Marvel Barely Makes Top 10 Best Movie Franchises of All Time

The original “Ocean’s 11” starred Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford in a heist flick set in Las Vegas. The franchise got new life with the release of four films: “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), “Ocean’s Twelve” (2004), “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007), which were male-dominated casts that included George Clooney and Andy Garcia, and “Ocean’s 8” (2018), featuring female stars Sandra Bullock, Helen Bonham Carter, and Mindy Kaling.

The sci-fi series set between the 21st and 24th centuries pits humankind, led by the Ellen Ripley character portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, against lethal creatures whose horrifying form was based on the art of Swiss artist H.R. Giger. The series began with “Alien” in 1979 and was followed by the sequels “Aliens” (1986), “Alien 3” (1992), and “Alien Resurrection” (1997). Weaver starred in the first three. Those movies were followed by two prequels, “Prometheus” (2012) and “Alien: Covenant” (2017).

George A. Romero directed a series of zombie films beginning with “Night of the Living Dead” in 1968 on small budgets that spared no expense on violence, gore, and bleak vision of the future, mixing in black comedy and a sly poke at American culture. “Night of the Living Dead” holds a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score among critics. “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) and “Day of the Dead” (1985) were other notable entries in the franchise.

The Mission: Impossible franchise grew out of the television series of the same name. Six films, all starring Tom Cruise, have amassed box-office gross of $1.6 billion since the franchise’s debut in 1996, with another film set to be released in either 2023 or 2024. Cruise plays special agent Ethan Hunt, who leads a team tasked with thwarting various plots for world domination. The series is famous for its extensive chase scenes, in many of which Cruise himself performs. “Mission: Impossible 2” was the top-grossing film in 2000.

Based on The Numbers data for box-office gross, the Star Wars franchise, begun in 1977, is the second-biggest movie franchise ever. The franchise that launched Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford among others into stardom, includes 15 films – sequels and prequels – and has box-office gross of $8.09 billion. Four Star Wars movies hold a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 90% or above. Six Star Wars movies have been the top-grossing film for their year of release.