as franchises get.

The Man With No Name Trilogy

Clint Eastwood plays a bounty hunter who. oh, we had you at Clint Eastwood? I reckoned as much. But what if I told you he was accompanied by Sergio Leone’s direction and Ennio Morricone’s score? Now I really have your attention.

Terminator

Okay, so the last one was fine and the third one sucked. But the first two are worthy of our list alone, as Arnold Schwarzenegger saves the human race (well, and tries to destroy it in the first installment) as the titular cyborg whose arms are made of steel. It’s got a few decent sequels, along with a number of the best action sequences in movie history.

Planet of the Apes

Who knew a movie about a bunch of apes could turn into such a cultural phenomenon? The trilogy was so popular they decided to make even more movies starting next year. We say bring ’em on, as long as the franchise continues to inch closer to the (ape)x of the original.

Three Colours

By far the most “artsy” series on our list, the Three Colours trilogy follows a number of people who intersect in peculiar ways. In the hands of another director, this could have been another Love Actually where everyone meets for a party. But this is Krzysztof Kieslowksi we’re talking about. The director is like a puppet master pulling strings, making profound connections and mysterious allegories that mirror the colors of the French flag.

Step Up

Confession: I kinda like these movies. They aren’t good, but they have a certain charm that wins me over. I’m a sucker for dance sequences and commited performers, which is what this series has to offer. Plus, it’s cool to see Channing Tatum before he became a star.

Mad Max

The Mad Max movies are relentless when it comes to action, violence and spectacle. So if you’re in the mood for a good chase, then this is the series for you. It’s also that rare franchise to see its best movie come out after the first trilogy. Mad Max: Fury Road pushed the pedal to the metal and zipped by its predecessors at max speed.

The Apu Trilogy

The greatest trilogy of all time. The Apu series follows a boy in India who grows up and then returns to his roots. It’s a series filled with poetic shots, profound insights, realistic characters and moments that stick with you long after the credits roll. There’s a reason this has inspired every one of your favorite directors — it speaks to the way cinema can change lives both on- and off-screen, in front of and behind the camera.

Lord of the Rings

These movies took three huge books and made them interesting, action-packed and packed to the brim with characters and places. Not an easy task when most book adaptations are letdowns. Even more impressive is the story of Frodo, who has one of the best character arcs we’ve ever seen.

Ocean’s 11

These movies are really just a chance to hangout with some major stars. Sure, the heists are fun and the revenge is sweet, but how often do you get to see this much star power on screen? It’s like hitting the jackpot for fans of great acting.

Jason Bourne

Some of the best series are the most action packed. Jason Bourne keeps us on the edge of our seat for three installments (with some mixed results in the releases coming after the original three), each of which sees the man take on villains in an attempt to remember his identity. It’s the mix between Memento and James Bond you never knew you needed.

Mission Impossible

Tom Cruise runs! Tom Cruise jumps! Tom Cruise straps himself to a plane and flies a thousand feet in the air! It’s the Tom Cruise show in Mission Impossible, the spy franchise devoted to seeing Cruise do impossible stunts.

Hunger Games

The Hunger Games stands out amidst the crop of YA movies. The mix between reality TV, The Most Dangerous Game and the Orwellian themes was one we couldn’t get enough of. Jennifer Lawrence’s character becomes the star of this fictional program, while the actress became a star in real life.

Fast and Furious

Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. The Fast franchise has had some ups and downs over the years, with some of the entries being total garbage. That being said, most of them are fun. Watching these drivers save the world has become a gift that keeps on giving, even when the drivers take their cars to space.

Indiana Jones

Have there been some iffy sequels that have taken away from the original’s charm? Absolutely. Does the original still hold up, along with the action sequences of the sequels? You betcha. Harrison Ford’s archaeologist is better at dusting off bad guys than dusting off relics, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find some hidden treasures in this franchise.

The Original Star Wars Trilogy

What’s the best order to watch Star Wars? I’m glad you asked! We advise you start with the first trilogy and then skip the others altogether. That doesn’t mean the others don’t have their moments — the most recent iteration starts off with a bang. But once you’ve hung out with Luke Skywalker, taken down the Death Star and kicked into light speed, there’s really nothing else in the franchise that can top it.

Asher Luberto is a film critic for L.A. Weekly, The Playlist, The Progressive and The Village Voice.

Trending in Entertainment

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

TERMS OF SERVICE PRIVACY POLICY CONTACT US MY ACCOUNT SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE JOBS FAQ FREE NEWSLETTERS

Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Best Franchise Ever: What Is the Greatest Film Series of Them All?

We crunched the numbers to figure out which film series made the most money and impressed the most fans and critics, and then we crowned the 10 best ever.

It’s no secret that Hollywood is preoccupied with sequels, prequels, remakes, and spin-offs, considering a familiar, beloved piece of intellectual property is the easiest way to score a massive payday at the box office. Movie franchises are, of course, far from a new concept, as production studios and filmmakers have been feeding audiences more of what they know they like since the earliest days of cinema. And when they’re done right, there’s no reason a longstanding film franchise’s tenth installment can’t be every bit as good as the first. With that in mind, we decided to dive into some data and have a little fun trying to determine the Best Movie Franchise Ever, and while the final results were surprising, they also made a lot of sense.

Before we jump in, though, we need to clarify a few things about the process. First, our data set includes every film series with at least three installments for which we could find reliable Tomatometer scores, Audience Scores, and box office numbers. Regarding the latter, we had to stick to domestic box office earnings, again due to reliability issues with global market totals. Unfortunately, this meant older series, like the classic Blondie franchise from the 1930s to 1940s, or Jackie Chan’s Police Story movies, which largely were not released theatrically in the U.S., wouldn’t make the cut, due to incomplete or insufficient data. Once we collected the relevant information, we calculated Average Tomatometers, Average Audience Scores, and Average Domestic Box Office (adjusted for inflation) for each franchise, to account for series with more installments earning bigger totals by default. Lastly, we omitted a handful of film series from the final rundown for a couple of different reasons: 1) They did not represent a film “franchise” in the sense we’ve generally come to recognize (Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy, for example); or 2) They exist as a subset of a larger franchise (like the individual solo films within the MCU). To further clarify the second point, while characters like Batman and Spider-Man exist within the DCEU and MCU, respectively, they were the focus of individual franchises before the larger cinematic universes were created, so they were singled out as such. Needless to say, the process was a little complicated.

With all the logistics out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. After compiling all the statistics and ranking all 153 movie franchises we looked at, we were able to narrow the list down to a Top 10. Will the top spot go to the secret world of wizards, witches, and fantastic beasts, or the cinematic universe populated by Earth’s mightiest heroes? Maybe the saga of a powerful spacefaring family, or the legendary tale of a dangerous, magical ring? Check out the full list below, along with each franchise’s rank in our three data categories and a little bit of context, to find out which one is the Best Movie Franchise Ever!

The 10 Best Movie Franchises By the Numbers

10. Star Wars

(Photo by 20th Century Fox)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a plucky young farm boy who dreamed of becoming a pilot teamed up with a smuggler and a fugitive princess to lead a rebellion against an evil tyrant, and one of the most recognizable and beloved movie franchises ever was born. George Lucas’ epic space opera immediately enchanted the world, allowing him to expand his story across a trilogy of trilogies and a pair of spin-offs, not to mention various TV series, books, comics, toys, video games and theme park attractions inspired by the films. So how did it only end up at #10 on this list? Both critics and fans have had their qualms with some of the saga’s individual installments — sometimes they’ve agreed, and sometimes they haven’t. In the end, though, neither the average Tomatometer nor the average Audience Score ranked in the top 30 franchises overall, and it was only the consistently immense earning power of the Star Wars films — the best of any franchise — that pulled it up just high enough to make it into the top 10.

9. How to Train Your Dragon

(Photo by ©Universal Pictures)

Average Tomatometer Score/Rank: 93.3% (2nd)
Average Audience Score/Rank: 89% (2nd)
Average Domestic Box Office/Rank: $203,130,826.33 (47th)
Films: How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

DreamWorks Animation released three films in 2010 hoping to topple the juggernaut that was Pixar, and the film that came the closest to achieving that goal was its adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, a children’s fantasy book by Cressida Cowell. Though it eventually lost the Best Animated Feature Oscar to Toy Story 3, HTTYD was both a critical and commercial success, thanks to its sweet, relatable tale of friendship and its breathtaking action sequences, stunningly rendered in 3D. Everybody wanted a Toothless of their own, and DreamWorks had a top 10-grossing hit on its hands, so a sequel was quickly greenlit and then released in 2014, followed by two television series and finally a third installment that came just last year. In direct contrast to the Star Wars franchise, all three installments of How to Train Your Dragon boast high Tomatometers and Audience Scores, but suffer from a relatively low box average office haul. True, it’s a little easier to maintain a high standard of quality across fewer films, but it’s worth noting that this is one of only two trilogies that made the top 10, and all three of its installments are superb.

8. Wizarding World

(Photo by ©Warner Bros.)

Speaking of successful young adult adaptations, it doesn’t get much better than Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular book series about a secret school for wizards and its most gifted student was a global sensation, so the film had a lot to live up to. Luckily, thanks to a charming and talented young cast and an experienced director in Christopher Columbus, fans were treated to an adaptation that leapt straight from the page to the screen. After that, the series flourished as the original Harry Potter saga played out over seven more films and a multiple Tony Award-winning stage play, which inspired more books, video games, and theme parks in the U.S. and Japan. All of this, of course, led to a prequel series set in the same universe and based on the 2001 companion guide book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first two installments of which were scripted by Rowling herself. Although they deepened the mythology underpinning the franchise, these were less enthusiastically received, both critically and commercially, particularly the most recent entry, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. A seventh place finish on this list isn’t bad by any means, and since three more films have yet to be made, there’s certainly a chance the franchise as a whole could rise up further.

7. The Hunger Games

(Photo by Murray Close/©Lionsgate Courtesy Everett Collection)

Average Tomatometer Score/Rank: 78.25% (17th)
Average Audience Score/Rank: 76.75% (17th)
Average Domestic Box Office/Rank: $405,606,192.75 (8th)
Films: The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

As the Harry Potter and Twilight film series neared their inevitable conclusions, Hollywood tripped over itself trying to find the next young adult novel-inspired sensation. It ultimately landed a winner in Suzanne Collins’ best-selling dystopian adventure series The Hunger Games, casting then-rising star Jennifer Lawrence in the central role of Katniss Everdeen and surrounding her with A-list veterans like Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. Later installments attracted the significant talents of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, and Geoffrey Wright, among others, and every entry except for the last one finished in the top three box office earners of its year. Its legacy is apparent in the slew of similarly adapted young adult movies that sprung up in its wake and just as quickly disappeared, would-be franchise-starters like The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Beautiful Creatures, Seventh Son, and The 5th Wave. Both critics and audiences found the final chapter of The Hunger Games, split into two films, a tad underwhelming compared to the first two, but its averages across all four installments were still fairly strong, and its eighth place finish in the box office category helped to propel the series into the top 10 overall.

6. Spider-Man

(Photo by Columbia courtesy Everett Collection)

Considering DC Comics characters Superman and Batman both had a number of blockbuster films to their names before the turn of the millennium, it’s a little surprising that Marvel’s own A-lister, Spider-Man, failed to make a successful transition to the big screen until 2002. When he did finally debut in theaters, under the guidance of Sam Raimi, he not only kicked off one of the most successful superhero franchises ever, but also helped lay the groundwork for the massive paradigm shift in Hollywood that would eventually bring us the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, for starters. Of course, Sony Pictures’ efforts to retain the rights to the character have famously resulted in two reboots and a parallel animated series, but the results overall have been rather… spectacular. Raimi’s original trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, the MCU-related films with Tom Holland in the role, and the animated Into the Spider-Verse have all largely been critically acclaimed money-makers, and even the first of Andrew Garfield’s two outings as the famous wallcrawler is generally well regarded. Spidey may be a late bloomer compared to his DC counterparts, but he’s been the most consistent solo hero of them all.

5. Back to the Future

(Photo by Universal Pictures)

Average Tomatometer Score/Rank: 78% (12th)
Average Audience Score/Rank: 85.7% (4th)
Average Domestic Box Office/Rank: $328,209,623 (16th)
Films: Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III

Director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale had a hell of a time trying to sell studios on their idea for a sci-fi comedy about a teen who accidentally travels 30 years back in time and plays matchmaker to his high school-aged parents. Fortunately for them — and for the rest of us — they were persistent, and they had a fan in Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the film, and more than 30 years after its release, Back to the Future is still hailed as one of the greatest movies of all time. The trilogy is full of iconic moments, memorable lines, and some of the most recognizable movie props ever, and, like many others on this list, it inspired a variety of offshoot merchandise and peripheral entertainment. That said, critics were a little lukewarm on the somewhat transitional feeling of Part II, and even though the first film was the highest-grossing movie of 1985, the two sequels didn’t come close to making the same kind of money. The fans of the franchise, who consistently rated the trilogy high enough to earn it a fourth place ranking in Average Audience Score, are the ones who helped prop it up into sixth place overall, and honestly, that feels OK.

4. Marvel Cinematic Universe

(Photo by ©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/©Marvel Studios)

Average Tomatometer Score/Rank: 84.7% (8th)
Average Audience Score/Rank: 82.3% (8th)
Average Domestic Box Office/Rank: $404,780,252 (9th)
Films: Click for full list of films

About that groundwork that Spider-Man laid… In 2008, just one year after Sam Raimi’s third and final Spider-Man film, Marvel Studios launched what would become an industry-changing initiative with its first self-financed film, Iron Man. Initially perceived as something of an odd choice, being that Iron Man wasn’t considered one of Marvel Comics’ more recognizable heroes, the film earned rave reviews, particularly for Robert Downey Jr.’s work in the title role, and kick-started what we now know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the MCU cranked out a handful of seemingly unrelated solo films en route to a blockbuster showdown in 2012’s The Avengers, it reaffirmed RDJ’s bankability, made global superstars out of then relatively unknown actors like Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, and sent every studio scrambling to imitate the feat with a connected cinematic universe of their own. A dozen years and 23 films later, audiences are still hungry for more, but with several of the MCU’s characters now either dead, essentially retired, or nearing the end of their contracts, it remains to be seen if Marvel can maintain the same high level of interest and quality for the next decade and change. In the meantime, while critical reception has fluctuated a bit across this juggernaut of a franchise, its Average Audience Score and Domestic Box Office both rank in the top 10, and there’s good reason to think it’ll keep delivering for the foreseeable future.

3. Middle-earth

(Photo by New Line courtesy Everett Collection)

Peter Jackson had a monumental task ahead of him when he set out to translate one of the most celebrated works of fantasy literature to the big screen, but nearly 20 years after the release of the first chapter, The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else doing justice to J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale. The original Lord of the Rings trilogy took home 17 of the 30 Academy Award nominations it earned, with Return of the King winning in all 11 categories for which it was nominated — an Oscar record. It was such a cultural phenomenon that fans clamored for Jackson to work his magic on an adaptation of Tolkien’s precursor novel The Hobbit, which is something Jackson had wanted to do as early as 1995. After a bit of studio drama, a new trilogy emerged, and while it wasn’t quite the critical darling that the Lord of the Rings films were — it brought the franchise’s Average Tomatometer ranking down to 13th place — it still resonated with fans (3rd in Average Audience Score) and made a lot of money (6th in Domestic Box Office). Today, Jackson’s films are seen as the definitive interpretation of Tolkien’s novels, leading to a resurgence of interest in high fantasy and Tolkien’s work in general, and they remain one of the most influential and beloved film series of all time.

2. Indiana Jones

(Photo by ©Paramount courtesy Everett Collection)

Harrison Ford is the only actor to play central roles in more than one of the top 10 franchises on our list (unless you count Tom Holland in the MCU, which is debatable), but while he shared the spotlight with others in the Star Wars saga, he owns the screen as Indiana Jones. As with Star Wars, we can thank George Lucas’ fascination with the classic movie serials of the 1930s and 1940s for this adventure series about a cocky, handsome, swashbuckling archaeologist. This time, though, Lucas handed the directorial reins over to Steven Spielberg, and together, they breathed life into three of the most iconic action-adventures to come out of the 1980s. Like most of the other franchises on this list, the Indiana Jones movies led to massive merchandising opportunities and spawned new iterations of the character in other media, like books, television, and video games, before Ford, Lucas, and Spielberg reunited for another go in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But the popularity — and profitability — of the films led to a number of similar franchises, from the updated Mummy movies starring Brendan Fraser to the Tomb Raider video game adaptations starring Angelina Jolie and the National Treasure movies starring Nicolas Cage, just to name a few. As for Indy himself, there’s a fifth film on the books for 2022, and Disney CEO Bob Iger has said it won’t be the end of the franchise. That sounds like good news all around for the rest of us.

1. Toy Story

(Photo by ©Buena Vista Pictures courtesy Everett Collection)

Average Tomatometer Score/Rank: 98.75% (1st)
Average Audience Score/Rank: 90.25% (1st)
Average Domestic Box Office/Rank: $462,000,000 (4th)
Films: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 4

It might surprise some to see an animated series at the top of this list, but Toy Story is anything but your average, run-of-the-mill kiddie cartoon. As a fledgling animation studio, Pixar had already won an Oscar for its 1988 short film Tin Toy, about a small one-man-band toy attempting to escape from a destructive toddler. That film drew the interest of Disney, who approached director John Lasseter about expanding the idea into a feature film. The result, of course, was an absolute game-changer, as Toy Story was the first feature film to be wholly computer animated, ushering in a new era for the genre that would ultimately result in the addition of the Best Animated Feature Academy Award to be added in 2002. Since then, Toy Story has spawned three sequels, all garnering near universal acclaim — the first two films are both Certified Fresh at 100% — and inspired a whole generation of artists, animators, and storytellers to make the most of the medium. For its part, Pixar has remained a steadfast leader in the genre, picking up accolades left and right and continuously pushing the boundaries of its craft. But the Toy Story franchise, which ranked first in both Average Tomatometer and Average Audience Score while coming in fourth for Average Domestic Box Office, remains the studio’s crowning achievement, and it is officially the Best Movie Franchise Ever.

Top 10 Franchises by Category

[All data accurate as of 6/30/20]

Average Tomatometer Score

1. Toy Story (99%)
2. How to Train Your Dragon (93.3%)
3. Mad Max (90%)
4. John Wick (88.3%)
5. Ip Man (87.2%)
6. Indiana Jones (86.3%)
7. Kung Fu Panda (85%)
8. MCU (84.7%)
9. Evil Dead (82%)
10. George Romero’s Living Dead (81.3%)

Average Audience Score

1. Toy Story (90.3%)
2. How to Train Your Dragon (89%)
3. Middle-earth (86.3%)
4. Back to the Future (85.7%)
5. Bad Boys (84%)
6. John Wick (84%)
7. Ip Man (82.4%)
8. MCU (82.3%)
9. Indiana Jones (81.3%)
10. Evil Dead (80.8%)

Average Domestic Box Office

1. Star Wars ($692,833,333.33)
2. Jurassic Park ($541,149,213.80)
3. Indiana Jones ($515,870,633)
4. Toy Story ($462,000,000)
5. Jaws ($428,732,426)
6. Middle-earth ($420,055,657.50)
7. Spider-Man ($411,579,893.13)
8. The Hunger Games ($405,606,192.75)
9. MCU ($404,780,252)
10. Shrek ($390,501,104)

Thumbnail images courtesy of Everett Collection

]]>