The 5 Highest-Grossing Film Franchises At The Box Office (& The 5 Lowest)

In Hollywood, movie franchises are always a big gamble. On the one hand, you can end up with something wildly successful where an actor is celebrated every time they return to the franchise. But franchise movies can also be epic fails, and in some cases, alienate their audience, as a result.

The success of a movie franchise, like standalone films, is evaluated in terms of its box office clout, both domestic and overseas. And while there are franchises that go on to make millions, there are also those that barely made any money.

10 Highest: X-Men – $6,076,110,865

Throughout its run, the X-Men franchise has been met with mixed reviews. The franchise’s first movie, X-Men, came with a star-studded cast that included Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, and Oscar winner, Halle Berry.

But the more recent X-Men movies haven’t been as well-received as the first, despite their equally impressive ensemble of actors. In fact, there are some who believe that only Marvel can fix the franchise.

9 Highest: James Bond – $7,119,553,831

For as long as anyone can remember, Hollywood has been fascinated with spies. The audience finds them equally intriguing too, which might explain the success behind the long-running James Bond movie franchise.

Over the years, fans have seen several actors portray the iconic role, including the late Sean Connery. The franchise is renowned for all of the cool weapons that the films have featured and the sleek, high-tech cars that 007 always drives. That said, some also can’t help but notice that the James Bond movies have had some plot holes over the years.

8 Highest: Harry Potter – $9,216,911,591

Based on a series of books written by author JK Rowling, the Harry Potter movies revolve around the titular character as he enters the school of wizardry where he learns more about his wizardry abilities and his fated destiny. Actor Daniel Radcliffe was cast to play this central character and of Harry’s evolution, Radcliffe told the BBC, “Harry advances so much in each [school] year, he comes more out of his shell.”

Aside from Radcliffe, the franchise’s core cast also includes Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Maggie Smith, and the late Alan Rickman.

7 Highest: Star Wars – $10,320,213,654

Star Wars is one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. It also happens to be one of the longest-running, with the first film, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, released way back in 1977.

Over the years, the franchise’s cast has included Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen, and the late Carrie Fisher. The more recent Star Wars films have been headlined by Daisy Ridley, who portrayed Rey, and Adam Driver, who took on the role of Kylo Ren.

6 Highest: Marvel Cinematic Universe – $22,556,992,888

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is, undoubtedly, the most successful movie franchise today. In recent years, the MCU had released several films that earned over $1 billion at the box office. Among these is Avengers: Endgame, which hauled in over $2.7 billion at the end of its theatrical run. The film also went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Other MCU films that made billions include Avengers: Infinity War, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther, Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Captain Marvel.

5 Lowest: Critters – $16,167,232

This horror franchise began in 1986. In the first film, a group of creatures known as Critters manages to escape an alien transport. They subsequently get pursued by a pair of shape-shifting bounty hunters.

The Critters movies drew some criticism after viewers noted that its creatures bore some resemblance to those in the Gremlins films. However, Critters director, Stephen Herek, has maintained that Dominic Muir wrote Critters before Gremlins even entered production. That said, New Line Cinema only greenlit Critters following the success of Gremlins, according to Monster Legacy.

4 Lowest: American Ninja – $15,759,893

The American Ninja franchise released its first film back in 1985. In the first film, actor Michael Dudkoff was introduced as Pvt. Joe T. Armstrong, an American soldier who was more than capable of taking down some mercenaries in the Philippines all by himself. Dudkoff went on to reprise his character in American Ninja 2: The Confrontation and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation.

Back in 2016, he also spoke about reviving the franchise, telling Den of Geek, “I think the American Ninja, Joe Armstrong, has legs. I think it would be really a great thing to bring that forward again.”

3 Lowest: Atlas Shrugged – $8,810,132

Atlas Shrugged is a film trilogy that revolves around the most successful members of society trying to rally against an authoritarian United States government. This effort is spearheaded by the film’s central character, Dagny Taggart, who has been portrayed by three different actresses throughout its films.

In the franchise’s last installment, Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt? the role was portrayed by actress Laura Regan, who also appeared in the hit TV series Mad Men. While discussing the film, Regan told Starry Mag, “I was lucky to do the third part because in this section she falls in love.”

2 Lowest: The Trip – $6,069,103

The Trip is a fairly new movie franchise that started back in 2010. It revolves around actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, who play themselves as they go around sampling incredible restaurants for The Observer. Over the years, the franchise has grown to include The Trip to Spain and The Trip to Italy.

This year, the franchise also released The Trip to Greece, in which the two men traced the footsteps of Odysseus as they journey from Troy to Ithaca. While making the latest film, Coogan told Indie Wire that they may take a break from the franchise for several years.

1 Lowest: Ip Man – $2,922,996

Some may consider the Ip Man movies to be cult classics. Unfortunately, the franchise is still a big box office disappointment. The first Ip Man film came out in 2008 and was inspired by the story of Bruce Lee’s martial arts master, Yip Man, although, actor Donnie Yen, who has portrayed the titular character across all four Ip Man films, has clarified that the movies aren’t completely based on historical fact.

The franchise released its final installment in 2019. That said, there’s always a possibility that the Ip Man franchise will be revived in the future.