Blockbusters & Franchises

Star Wars began as a single 1977 film and grew into trilogies, spin-offs, and streaming series.

The Harry Potter films adapt J. K. Rowling's novels about a young wizard's schooling.

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy adapts Tolkien's novels and was filmed largely in New Zealand.

The Matrix franchise, created by the Wachowskis, is built around a simulated reality called the Matrix.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe links dozens of films and shows into one connected storyline.

The Avengers films unite multiple Marvel superheroes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Spider-Man film franchise has been rebooted across three separate series since 2002.

Batman has appeared on film across many eras, including Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

The X-Men films are based on Marvel's mutant superheroes and often explore themes of prejudice.

The James Bond film series began in 1962 and is among cinema's longest continuously running franchises.

The Jurassic Park franchise began with Spielberg's 1993 film, based on Michael Crichton's novel.

The Fast & Furious franchise grew from a street-racing film into a global heist-action series.

Indiana Jones follows an adventuring archaeologist across a series of globe-spanning films.

Toy Story was Pixar's debut feature and became its first ongoing film franchise.

Shrek centers on an ogre and his talking donkey companion, produced by DreamWorks Animation.

Despicable Me introduced the Minions and follows a reformed supervillain raising three girls.

Mission: Impossible adapted a 1960s TV series and has starred Tom Cruise in every film.

The Terminator franchise centers on a war between humanity and the AI system Skynet.

The Alien franchise began in 1979 and centers on encounters with a hostile extraterrestrial species.

Rocky follows a Philadelphia boxer's career across a franchise created by and starring Sylvester Stallone.

Pirates of the Caribbean was inspired by a Disney theme-park attraction and began with a 2003 film.

The Hunger Games adapts Suzanne Collins's novels about tributes forced to fight in televised combat.

The Twilight Saga adapted Stephenie Meyer's vampire romance novels into a hit film franchise.

Transformers is based on a toy line and centers on warring shape-shifting robot factions.

Ice Age follows a mismatched trio of prehistoric animals produced by Blue Sky Studios.

Kung Fu Panda follows a panda's journey to martial-arts mastery, drawing on Chinese culture and film style.

Frozen loosely draws on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen and centers on two royal sisters.

The Godfather trilogy chronicles the Corleone family across generations, based on Mario Puzo's novel.

The Back to the Future trilogy stars Michael J. Fox as a teenager who travels through time in a DeLorean.

Rambo follows a troubled Vietnam War veteran across a franchise starring Sylvester Stallone.

Die Hard stars Bruce Willis as officer John McClane across a franchise known for confined action settings.

John Wick follows a retired assassin and is known for its stylized, stunt-driven fight choreography.

Jumanji began as an adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's book and was later reimagined around a video game.

Men in Black follows secret agents monitoring extraterrestrials, based on a comic book series.