20 Biggest Movie Franchises of All Time (Worldwide Box Office Gross)
From Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to The Walt Disney Company, Hollywood studios are constantly trying to capture audiences' attention with the next big franchise. To have one big hit movie in Hollywood is an accomplishment, but it takes much more to become a global franchise that becomes recognizable to fans all over the world. In this streaming guide, we breakdown the 20 most successful movie franchises of all time, according to their total box office gross (worldwide). We'll also show you where to watch them all on streaming services in the United States. This includes all the latest offers for franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel and Mission Impossible on services such as Netflix, Max, Apple TV+ and many more.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $3.2 billion
Total number of movies: 5 (and 1 upcoming)
In 20th place, we have Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games franchise. Jennifer Lawrence became a household name following the release of 2012's dystopian thriller The Hunger Games, which was based on Suzanne Collins' action-packed young adult novel of the same name. The original four entries – The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – and its 2023 prequel series, The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, have collectively grossed over $3.2 billion at the worldwide box office.
The franchise is set to continue with another prequel movie, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. If you want to watch Katniss Everdeen taking on the corrupt elite of Panem, check out our guide to The Hunger Games franchise in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $3.3 billion
Total number of movies: 5
Twilight stands out among this list because it is the only franchise that isn't strictly an action, sci-fi or animated movie. Instead, it is the most successful young adult franchise of all time, even if The Hunger Games might soon overtake its box office gross with the release of Rise on the Reaping. The Twilight franchise became a global sensation throughout the 2000s, with fans choosing whether they were 'Team Edward' or 'Team Jacob'. It includes Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.
With Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in the lead roles, the most successful Twilight movie at the box office was Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which concluded the franchise and made $829 million worldwide. If you're bloodthirsty for romance, drama and supernatural love triangles, check out our guide to the Twilight saga in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $4 billion
Total number of movies: 4 (and 1 upcoming) and 2 Puss-in-Boots spin-offs
Shrek became a global phenomenon upon its release in 2001 after playing in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Grossing $491 million worldwide, the success of the fairytale-inspired animated comedy immediately made Shrek, Donkey and Fiona household names – and gave fans an endless supply of jokes to reference and transform into memes for the next two decades. The success of Shrek in theaters led DreamWorks to continue the franchise with Shrek 2, which also made an impressive $935 million worldwide. The franchise also includes Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After and two spin-offs, Puss-in-Boots and Puss-in-Boots: The Last Wish.
The Shrek franchise could climb even higher up the list in 2026 due to the upcoming release of Shrek 5. If you want to rewatch one of the best animated franchises of all time, check out our guide to how to watch the Shrek franchise in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $4.1 billion
Total number of movies: 8
The Mission: Impossible franchise follows the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. Known for one of Tom Cruise's most iconic rules, the franchise has continuously been successful at the box office ever since Brian de Palma's Mission: Impossible premiered in 1996. In terms of box office success, Mission: Impossible Fallout breathed new life into the franchise with the biggest global box office numbers of any M:I movie to date ($786 million). If you want to relive one of Hollywood's most thrilling action franchises, here's how to watch the Mission Impossible franchise in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $4.5 billion
Total number of movies: 5 (and 1 in development)
Originally a theme park ride, the Pirates of the Caribbean became an instant successful with the release of The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2005. Known for its swashbuckling adventures and Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, the Pirates franchise originally centered on Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan. Disney also released the spin-off, On Stranger Tides, which grossed $240 million worldwide. If you want to return to the Caribbean to enjoy Jack, Will and Elizabeth's adventures, check out where to watch all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $4.6 billion
Total number of movies: 4 (and 2 Minions spin-offs)
Gru and his lovable Minions have been making audiences laugh ever since the release of Despicable Me in 2010. Since then, the slapstick assistants have appeared in their own movie and fans have even been treated to a prequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru. You can find out where to watch Gru and his team of lovable evildoers with our complete guide to streaming all the Minions movies here.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $5.24 billion
Total number of movies: 3 (and 2 in development)
James Cameron's Avatar is still the most successful movie of all time, with $2.9 billion in global box office sales. The immense success of the film resulted in long-term plans for a movie franchise, including at least four sequels. Despite this, fans had to wait over a decade for the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, which told the next chapter in Jake Sully and Neytiri's adventures on Pandora. The movie grossed $2.3 billion worldwide, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Avatar someday become the most successful movie franchise ever. You can find out where to watch the Avatar movies in order with this streaming guide.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $5.29 billion
Total number of movies: 6 (and a Bumblebee spin-off)
Although the Transformers movies aren't always well-received by critics, the Autobots are still one of the most popular movie franchises ever when it comes to ticket sales. Spearheaded by director Michael Bay, the franchise brought the popular toy brand to the big screen in live action for the first time in 2007 with Transformers. After several movies focusing on the adventures of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the franchise branched out with new central characters such as Cade Yaeger (Mark Wahlberg) in Transformers: The Last Knight and Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) in Bumblebee.
If you want to watch action-packed, explosive action set during an interplanetary war between the Autobots and Deceptacons, check out where to watch every Transformers movie in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $5.8 billion
Total number of movies: 6 (and 2 in development)
Often described as the greatest fantasy franchise of all time, Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings is still among the most popular movie sagas ever. In addition to the iconic trilogy, Jackson also directed a three-part adaptation of The Hobbit. Although the Hobbit trilogy was not a critical success, the three movies combined made more than $1 billion at the box office. In addition to making $377 million in theaters, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also picked up an astonishing 11 Academy Awards. Don't miss out on one of the best (if not the best) fantasy franchises of all time with JustWatch's guide to The Lord of the Rings movies in order.
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $6.03 billion
Total number of movies: 7
Based on Michael Crichton's novel of the same name, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park instantly became one of the most successful box office blockbusters ever upon release with $357 million. This marked the beginning of an ongoing franchise that includes the Jurassic Park trilogy and the Jurassic World trilogy. After Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Spielberg would hand over directorial duties to Joe Johnston for Jurassic Park III. Years later, director Colin Trevorrow would make over $652 million at the box office with Jurassic World.
Whether you're interested in Jurassic Park or the more recent Jurassic World movies, you can check out where to watch all the Jurassic Park movies in order with JustWatch.
