The 25 Most Profitable Franchises of All Time

While reviewing movie box office numbers might not be as important to us, the moviegoers, these numbers can affect the executives who produce the films. They can also help to determine what performed well, giving the studio an opportunity to expand on the original film, and what needs to remain a one-time project. 

Variety recently released an article summarizing the franchises expanding this summer that we can expect to see in theaters including the Transformers and Smurfs franchises. This caused us to investigate which movie franchises have been the most profitable in history. As mentioned, these numbers largely affect movie executives, but it can also be fun to see if your favorite franchise made the list. 

Keep in mind that success and profitability are not the same thing. While one film may be deemed successful, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it turned a profit. Several factors go into determining box office success. These include the studio’s marketing efforts, critics reviews, production costs, ticket purchases, and what other movies might be competing for viewership at the same time. 

The list below includes various movie franchises that have been produced dating back to the 1950s. From the Indiana Jones franchise to James Bond and Scary Movie, the list below shows what can happen when a movie takes off and deserves to be expanded upon. Additionally, a few of these franchises were written and created with a franchise in mind from the beginning such as “The Hunger Games.” (For similar reading, check out these 12 movies intended as franchise starters that fell short.)

To determine the most profitable franchises ever, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on box office and production budget from film industry site The Numbers. Franchises were ranked based on the return on investment ratio of production budget to worldwide box office aggregated across all films with available data in the franchise. Box office and production budget totals were adjusted for inflation using historical ticket prices from the National Association of Theatre Owners. Only franchises with at least four films with available box office and production budget data were included.

25. Scary Movie

Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films

Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films

• Total franchise ROI: +$5.05 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.3 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $252.1 million
• Most profitable movie: Scary Movie (2000)

24. Evil Dead

Source: Courtesy of Rosebud Releasing Corporation

Source: Courtesy of Rosebud Releasing Corporation

• Total franchise ROI: +$5.10 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $269.8 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $52.9 million
• Most profitable movie: The Evil Dead (1981)

23. Jumanji

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$5.42 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $2.4 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $446.7 million
• Most profitable movie: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

22. Scream

Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films

Source: Courtesy of Dimension Films

• Total franchise ROI: +$5.54 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.4 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $252.2 million
• Most profitable movie: Scream (1996)

21. MCU’s Avengers

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$5.98 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $8.1 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $1.4 billion
• Most profitable movie: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

20. Hunger Games

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.01 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $3.3 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $552.5 million
• Most profitable movie: The Hunger Games (2012)

19. James Bond

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.10 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $18.1 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $3.0 billion
• Most profitable movie: Dr. No (1962)

18. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Source: Courtesy of Bryanston Distributing

Source: Courtesy of Bryanston Distributing

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.17 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $437.0 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $70.9 million
• Most profitable movie: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

17. Peter Pan

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.20 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $2.8 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $447.4 million
• Most profitable movie: Peter Pan (1953)

16. Shrek

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Distribution

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.34 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $5.3 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $829.1 million
• Most profitable movie: Shrek 2 (2004)

15. Step Up

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.50 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $727.9 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $111.9 million
• Most profitable movie: Step Up (2006)

14. Halloween

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.64 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.2 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $178.0 million
• Most profitable movie: Halloween (1978)

13. Harry Potter

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

• Total franchise ROI: +$6.87 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $6.6 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $966.4 million
• Most profitable movie: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

12. American Pie

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$7.16 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.5 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $211.4 million
• Most profitable movie: American Pie (1999)

11. Ice Age

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

• Total franchise ROI: +$7.51 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $4.0 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $538.0 million
• Most profitable movie: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

10. Twilight

Source: Courtesy of Summit Distribution

Source: Courtesy of Summit Distribution

• Total franchise ROI: +$7.99 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $3.9 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $491.2 million
• Most profitable movie: Twilight: New Moon (2009)

9. Star Wars

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

• Total franchise ROI: +$8.08 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $16.8 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $2.1 billion
• Most profitable movie: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

8. Jurassic Park

Source: Universal Studios Japan: Jurassic Park by Mulberry24 / BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Universal Studios Japan: Jurassic Park (BY 2.0) by Mulberry24

• Total franchise ROI: +$8.20 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $8.3 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $1.0 billion
• Most profitable movie: Jurassic Park (1993)

7. Friday the 13th

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$8.27 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $835.5 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $101.0 million
• Most profitable movie: Friday the 13th (1980)

6. Indiana Jones

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$8.62 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $4.2 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $488.4 million
• Most profitable movie: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

5. The Purge

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$10.31 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $568.1 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $55.1 million
• Most profitable movie: The Purge (2013)

4. George A. Romero’s Dead Series

Source: Courtesy of Continental Distributing

Source: Courtesy of Continental Distributing

• Total franchise ROI: +$11.31 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $583.2 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $51.6 million
• Most profitable movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

3. Saw

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

• Total franchise ROI: +$11.63 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.3 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $113.4 million
• Most profitable movie: Saw (2004)

2. Insidious

Source: Courtesy of FilmDistrict

Source: Courtesy of FilmDistrict

• Total franchise ROI: +$17.81 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $788.8 million
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $44.3 million
• Most profitable movie: Insidious (2010)

1. Paranormal Activity

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• Total franchise ROI: +$32.88 in box office per $1.00 of production budget
• Total worldwide box office, adjusted for inflation: $1.1 billion
• Total production budget, adjusted for inflation: $32.1 million
• Most profitable movie: Paranormal Activity (2007)