Top 10 Greatest Movie Franchises

From heart-pounding chases to space-faring adventures, from witty heroes to chilling villains, the silver screen has gifted us with unforgettable worlds and characters. Some movie series manage to stand the test of time, growing bigger and better with each installment, leaving a lasting impact on pop culture that feels like it will never fade.

What makes a movie franchise truly great? Is it the iconic characters we root for? The heart-stopping storylines? Maybe it's the sheer audacity of the special effects, or the brilliant way it expands its own universe.
The Top Ten
1 Star Wars

Everyone's heard of Star Wars, whether they love it or not. It's iconic. The original trilogy is probably the most famous trilogy in the history of movies. Episode IV was the best introduction to the franchise and its characters we could have gotten. Episode V is one of the best sequels for any movie. Episode VI did an amazing job of bringing the original trilogy to a satisfying end.

Then the Prequels (Episodes I, II, and III) came along, showing us the events that took place before the originals. Lots of people hated these movies (lots still do), but there are also lots of people (like me) who love them. Then there's the Sequel trilogy, which I don't think is that good (had some really cool moments, but they weren't really good, at least in my opinion).

But overall, I don't think there's a franchise that will ever top Star Wars.

2 The Lord of the Rings

One of the few franchises where the movies are just as good as the books. The Harry Potter movies left out so many important plot points (partially because some people thought it would be a good idea to make movies before all the books were out), has some painful special effects in the earlier movies, and started the annoying trend of splitting the last book into two movies. Back to The Lord of the Rings, the books are just brilliant and so full of detail, and the movies manage to translate this pretty well.

3 Marvel Cinematic Universe

As a child, I loved superhero movies. And to see it still going is a great thing. And the post-credit scenes. To new Marvel fans, there are 2 post-credit scenes.

There is a film for everyone in this franchise.

If you like them more comedy-oriented, it has: The Iron Man Trilogy, the two Ant-Man movies, Spider-Man Homecoming, and Thor Ragnarok.

If you like them more complex, there is The Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Civil War.

If you enjoy space movies, there is The Guardians of the Galaxy.

It's a franchise with a movie for every specific taste.

4 Harry Potter

I know there's a lot of stuff missing from the books, but the movies are still great. Best movie series in my opinion. I could watch these movies over and over again, and I do.

Harry Potter was much more influential than Lord of the Rings. Sure, LOTR is an oldie but a goodie, but just because it's older doesn't mean it's better. And oh please! Star Wars?! I know it's influential and everything, but it's just a phase. People tend to get over it quickly. And as if talking success in numbers too, Harry Potter has made the most money out of these three franchises.

5 Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones is a really good franchise. I love Indiana Jones. All the movies are good: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Last Crusade, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the best one out of all of them is The Temple of Doom. It's my favorite. I wish this one was #1 on this list, sadly it's not. I love Indiana Jones. I'm sad this franchise got canceled in 2008, but there's still a movie coming out in 2019. I'm excited for that one!

Amazing! All the movies (excluding the last one) were great, in my opinion.

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

6 Batman
7 James Bond
8 Pirates of the Caribbean

Say what you want about the pirate setting, it's subjective after all. But it's shocking how masterfully made the first 3 movies are. The cast, the narrative, the direction, the soundtrack, the action sequences, the character development, the plot, the humor, the visual effects, and audio design, no need to go on. Each movie is a masterpiece, this franchise has become iconic, producing a ton of money and fans, yet it's still underrated.
~Hoist the colors

Pirates 1: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates 2: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates 3: At World's End, Pirates 4: On Stranger Tides.

9 Jurassic Park

This is definitely my favorite! I actually love all five movies from this franchise!

This is one of my favorites. Maybe it is my favorite!

10 Back to the Future

This is my personal favorite movie trilogy. I really liked the idea of time traveling, and the characters are really likable. The first movie is one of my all-time favorites.

This franchise is so cool! I mean, who doesn't love time travel? Plus, this franchise feels kinda like Rick and Morty (which is a really good show).

Argh, I have to choose between Back to the Future and Star Wars. Um... I'll take BTTF by a fraction.

The Contenders
11 Toy Story

I like Toy Story 1 and 3. I really didn't like Toy Story 2, and I haven't seen the fourth one yet.

More than deserves to be in the top ten. All the movies are fantastic and creative.

I flipping love Toy Story, but if someone hates it, I can understand.

12 The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight and Batman Begins were great movies.

13 The Godfather

Ah, true art! Star Wars, like Indiana Jones, is nothing more than an entertainment vehicle.

Godfather 1 and 2 are the two best movies of all time, besides The Shawshank Redemption.

14 Terminator

I liked the first movie and loved the second movie of the Terminator franchise. The first movie was good because I liked the thrilling action and chase scenes, and the second movie is probably my favorite movie of all time because of the story, the epic action scenes, the characters, and the amount of emotion it had.

I think Genisys was the best. Going back into the original 1984 movie was awesome.

Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Terminator Salvation

15 Alien

Can we only count the first half of the franchise?

16 Spider-Man

My absolute favorite movies. I've watched them already over 20 times.

17 Despicable Me
18 X-Men
19 Mission: Impossible

One of the greatest action movie franchises and one to have a long run with the same lead for 20 years, with better movies than the last.

There is nice action going on here.

20 Transformers

Underrated. I love them. I don't need advanced plots in a movie that's meant for entertaining through visuals.

21 Rocky

Along with The Godfather! Even though not all the Rocky movies are equally good, just like The Godfather Part III is not so good either. If I had to choose a franchise considering all the movies and say that I love them almost equally, I'd go with Back to the Future.

22 The Hunger Games

The movies were fine, but the books were better.

23 Twilight
24 Lethal Weapon

I love this franchise. It's so funny and has plenty of action. It's pretty underrated, in my opinion.

25 Saw

I can't believe it's not in the top ten! Saw is a great movie franchise. Lots of blood and always a twist ending. I'm a huge Saw fan. I can't wait for Saw: Legacy to come out!

This is one of the most amazing and shocking movie series ever. It is my all-time favorite series!

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