Will the New Transformers Movie Make It One of Most Valuable Film Franchises?
June 23, 2017 by John HarringtonThe latest edition of the Transformers movie series, “Transformers: The Last Knight,’’ opened this week. If the film does as well as its predecessors, it would lift Transformers into the 15 top-grossing movie franchises of all time.
From Michael Bay’s debut Transformers blockbuster to the fifth and latest installment, films in the Transformers franchise have averaged $386.6 million in ticket sales, according to data from online movie revenue tracker Box Office Mojo. Counting the original 1986 “Transformers: The Movie” the sci-fi universe has brought in a total of $1.56 billion so far. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’’ (2009) grossed $476.5 million, adjusted for ticket price inflation, making it the biggest film of the franchise.
But the film has some work to do. “Transformers: The Last Knight,’’ topped the Wednesday box-office chart with $15.7 million. However, that’s the lowest opening day of the five films directed by Michael Bay in the franchise. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon’’ (2011) grossed $41.4 million on its Wednesday launch, and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’’ opened with $73.5 million.
Click here to see the most successful movie franchises of all time.
Based on its launch, the film is currently on track to gross $65 million over five days. In comparison, the previous title, “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” (2014) grossed $100 million in North America over just three days in June.
If it’s any consolation, an earlier Transformers film is the box-office champ for an Independence Day weekend opening. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon’’ (2011) tallied $108.9 million total adjusted gross over the holiday weekend.
If the latest Transformers film outperforms the franchise average, the series will vault into 14th place on the top franchise list, with a total adjusted gross of $1.95 billion. In this case, Transformers would leapfrog six motion picture franchises, including “Jaws,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “Rocky,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Shrek.”
Star Wars is the top film franchise, with nine movies and a total of $6.60 billion in domestic adjusted gross.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 39 movie franchises with the highest ticket price inflation-adjusted revenue. All 39 brought in $1 billion or more in ticket sales so far. We considered the highest gross revenue figures adjusted to 2017 dollars for the 186 franchises with data from Box Office Mojo. Movie counts per franchise, highest-grossing films, and individual film-revenue figures also came from Box Office Mojo. Franchises include special editions such as remastered and updated films as well as reissues.
These are the most successful movie franchises of all time.
39. Ghostbusters
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.01 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: Ghostbusters
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $601.9 Million
[in-text-ad]
38. Ice Age
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.01 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Ice Age
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $268.4 Million
24/7 Wall St.
37. Bourne
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.03 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: The Bourne Ultimatum
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $292.3 Million
36. Home Alone
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.03 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: Home Alone
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $598.8 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
35. Lethal Weapon
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.03 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Lethal Weapon 2
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $327.9 Million
34. Beverly Hills Cop
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.03 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: Beverly Hills Cop
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $593.6 Million
[in-text-ad]
33. The Godfather
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.06 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: The Godfather
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $695.2 Million
32. Despicable Me
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.06 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: Despicable Me 2
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $414.5 Million
31. Alien
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.07 Billion
> No. of films: 8
> Top grossing film: Alien
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $278.0 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
30. Avengers
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.15 Billion
> No. of films: 2
> Top grossing film: Marvel’s The Avengers
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $679.6 Million
29. Iron Man
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.17 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: Iron Man 3
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $431.5 Million
[in-text-ad]
28. Planet of the Apes
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.19 Billion
> No. of films: 8
> Top grossing film: Planet of the Apes (2001)
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $281.1 Million
24/7 Wall St.
27. The Exorcist
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.21 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: The Exorcist
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $912.4 Million
26. DC Extended Universe
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.27 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $338.2 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
25. Toy Story
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.31 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Toy Story 3
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $461.5 Million
24. Mission: Impossible
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.34 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Mission: Impossible
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $362.0 Million
[in-text-ad]
23. The Dark Knight Trilogy
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.45 Billion
> No. of films: 3
> Top grossing film: The Dark Knight
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $656.5 Million
24/7 Wall St.
22. The Hunger Games
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.55 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $451.9 Million
21. Twilight
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.55 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $344.0 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
20. Transformers
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.56 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $476.5 Million
19. Jaws
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.61 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Jaws
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $1.13 Billion
[in-text-ad]
18. The Lord of the Rings
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.65 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $544.0 Million
24/7 Wall St.
17. The Fast and the Furious
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.75 Billion
> No. of films: 8
> Top grossing film: Furious 7
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $362.7 Million
16. Rocky
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.77 Billion
> No. of films: 7
> Top grossing film: Rocky
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $486.6 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
15. Pirates of the Caribbean
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.83 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $571.3 Million
14. Shrek
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.89 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Shrek 2
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $628.1 Million
[in-text-ad]
13. Superman
> Franchise adj. gross: $1.97 Billion
> No. of films: 7
> Top grossing film: Superman
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $507.0 Million
12. Indiana Jones
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.08 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Raiders of the Lost Ark
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $682.8 Million
11. Spider-Man
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.09 Billion
> No. of films: 5
> Top grossing film: Spider-Man
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $614.2 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
10. Jurassic Park
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.19 Billion
> No. of films: 4
> Top grossing film: Jurassic Park
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $762.1 Million
9. X-Men
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.42 Billion
> No. of films: 10
> Top grossing film: Deadpool
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $373.9 Million
[in-text-ad]
8. Middle Earth
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.42 Billion
> No. of films: 6
> Top grossing film: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $544.0 Million
7. Star Trek
> Franchise adj. gross: $2.51 Billion
> No. of films: 13
> Top grossing film: Star Trek
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $305.4 Million
6. Harry Potter
> Franchise adj. gross: $3.13 Billion
> No. of films: 9
> Top grossing film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $494.3 Million
[in-text-ad-2]
5. J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World
> Franchise adj. gross: $3.37 Billion
> No. of films: 10
> Top grossing film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $494.3 Million
]
4. Batman
> Franchise adj. gross: $3.46 Billion
> No. of films: 11
> Top grossing film: The Dark Knight
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $656.5 Million
[in-text-ad]
3. Marvel Cinematic Universe
> Franchise adj. gross: $4.96 Billion
> No. of films: 15
> Top grossing film: Marvel’s The Avengers
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $679.6 Million
2. James Bond
> Franchise adj. gross: $5.78 Billion
> No. of films: 25
> Top grossing film: Thunderball
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $661.2 Million
1. Star Wars
> Franchise adj. gross: $6.60 Billion
> No. of films: 9
> Top grossing film: Star Wars
> Adjusted revenue, top grossing film: $1.26 Billion
Sponsored: Want to Retire Early? Here’s a Great First Step
Want retirement to come a few years earlier than you’d planned? Or are you ready to retire now, but want an extra set of eyes on your finances?
Now you can speak with up to 3 financial experts in your area for FREE. By simply clicking here you can begin to match with financial professionals who can help you build your plan to retire early. And the best part? The first conversation with them is free.
Click here to match with up to 3 financial pros who would be excited to help you make financial decisions.