Some movie franchises don’t just entertain audiences; they seem to affect the entire film industry. These major box office hits changed what success looks like in Hollywood, through tactics like groundbreaking visual effects or redefining how studios market, merchandise, and expand cinematic universes. Their influence went far beyond theatre ticket sales.
In this article, we’ll explore the franchises that became financial juggernauts while leaving a permanent mark on the entertainment world. These films generated billions, raised audience expectations, and proved that a single story could become an empire.
To determine the franchise legends that changed the game and earned billions, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on box office and production budgets from the 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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)
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Courtesy of Summit Distribution .