The 10 Highest Grossing Film Series of All-Time

[IrishCanadian25]

The 10 Highest Grossing Film Series of All-Time​

1. Harry Potter. Sick to think that J.K. Rowling's masterpeice is only 71% of the way through the septolgy and has already become the highest grossing film franchise in history. It's also sick to think that only 5 films in a franchise could produce more cash than the rest of the films on this list.

2. James Bond. This certainly makes sense. The Bond series has been around since 1962, and has created 21 films. When you think about it - being #2 on this list isn't too impressive for Bond and co. Sure, it denotes longevity, but at the same time, there are film franchises on this list with only 3-5 films that are within striking distance of Bond's 21.

3. Star Wars. 6 films, and LOADS of loot. The original trilogy was a record breaker in the 70's, and the prequels did VERY well for themselves in the 90's and 00's. The shock to me is that the film raking in the MOST cash was also the worst - Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

4. The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson, the short wearing uber-dork himself, created three films and made just a shade under three billion dollars in total revenue. WOW. I didn't know there were that many virgins out there. Notwithstanding, the LOTR franchise boasts the highest per-film revenue of all the franchises on this list - only 3 films and a hair under $1 billion each.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean. Proof that great marketing can carry a mediocre action series a LONG, LONG WAY! The film that launched Orlando Bloom into obnoxious teeny bopper super stardom and reminded us that Johnny Depp can play anything not titled "Willie Wonka" effectively, Pirates spawned so many amusement park thrill rides and merchandise, it's no shock they made this list.

6. Spider-Man. I admit - I have never seen a one of these films, but this is another impressive case of a superhero action trilogy making this list. Spider-man reached new heights with the third installment of the trilogy, grossing $890 million. We may yet see this franchise go higher on the list if they are not done.

7. Indiana Jones. This one leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It goes so far as to prove that all the money is in films NOW rather than back when effort had to be put into them. Dr. Jones has made some GREAT money, but the highest grossing of the 4-film series was the recent "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" installment, which, from what I hear, can't hold a Shankara Stone to Raiders or Crusade.

8. Shrek. Cool! This Dreamworks debut gave Disney some SERIOUS competition, and sits here as the highest grossing animated film series in history, despite being - you guessed it - a trilogy. With the all-star voice cast (including a donkey character OWNED by Eddie Murphy) it's no shock that these films - which attract both kids and adults alike - has made so much coin.

9. Batman. Of course the Caped Crusader and all of his many films would show up here. Just a notch under $2 billion grossed, and the highest grossing at the time of the publication (this number will likely change after "The Dark Knight" leaves theatres and hits DVD) was the 1989 Keaton / Nicholson film. Also of note, the campy 1960's Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward is indeed included in these numbers as part of the "franchise."

10. Jurassic Park. Never seem them. Not a one. Never cared to. But this trilogy about dino attacks at a theme park and what not remains one of the top grossing franchises of all time, though I can't expect a film that has fallen off so much to remain in the top 10 past the turn of the decade. Sorry, Jeff Goldblum!

So, which of the highest grossing film series of all time is the best? Does one surprise you? Does one not belong? Which are moving up and which are moving out? Are there future series you expect to see on the list some day? If the list were 15 series long, which other 5 would make it?

 

[HBK-aholic]

The Harry Potter films are by far the most overrated films in a long time. I think as such a huge fan of the books, I can't stand the films which are really, completely different and misses huge parts out. The only reason the films make as much is due to the books. As I said, I hate these films, but I'll still go and see every one of them due to loving the books. If they were simply a film I dooubt they'd ever make as much.

I hate Lord of the rings. I attempted reading the book and I thought it was awful. I watched half of the first film and just couldn't get into it. From my view I'm nsurprised it's there, but also everyone in the world orgasms over the film so I can see it being there.

I'm surprised Indiana Jones isn't higher up, as it's a film set I love. Granted, I haven't seen the most recent one, but I'm also not sure I want to, due to reviews not being very complimentary.

Jurassic Park is one of my favourite series'. I was watching it a few weeks ago and really love it. I'm surprised it made the list though, as for some reason I know a lot of people who have mever seen it. It does deserve to be there in my opinion though.

 

[Dysturbed]

Inflation changes a lot cause with it, a lot of movies from the past would have higher grosses than the huge money makers now, assuming that people still went to see them the same amount of time. So based on inflation I'm not surprised that some big hits are lower on the list than others.

Phantom Menace making the most of the prequels doesn't shock me because it was the first in a long time. One could argue that Sith should have conceivably made the most being the last but a lot of people didn't care for Phantom and Clones as much as the originals and may have held off seeing at Sithall till video or held off on the multiple viewings.


In addition to how the list stands now there are two more Spiderman movies to be made (at least) according to reports and there could be even more), at least two more Shreks, two Hobbit movies, The Clone Wars comes out in a few weeks which will add at least a little, Quantum Of Solice comes out, etc. so the total grosses will go up though the list's order should remain fairly similar.

When you think about it - being #2 on this list isn't too impressive for Bond and co. Sure, it denotes longevity, but at the same time, there are film franchises on this list with only 3-5 films that are within striking distance of Bond's 21

I disagree that it's not too impressive as I'm a tiny bit surprised that it's not even lower despite the number of films. If inflation were taken into account (and you addressed how current movies make more as well) it wouldn't in any way change how much was factually made by current movies but would of course alter the list. With that in mind I do agree that franchises with less movies being higher than some with more is impressive but not too much since it's cause it's based off of different factors and standards.

A lot of the Bond movies came out at times when it wasn't the norm to have several theaters per movie for most of them, meaning less shows per day, meaning less money being made. Who the films are geared towards play a large role in the movies not making enough to be number one. You said it yourself with the Shrek Series (with a fourth coming out in a couple of years to add even more to the grosses) "it's no shock that these films - which attract both kids and adults alike - has made so much coin". That statement doesn't apply to the Bond Films to the same degree as you know.

When I was younger a nighttime movie was only six dollars compared to over ten in some states at this point in time. Go back to the early days of Bond movies and it's a lot less. Those factors are huge with overall grosses.

So tickets costing less, less theaters per movie, and less people being the core audience all factor in as do some other things most likely.

I can't expect a film that has fallen off so much to remain in the top 10 past the turn of the decade

The X-Men franchise will probably surpass it with Wolverine and the Magneto movie coming out before the decade ends. At the same time a fourth Jurassic Park will be out by then too so it may last a little longer than you anticipate.

Jurassic Park is one of my favourite series'. I was watching it a few weeks ago and really love it. I'm surprised it made the list though, as for some reason I know a lot of people who have mever seen it.

Jurassic park 1 was the highest grossing film of all time when it first came out which is part of why the trilogy (as it stands for now) is on the list. Rereleases of Star Wars and ET helped gain them their spots back and movies like Titanic and a lot of current ones make more but at the time the first was huge.

Anyway, whether or not those people have seen them doesn't affect how much they made in theaters as the portion of those people that are currently teenagers may not have even been old enough to see them in the theaters, which is where the grosses come from where the list is concerned. So even if you did know a lot of people who saw them it wouldn't affect the gross unless they saw them when in theaters.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

1. Harry Potter. Sick to think that J.K. Rowling's masterpeice is only 71% of the way through the septolgy and has already become the highest grossing film franchise in history. It's also sick to think that only 5 films in a franchise could produce more cash than the rest of the films on this list.

When books are that huge you have to expect the films to rake in a lot as well. And Potter is still going strong. Even though there have been a slew of kids books that have been made into a films. None come close in terms of popularity. Most don't even come close in quality. The first two Harry Potter films are poor, and they look terribly dated noe. But with each instalment they're getting better and better. The finla one should eb a classic.

2. James Bond. This certainly makes sense. The Bond series has been around since 1962, and has created 21 films. When you think about it - being #2 on this list isn't too impressive for Bond and co. Sure, it denotes longevity, but at the same time, there are film franchises on this list with only 3-5 films that are within striking distance of Bond's 21.

Alos based off a series of books. Which will always attract some people that wouldn't usually go to the cinema. With 21 films you'd expect them to be higher. Fact: Half the world has seen a bond film.

3. Star Wars. 6 films, and LOADS of loot. The original trilogy was a record breaker in the 70's, and the prequels did VERY well for themselves in the 90's and 00's. The shock to me is that the film raking in the MOST cash was also the worst - Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

I don't get Star Wars. Nothing more than entertaining popcorn films to me. But I'm in the minority. People go crazy for them. But for the biggest and most popular films ever I'd expect a top 2 place. But I guess that's waht happens when the original came out 30 years ago.

4. The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson, the short wearing uber-dork himself, created three films and made just a shade under three billion dollars in total revenue. WOW. I didn't know there were that many virgins out there. Notwithstanding, the LOTR franchise boasts the highest per-film revenue of all the franchises on this list - only 3 films and a hair under $1 billion each.

I'm surprised that these were as popular as thye were. I understimated the popularity of the books.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean. Proof that great marketing can carry a mediocre action series a LONG, LONG WAY! The film that launched Orlando Bloom into obnoxious teeny bopper super stardom and reminded us that Johnny Depp can play anything not titled "Willie Wonka" effectively, Pirates spawned so many amusement park thrill rides and merchandise, it's no shock they made this list.

The first was an entertaining, kid friendly film. People went to see the other hoping that they'd get something just as good and exciting. They pretty much got the same film twice.

6. Spider-Man. I admit - I have never seen a one of these films, but this is another impressive case of a superhero action trilogy making this list. Spider-man reached new heights with the third installment of the trilogy, grossing $890 million. We may yet see this franchise go higher on the list if they are not done.

Only high on the list because of the current superhero fad that film studios are currently in to.

7. Indiana Jones. This one leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It goes so far as to prove that all the money is in films NOW rather than back when effort had to be put into them. Dr. Jones has made some GREAT money, but the highest grossing of the 4-film series was the recent "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" installment, which, from what I hear, can't hold a Shankara Stone to Raiders or Crusade.

Would this have made the list were it not for the recent one? Like most films each film wasn't as good as the previous. But the first three are still great.

8. Shrek. Cool! This Dreamworks debut gave Disney some SERIOUS competition, and sits here as the highest grossing animated film series in history, despite being - you guessed it - a trilogy. With the all-star voice cast (including a donkey character OWNED by Eddie Murphy) it's no shock that these films - which attract both kids and adults alike - has made so much coin.

What's sad is that these films are so full of pop culture references that in a few years time they won't entertain anybody. The second is really good.

9. Batman. Of course the Caped Crusader and all of his many films would show up here. Just a notch under $2 billion grossed, and the highest grossing at the time of the publication (this number will likely change after "The Dark Knight" leaves theatres and hits DVD) was the 1989 Keaton / Nicholson film. Also of note, the campy 1960's Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward is indeed included in these numbers as part of the "franchise."

Begins underperformed at the box office from what I hear. It didn't do bad numbers, just not what they expected. I put the high placing to the 1989 version. If Jack Nicholson got 60 million and that was a percentage of the gross then you can guess how much it must have made.

10. Jurassic Park. Never seem them. Not a one. Never cared to. But this trilogy about dino attacks at a theme park and what not remains one of the top grossing franchises of all time, though I can't expect a film that has fallen off so much to remain in the top 10 past the turn of the decade. Sorry, Jeff Goldblum!

Again based off a book. I'm seeing a pattern here. If you weren't around then you have no idea how huge the first one was at the time. Massive hit. The second was too, although that is nowhere near the quality of the first. The third is fine, but it possibly has the most anticlimatic ending of all time.

 

[Shocky]

Hey Irish, where did you get your info from? I'm getting mine from AOL, but it has different numbers and listings then what your list has.

This is the list I've found..

1. James Bond (4.5 Billion/23 Films) This doesn't surprise me. 23 Films, next to Godzilla, is the most films in a series. Bond is going to go on forever too, so I honestly doubt that this number is going to go down any time soon. I've seen all of these films. The Roger Moore error is a black eye on this franchise, but other then that, most of the films are exceptional, and a worthy top franchise no doubt.

2. Star Wars (4.4Billion/6 Films). That number is without the re-issues and Imax, so if you factor those in, no doubt this is the largest film franchise out there. Take that number and divide it by six, that's a damn impressive per film average. Plus those numbers I believe are taken without inflation, so it becomes astronomical at this point. Star Wars will probably take the mantle of number 1 for a few brief months as the Clone Wars hits, but will soon return to Bond with Quantam of Solace coming out. I for one love the Star Wars movies, 1-6. People love to shit on Phantom Menace, I just think it's too smart for most because they actually try to layout the backstory, politics included.

3. Harry Potter (4.1 Billion/5 Films) I have no doubt that this movie series is going to end up at number one before too long. 5 Films down, one more coming out this year, and Deathly Hallows being split into two movies has cash cow written all over it. The first two movies are atrocious, but I have been enjoying this series ever since they dumped the over rated hack known as Christopher Columbus. The films gradually keep getting darker and darker. Coming from someone that hasn't read the books, I feel these movies are fine.

4. Lord of the Rings (2.9 Billion/3 Films) Again, another film franchise that is going to explode up this list some more in the near future. With the Hobbit being split into two films, you can add at least another billion or so onto this. With Del Torro taking the helm of direction from Peter Jackson, it will be interesting to see how the fans react with his trademark style of movie making. I felt that the Trilogy itself is rather long and boring, with too much emphasis on slow motion. The elfs are just god awful boring. I do enjoy these movies, but they aren't the masterpiece of films that Ringers claim they are.

5. Pirates of the Caribbean (2.7 Billion/3 Films) I simply don't understand the appeal of these movies. It's a fucking theme park ride, and they made it into three movies??? How in the hell did this happen. Johnny Depp is awesome, don't get me wrong, but Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightely are two of the most god awful actors I have ever watched. The plot of the sequels was just plain stupid. I hate these films is pretty much how I sum it up.

6. Spiderman (2.5 Billion/3 Films) Over Rated, simply stated. The first film was enjoyable. It helped to modernize the origin story of Spiderman, and Willen DaFoe is pretty convincing as the Green Goblin. That being said, the sequels were terrible. So pretty much this trilogy is summed up as Spiderman is happy, Spiderman Cries and quits, Spiderman becomes and Emo, Spiderman saves the day, pretty much it. The 2nd movie was considered one of the great comic book movies, How? Doc Ock was atrociously boring in that movie. The third movie showed how out of touch Sam Raimi is with his Audience. Seriously, Sandman, 1968 called they want their character back. That movie should have been all Venom, instead just a clusterfuck of crap.

7. Shrek (2.1 Billion/3 Films) Huh??? Wow, this just shows how poor peoples taste in movies truly is. One film, the second, was remotely funny. The main characters are so bad in these movies. The only thing remotely good about any of these movies are the band of misfit characters, particularly the Ginger Bread Man.

8. Jurassic Park (1.9 Billion/3 Films) To deny the first film and it's impact on the film industry is just plain ridiculous. How good was the first Jurassic Park? Never before had a movie about dinosaurs been done so well. And unbelievable movie to say the least, and to this day, easily one of my favorites. Then the Lost World, can you say disheartening? I was so pumped to see this movie, and just left the theater with this sick feeling of emptiness, what the hell happened. To this day, I've watch the Lost World only twice, and refuse to see it again. Then the inevitable, Jurassic Park III. To say how bad this movie was i'll sum it up like this, JPIII made the Lost World look like Jurassic Park. Despite two terrible sequels, I love this franchise based purely on it's strength of the first installment.

9. The Matrix (1.6 Billion/ 3 Films) Very similar to how I break down Jurassic Park. The first movie in 1999 was such a fucking mind bender. Woah, Keanu got that line right. Everything about that movie was perfect, and I don't throw that around much in regards to films. Amazing, anything positive I can say about the first one, I will. But then the sequels. Not only were they bad, but a new level of bad. For the life of me I wish I could go back to 2000 or so, whenever the sequels were green lit, and just tell the Wachowski's don't even bother. It ruins the appeal of the first one.

10. Batman (1.6 Billion and counting/6 Films) Well this Franchise is set to go up a few spots. What can I say about Batman, pretty much my favorite character ever. You're talking to a guy that owns everything possible with Batman. The first Batman movie is probably the definitive movie of my childhood. Batman Returns was just as amazing to me as the first bat man movie.

Then my childhood was raped, by a man named Joel Shumacher. I believe, that there is a special place in hell reserved for Joel Shumacher. He took everything good that Burton did with the first two films, and turned it 180 degrees and made it a remake of the campy 60's crap. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, what the hell can I say that countless webpages spewing hatred have not said before me.

Jake mentioned the dissapointment of Batman Begins and it's returns. As an avid Bat fan, i was unaware that movie was even coming out until 6 months before its release. That's how much I turned myself off to those movies after that bastard destroyed them. Warner is lucky it made the money it did, but that was thanks in large part to Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight, what else can I say about that movie. Possibly, my movie of the decade, and being out only 10 days, probably one of my top ten, if not five movies I've ever seen.

11. Mission: Impossible (1.4 Billion/3 Films) Mission: Impossible, correct words. It was Impossible to watch any of these movies without being either bored, or so disinterested. Possibly the worst trilogy of films I have ever watched, and I don't think there is a close second. So terrible.

12. Indiana Jones (1.2 Billion/3 Films) This number does not include Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or the re-issues, which should launch this franchise up another billion dollars or so. If you read around this website, you'll find my unhealthy obsession with this character. I have a degree in Archaeology, and named my dog Indiana.

13. X-Men (1.2 Billion/3 Films) Hmmm, where do I begin. I consider myself to be an X-pert, terrible, just terrible pun. I know my X-History like no other, and to say I was ugh after the first movie was released is an understatement. I was so excited they were making these films. As an X-Fan, this movie had been in the works for nearly a decade, and it seemed like it would never be done. The first movie came out, and was incredibly mediocre. It was enough to appeal to the appetite, but not enough to fill you up. X2 hit and boy oh boy, my opinion, the 2nd best comic book movie ever made. Sure William Striker is about as unknown of a character to the brightest of X-Fans, but he worked. With Jean Grey's death, we were assured to get a great movie for the finale? Right, Right, you know it. Oh boy, X3, what a disaster. I'm not going to get started, see my rant in the Wolverine thread for my feelings on that movie.

14. Star Trek (1.1 Billion/10 Films) Scoreboard Trekkies, you're lagging behind Star Wars big time. In my honest opinion, outside of The Next Generation cast, I can care a less about Star Trek. First Contact would be the only good/great film of this series, the rest are incredibly average at best. I'm not a Trekkie and don't pretend to be.

15. Die Hard (1 Billion/4 Films) Yippie Ky Aye Mother Fuckers. John McClane is a bad ass mother fucker. He is the stereotypical action star. He is the original mold. All of these movies are good mindless fun. If you don't enjoy Die Hard, you're not going to enjoy any action movies, plain and simple.

 

[Bentallica]

The Batman series is definetely sure to go up a few notches soon. TDK made $300 million in 10 days, and is currently set to possibly uproot Titantic as the highest grossing film of all time. Now THAT would be a milestone.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I think in a couple of weeks we'll be seeing a new name possibly in the top 10. I don't know how much this series has currently taken. But I'm sure it's a heel of a lot. Three films in, a sequel on the way in a couple of weeks, and a DTV in a couple of months time. That would be The Mummy franchise. I imagine that The Scorpion King would be included. It's a prequel to the originals so it should be.

The new one also involves Jet Li, he's a money man throughout the world.

I'd imagine Rush Hour would get a high placing as well. But only top 20. But not bad considering it's not based off anything, and Chris Tucker is no Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And do the Alien & Predator films now count together? I don't know.