a Yourlist ranking · the crowd decides the order
From galaxy-spanning sagas to caped crusaders who never stay retired, these franchises have defined generations of moviegoing — vote for the ones that earned their legendary status.
What counts: Ranked by overall cultural impact, box-office muscle, longevity, and critical consistency across entries. Box office, film counts, and years are approximate worldwide totals/spans and may not include every spin-off, short, or re-release.
No franchise has ever attempted interconnected world-building at this scale, and 'Avengers: Endgame' proved it could pay off with the biggest opening in history at the time. Two decades of Phases, a snap heard around the world, and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man launching it all ma
Films in Series: 33Total Box Office (approx.): $30,000,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 8.5/10
added by IJRMarvel Cinematic Universe
A scrappy 1977 space opera became a religion, complete with its own mythology, merchandising empire, and 'I am your father' as the most quoted line in film history. The prequels stumbled and the sequels split fandom, but the Original Trilogy's DNA still runs through every blockbu
Films in Series: 11Total Box Office (approx.): $10,300,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 8.3/10
added by IJR
Eight films tracking one cast literally growing up on screen gave a generation its own coming-of-age epic, capped by the Battle of Hogwarts in 'Deathly Hallows Part 2.' The Fantastic Beasts stumble couldn't dim the wizarding world's grip on pop culture.
Films in Series: 11Total Box Office (approx.): $9,700,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 8.2/10
added by IJRin 3 rankings
Sixty years, six actors, one tuxedo — 007 is the longest continuously running franchise in film history, surviving Cold War politics, tonal reinventions, and Daniel Craig's brutal, emotional swan song in 'No Time to Die.' The gun barrel opening remains cinema's most durable brand
Films in Series: 25Total Box Office (approx.): $7,800,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.5/10
added by IJR
Peter Jackson shot three films back-to-back in New Zealand on a bet that audiences wanted Tolkien done seriously, and 'Return of the King' swept all 11 Oscars it was nominated for to prove him right. The Hobbit trilogy padded the runtime but couldn't dent the original saga's stat
Films in Series: 6Total Box Office (approx.): $5,900,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 8.7/10
added by IJR
Boldly going since 1979 on the strength of a cancelled TV show's cult following, the franchise found its biggest cinematic moment when J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot made Kirk and Spock cool for a new audience. It's never been a box-office juggernaut, but few franchises have shaped sci
Films in Series: 13Total Box Office (approx.): $2,200,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7/10
added by IJR
What started as a street-racing B-movie mutated into a globe-trotting heist saga about family, physics-defying stunts, and Vin Diesel's ever-more-sincere monologues. 'Fast Five' is the pivot point where the series discovered its real formula: Dom's crew versus impossible odds, gr
Films in Series: 11Total Box Office (approx.): $7,100,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 6.5/10
added by IJR
From Adam West camp to Christopher Nolan's operatic trilogy, no character has been reinvented this many times and stayed this bankable. 'The Dark Knight' redefined what a comic book movie could be, with Heath Ledger's Joker earning a posthumous Oscar and legitimizing the genre fo
Films in Series: 12Total Box Office (approx.): $5,000,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.3/10
added by IJRin 4 rankings
Tom Cruise turned a spy franchise into his personal stunt showcase, climbing the Burj Khalifa and clinging to a plane in real time rather than green screen. Nearly three decades in, 'Fallout' and 'Dead Reckoning' prove it's aging better than almost any action series alive.
Films in Series: 7Total Box Office (approx.): $3,900,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.8/10
added by IJRin 2 rankings
Spielberg's 1993 original remains a masterclass in practical-and-CG blending, with that first brachiosaurus reveal still giving audiences chills. The Jurassic World trilogy leaned harder into spectacle over wonder, but the T-Rex's roar is permanently wired into blockbuster DNA.
Films in Series: 6Total Box Office (approx.): $5,300,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 6.8/10
added by IJR
Only three films, but the first two are routinely cited among the greatest ever made, and 'I know it was you, Fratelli' never needed to be said twice for audiences to feel the weight of Michael Corleone's fall. Coppola proved a franchise could be prestige cinema, not just a cash
Films in Series: 3Total Box Office (approx.): $460,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 9.3/10
added by IJRin 12 rankings
Pixar's flagship series never made a bad entry, somehow sticking a perfect emotional landing four times over, with 'Toy Story 3's incinerator scene traumatizing an entire generation of parents. Woody and Buzz's friendship arc remains the gold standard for how a franchise should e
Films in Series: 4Total Box Office (approx.): $3,300,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 8.9/10
added by IJRin 10 rankings
Three different actors, three different tones, one enduring truth: audiences never tire of Peter Parker's guilt-ridden heroics, proven when 'No Way Home' united all three webslingers and became a pandemic-era box-office miracle. Raimi's operatic 'Spider-Man 2' still sets the bar
Films in Series: 10Total Box Office (approx.): $8,500,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.6/10
added by IJRin 2 rankings
Spielberg and Lucas built the ultimate adventure-serial throwback, and the boulder chase that opens 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' remains one of cinema's all-time great sequences. Four sequels of wildly varying quality haven't dulled the fedora-and-whip silhouette's iconic status.
Films in Series: 5Total Box Office (approx.): $2,200,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.9/10
added by IJR
A working-class underdog story that refuses to stay knocked down, from Rocky Balboa's original stairs-climbing triumph to Michael B. Jordan reviving the saga as Adonis Creed decades later. 'Eye of the Tiger' alone has motivated more gym sessions than any workout franchise ever co
Films in Series: 9Total Box Office (approx.): $1,900,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.4/10
added by IJR
Fox's mutant saga kicked off the modern superhero era in 2000 and somehow survived a timeline-scrambling reboot, a beloved 'Days of Future Past,' and the tragic misfire of 'Dark Phoenix.' 'Logan' gave Wolverine the R-rated, elegiac send-off comic fans had begged for for years.
Films in Series: 13Total Box Office (approx.): $6,100,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 6.9/10
added by IJR
James Cameron's time-traveling killer robot saga peaked twice — the lean 1984 original and the effects-revolutionizing 'Judgment Day' — and every sequel since has chased that lightning without quite catching it. Arnold Schwarzenegger's flat 'I'll be back' remains one of action ci
Films in Series: 6Total Box Office (approx.): $2,050,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7/10
added by IJR
Ridley Scott's claustrophobic 1979 horror classic spawned an entire ecosystem of sequels, prequels, and crossovers, with Ripley's chainsaw-through-facehugger toughness redefining the sci-fi heroine. The Alien vs. Predator spinoffs diluted the brand, but the xenomorph's design rem
Films in Series: 10Total Box Office (approx.): $2,000,000,000Years Active: Critical Consensus: 7.1/10
added by IJR
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