With their ability to explore a larger story and even cover only loosely related tales within the one narrative universe, film franchises offer a uniquely appealing viewing experience for moviegoers to not only enjoy, but invest in over time. The notion of an expanded series of films has exploded into a mainstream sensation throughout the 21st century, with everything from epic action superhero sagas to slasher horror franchises, and even animated family film series making inroads at the box office and influencing pop culture while earning acclaim. However, the notion of such cinematic feats spans back far further than the turn of the century.
For what it’s worth, given there already is a list of cinema’s greatest trilogies published, there will be a requirement for the franchises to have at least four films, meaning such illustrious titles as The Godfatherand Back to the Futurehaven’t been considered. What remains still includes some of the greatest and most successful brands the medium has ever seen, from defining spectacles of the modern movie-going experience, to legendary cinematic sagas that have been around for decades.
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The ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise
11 Movies
It may be difficult to picture now, but the Fast & Furiousfranchise began with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious,which was made on a budget of $38 million. While that is no small sum of money, it is laughably meek in comparison to the $378.8 million financial commitment to 2023’s Fast X. The steps the franchise took to get to such monumental a figure present a spellbinding cinematic franchise that is defined by its audacious appetite for action narrative and a suitably glorious penchant for ridiculousness.
Despite starting out as a story about street racing and crime—and, of course, family—the Fast & Furious franchise has developed into one of the most over-the-top blockbuster spectacles to have ever ensnared the attention of moviegoers. The franchise’s 11 films to date are unadulterated entertainment value, a smorgasbord of Hollywood A-listers and immense action sequences that have routinely served as the beautiful embodiment of dumb fun. While it has amassed its fair share of critics, it continues to thrive as one of the mightiest film franchises of all time, even surpassing a $7 billion total gross with the 2023 release of Fast X.
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The ‘Jurassic Park’ Franchise
Seven Movies
Undeniably peaking with a mesmerizing masterpiece of wondrous sci-fi adventure—one that completely revolutionized technical possibilities in filmmaking—the Jurassic Parkfranchise at large is one defined by the legacy of its first entry. However, the franchise at large has long been one of the most significant and commercially successful titles in modern cinema, a feat defined by the soaring box office success of the Jurassic World sequel series.
The series at large revolves around the idea of scientific advancements making the cloning of dinosaur DNA possible and, of course, the technology is spun into a resource for monetary gain. While Jurassic Park excels with its nuance, charm, and its sheer entertainment might, the franchise as a whole is one of the most defining of Hollywood in recent decades.
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The ‘John Wick’ Franchise
Four Movies
Arguably the single biggest title in action cinema of the 21st century thus far, John Wickhas captivated an audience of millions as a perfect combination of evocative narrative beats, beautifully constructed action sequences, and an alluring sense of style and glamour. While it enthralled the masses from the outset with its simple tale of revenge, the series has seen the ongoing story evolve to be a rollicking, globe-trotting, star-studded extravaganza of glorious excess and unfiltered action ambition.
With each movie surpassing the last in terms of sheer scope, the John Wick franchise has kept audiences coming back for more with its relentless appetite for breathtaking fight scenes and its sharpening sense of sophistication. Thriving off the back of Keanu Reeves’ perfectly methodical lead performance, the film series is one of the most beloved this century, if not of all time.
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The ‘Shrek’ Franchise
Four Movies
With a keen eye for subversion, a streak for punky attitude, plenty of uproarious comedy moments, and a wonderful knack for skewering fairy tale norms, Shrek is one of the defining animated movies of this century. Following the adventures of the titular swamp-dwelling ogre and his wife, as well as their many fairy-tale friends, the franchise soars as a fun-loving family fantasy loaded with plenty of memorable characters.
While its first film is a true icon of early 2000s cinema, Shrek 2 is a hysterical sequel that builds on its predecessor with an elevated appetite for laughs and an influx of new characters. While the next two installments may not have been quite as good, they still exemplified the franchise’s parody appeal with aplomb. With Shrek 5 set to premiere in 2027, some 26 years after the release of the first film, it is impossible to deny that Shrek stands as one of the most influential and defining film series of this century.
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‘The Matrix’ Franchise
Four Movies
Released in 1999, The Matrix stands as a picture of immense social impact, an action sci-fi extravaganza that broke new ground with its innovative story while advancing filmmaking techniques to deliver a picture rife with both substance and style. It presents Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) awakening, his realization of humanity’s bleak reality and the simulation we inhabit in our daily lives, with piercing efficiency and remarkable intrigue, conjuring a movie that remains iconic and impactful 26 years on from its release.
With two uninspiring immediate sequels and 2021’s The Matrix: Resurrections flopping at the box office while dividing audiences and critics alike, it would certainly be easy to regard the franchise as a hollow attempt to cash in on the original film’s brilliance. However, the success of the anime spin-off The Animatrix, as well as the rewarding, albeit painfully dated, efforts of some of the early video game adaptations, marks The Matrix as a magnificent multimedia franchise that is deserving of every bit of praise it gets for its narrative boldness and pioneering technical feats.
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The ‘Lethal Weapon’ Franchise
Four Movies
Part odd-couple buddy cop fun, part action blockbuster extravaganza, the Lethal Weapon movies are a hallmark of awesome ’80s fun that coast on the chemistry of their lead duo. Starring Mel Gibson as the erratic and reckless Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as straight-laced veteran Roger Murtagh, the franchise follows the mis-matched pair of LAPD detectives as they combat some of the most dangerous criminals in the city.
The first two films particularly stand as two of the most bombastically, manically fun movies of their era and, while the movies do diminish as the series goes on, it is worth noting that even Lethal Weapon 4 maintains that immersive sense of energetic effervescence. The franchise’s formula is easy to spot, but it excels as a smart and snappy dose of crowd-pleasing thrills that dabbles in character development, comedy, and camaraderie while maintaining its focus on entertainment value.
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‘The Hunger Games’ Franchise
Five Movies
Through a litany of original titles and novel adaptations, young adult fiction became a defining cinematic trend of the 2010s. At the forefront of this was The Hunger Games, a dystopian fantasy based on Suzanne Collins’s book series that transpires in a bleak, futuristic world where people live in twelve districts under the command of the Capitol, with the Hunger Games being an annual event in which two children from each district must compete in a fight-to-the-death style tournament. The story follows District 12’s Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in her participation in the games and her ensuing efforts to ignite rebellion.
Combining strong and relatable characters with a piercing story of oppression and resistance, immaculate and involving world-building, and pointed dramatic instincts, The Hunger Games thrives throughout its initial four-film story as an absorbing tale of desperation and retribution. With 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes serving as an enticing prequel, the franchise presents an enticing and thoroughly explored story world that stands as one of the most impressive film series in modern times, and one of the most successful in cinematic history.
23
The ‘Halloween’ Franchise
13 Movies
A pioneering title in the context of slasher horror, Halloween is famous for John Carpenter’s astute direction, creating an atmosphere of profound suspense and shocking brutality that manages to be both wickedly fun and viscerally intense. This tone is established in the first film, introducing Michael Myers as an imposing, intimidating, and violently driven psychopath who seeks only to satisfy his insatiable appetite for bloodshed.
While some of the ensuing Halloween movies are frankly dull, uninspired, and ridiculous, the franchise still features several gems throughout its 13-film run, such as 1998’s bitterly intense Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and the deliriously deranged Halloween III: Season of the Witch. With some of the more recent releases renewing interest in the franchise as well with their legacy sequel approach, the Halloween series has proven to be as enduring as it is influential, occupying an air of horror movie royalty and standing as one of cinema’s most iconic franchises to boot.
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The ‘Rocky’ Franchise
Nine Movies
The Oscar-winning 1976 masterpiece Rockyis widely regarded as being the ultimate sports movie, a powerful underdog story about a brawling cult figure who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when the heavyweight world champion of the world challenges him to a boxing match. The Rocky franchise focuses on how Rocky Balboa’s (Sylvester Stallone) career evolves as he is met with riches and glory, with installments ranging from the surprisingly rousing Rocky Balboa to the utterly deplorable Rocky V.
The franchise did receive a major boost, however, in the form of the Creedspin-off and continuation, in which Rocky mentors Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), an aspiring boxer who is the son of his former rival and friend, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). While it has its ups and downs, the Rocky franchise as a whole is a triumphant testament to the evocative and powerful allure of sporting drama that remains one of the most iconic film series of all time.
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‘The Terminator’ Franchise
Six Movies
Masterminded by James Cameron before it slumped into a sequence of underwhelming films of varying quality, The Terminatorfranchise is one that must be defined by its exhilarating highs as well as its lackluster lows. At its best, the franchise is nothing short of the perfect marriage of action and sci-fi, with 1984’s The Terminator enduring as a gritty and contained thriller while Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis simply a stunning masterpiece of blockbuster excess and action thrills.
The enduring magnificence has gone a long way to defining the franchise, even as modern returns to the story world have sometimes yielded uninspiring results. Complemented not only by its mastery of tone and genre, but also with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic performance and its unforgettable soundtrack, The Terminator franchise is a treasured gem of both sci-fi and action cinema that simply has to be regarded among the finest film series.
