With Marvels 15th cinema release leading to them charging through the $11 Billion mark I started to wonder how the compare with other studio franchises as to how successful they were.. So here goes…
Point of note for his article. No inflationary adjustments were made. (I have no doubt that if it were, the list would look significantly different..)
Honourable mention before we start. Avatar. Still leading the all time box office total, it singlehandedly sits at 17th on the all time franchise totals too. If James Cameron ever gets round to releasing two, three and four at any point in the next decade I have no doubt that this series will crash into the top 10.
- The MCU – Wonder no more… having thought about other successful franchises (all of which you would expect to see below) and what their potential box office total may have added to, when it comes down to the pure numbers – Marvel is on top. With six more films scheduled in already, some of which are highly likely to eclipse the billion dollar mark, the next few years will help them build and sustain their lead at the top and when all is said and done, I am not sure if there will be a film franchise to rival it.. not for a long time. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $11,559,926,490
- Harry Potter. Little did Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint know what they were getting into back in 2001 when the first Potter film was released. With 8 films in this series and the spin off Fantastic Beasts films adding to their haul the Potter franchise has jumped to number two in the all time list… but not for long…TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $8,532,684,345
- Star Wars. The early favourite (and probable champion if inflation is applied) shows no sign of slowing down now that Disney have acquired the rights and are releasing a film each year for the foreseeable future. With Decembers The Last Jedi adding a further $1.5-$2 Billion to the total I can see this jumping clearly into second place. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $7,604,560,371
- James Bond. Sheer number of releases propelled this into the top 10 of the all time box office totals but with the most recent releases all doing extremely well on their own accord it deserves its place on the list. Whilst Spectre was not the smash that Skyfall was, Skyfall being the first bond film to break the billion dollars on its own, there is still an extremely interested fan base. Bond 25 is currently in development so this total will continue to be added to. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $7,077,929,291
- Lord of the Rings. Peter Jacksons project was originally passed around a few studios without backing due to the sheer scope of filming all three back to back until New Line stepped in, and boy were they rewarded. The per film average of this series potentially takes them to the top of this list with an average of just under a billion per film. No plans as of yet to add to the series, but you can bet your house on the studio trying to find ways of adding to this. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $5,895,804,182
- The Fast and the Furious. Another series of films that took Hollywood by storm. I for one could never have envisioned what this franchise has become with the seventh and eighth instalments both taking over $1 Billion. Films nine and ten are announced and with the cast enjoying and returning for multiple sequels, plus the potential for spin off films on the characters, this series has plenty of engine left in the tank. (yes, I went there.. #dadjokes) TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $5,093,884,599
- X-Men. I for one was surprised to see them as high on here as I found but starting to think about it with the first class films and wolverine films going into the totals alongside the original trilogy I can see why it has done as well as the numbers show. Fox wont be relinquishing the rights to these any time soon and with a further two films slated for 2018 the numbers shall only increase. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $4,992,867,044
- Batman. The short term future for this franchise is murky at best. With the DCEU still finding its feet somewhat (which if believed will start with Wonder Woman next month) and the ongoing saga of who will play Batman next time round (will it be Affleck, wont it? who knows..) This may be where it sits for a while yet before the inevitable reboot in the future. I have no doubts that it will be added to at some point. Batman as a commodity is always going to sell tickets. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $4,573,270,937
- Transformers. Ah Transformers.. how you tease me so… I am one of the first people to stick up their hand and defend this franchise to death. Admittedly it has some dubious story telling, gaping plot holes and all round general nonsense thrown through it (who can forget the racist robot twins from Revenge of the Fallen?) but I always hold out hope that the next one will be the one to right the ship… then I seen the trailers for The Last Knight and wonder if I will have to keep waiting for the next one again…. Still, giants robots knocking seven tonnes of you know what out of each other, count me in. TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $3,778,471,557
- Pirates of the Caribbean. The original idea of taking a Disney theme park ride, and a relatively unsown one at that, to turn into a movie franchise was going to be a tall ask.. throw in the fact that it is mainly set at sea, with films based on water being notoriously costly and difficult to film (see Waterworld and Cutthroat Island as examples of box office bombs) and there was probably a lot of nervous execs at Disney… however, throw in one John Christopher Depp II into the mix (Johnny to you and me) who turned in one of the most memorable character portrayals in modern history which eschewed itself instantly into popular culture and boom.. the rest was history. Four films later and the series hits the top ten. Pirates Five is due out later this year and is said to be the final instalment so its place in the top ten is numbered (potentially as soon as next year when Jurassic World 2 comes out, the Jurassic series is sitting in eleventh not far behind Pirates at all…) TOTAL BOX OFFICE TO DATE – $3,710,254,215
Thanks
Steve
#itsteve