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Rocky
Godfather
All three films made a truck load of cash, won awards and influenced mainstream pop culture.
Not my favorite, but I will make sure to include it in the poll later today...
the second and third pirates were an embarrasment to the first.
and, if looking at the top ten franchises, what about rocky?
Please expliane to me how to use diggs. I'm loking for Music & Movies from the Sixties & Seventies. Is it posible to get Movies ( ERA )
Sincereley Robert Work...........
Where are the three stooges?
here's mine:
1. Star Wars, 2. Harry Potter, 3. James Bond, 4. Pirates, 5. Godfather, 6. Lord of the Rings, 7. Superman, 8. Jurassic Park, 9. Matrix, 10. Terminator.
i know some are one hit wonders. movies like T2 or The Matrix are still too powerful to ignore. Batman never got a good push. a good sequel might change the story. the Dark Knight is still the best, though!
reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_time#History
here's mine:
1. Star Wars
2. Harry Potter
3. James Bond
4. Lord of the rings
5. Rocky
6. Shrek
7. Godfather
8. Matrix
9. Indiana Jones
10. Terminator.
come on.. back to the future was great. it should be up there.
The Godfather should be there, so should terminator.
I also think back to the future should be there, but that might be just me.
does not speak for me.
22 Nightmare on Elm Street
21 Toy Story
20 Star Trek
19 Exorcist
18 Aliens
17 Superman
16 Terminator
15 Rocky
14 Spider-man
13 Godfather
12 Batman
11 Shrek
10 Jurassic Park
09 Pirates
08 Matrix
07 Indiana Jones
06 Lethal Weapon
05 Back to the Future
04 James Bond
03 Harry Potter
02 Lord of the Rings
01 Star Wars
For me, one factor to consider is what people will think 10 years from now... that's why Godfather is ranked higher than Spider-man, Matrix higher than Pirates, and why a few older ones are ranked higher than some might think (like Indiana Jones, Lethal Weapon, and Back to the Future).
Also, the Dirty Harry series, "Dirty Harry", "Magnum Force", "The Enforcer", "Sudden Impact", and "The Dead Pool"
Not to mention the "Debbie Does..." series, which I didn't watch on Sunday mornings.
And Brian... "The Land Before Time"?????? WTF?????
- Back to the Future
- Godfather
- Matrix
- Rambo
- Terminator
But I have to agree on Star Wars being #1, Lord of the Rings, I find it boring, but lots of people enjoyed it.
Throw me a curve ball but I don't remember that one.
Ok, lets consider if we translate some of the old money to today's money, Tarzan would be hard to beat, And there's all those dog movies like Lassie, and Rin Tin Tin. Can you call Fred and Ginger a franchise? What about Alfred Hitchcock?
And I heard recently that Sherlock Holmes scores really big when it comes to featuring most often in the movies, and I guess Agatha Christie would be up there too.
And there's the original King Kong and those planet of the apes movies and I too, cannot believe you left out the GodFather series. And I've got a soft spot for Elvis movies too, though they were pretty much crap as far as art goes. And wasn't there more than one Jaws movie? Though I only remember the first one and wish I didn't. Ohh and don't forget the horror movie franchises. Things like Evil Dead, the zombie movies, Scream, Friday 13th, etc etc. Revenge of the killler tomatos. And they never should have been allowed to make more than one Porkies but they did.
The Rocky series is always mentioned whenever people talk about sequels. It doesn't make it powerful, but I'd have to say it should be in this list.
Star Wars...okay, the first one (no, not episode 4) sucked. Other than Pod Racing, what did that film have to offer? The second film wasn't much better. Step back and look at it as a normal film, not a Star Wars film and you'll see what I mean.
Star Trek....boring in ways no man has bored before.
Back to the Future? Umm...did you see the third movie...
Shrek....buh. The second film was like a long Simpsons episode with an ogre instead of Homer. Dull, dull, dull.
And in conclusion, a better title for this list is "The Ten Movie Franchises I Most Liked in History"
It may not be the best movie franchise out there, but it does belong in the top 10.
And while I'm stuck in the horror genre, how about the "Living Dead" (George Romero) movies and Halloween.
Anyway, as far as impact goes, I think I agree that star wars is the "most powerful" movie franchise. Besides the box office income, there are tons of books out, written by people who had nothing to do with the movies...But it's nowhere near my favorite movie, anyway. I'm a huge pirate fan, the PotC movies have been my favorite so far, and in my opinion each movie is at least twice as good as the once before it.
Two I haven't seen that I am not sure deserves mention: Beverly Hills Cop, Bridget Jones Diary.
My list (seems very heavy on action):
10 - Mad Max
9 - Alien
8 - Die Hard
7 - Dirty Harry
6 - Indiana Jones
5 - Godfather
4 - Star Wars (sorry but the second series made drops it from 1 to 4 for me).
3 - Harry Potter
2 - James Bond
1 - Lord of the Rings
This list sucks
So, what is really important when thinking of "most powerful" franchises...?
First of all, you have to think of box office, sure, but you should look at ADMISSIONS, not DOLLARS. You also don't have to look at only movies that are part of a trilogy. There have been single, stand-alone movies that have stood the test of time with popular culture.
You also have to think that we live in the Home Theater Age. People know that movies are going to be on DVD in 4-6 months, so why spend a small fortune taking the family to the theater now; save that money and buy the DVD for 1/3 of the cost (or less).
Soundtracks. Enough said.
Merchandising. Don't just think about Halloween costumes. Think: lunch boxes, action figures, Happy Meals, Lego sets, special edition cereals, promotions on soda bottles, etc.
And really, to top it all off, think about how often you hear quotes from the movies in everyday life. What characters said things to each other that people are ALWAYS talking about?
What is the top 10 then...?
1. Star Wars
2. Lord of the Rings
3. James Bond
4. Jurassic Park
5. Godfather
6. Back to the Future
7. Spider-Man
8. Harry Potter
9. Superman (parts 1 & 2 at the very least)
10. ...
I'm leaving #10 open because there are any number of movie series that are either still going strong (which means they can still flop and be forgotten) or because there are so many not in the Top 9 that you have to leave room for us each to think about which one might be missing from the list.
For the record, so you don't think this is just a list of my favorites: I can't stand the Harry Potter movies and I like Batman WAY better than Spider-Man. I also think that the Man with No Name series is important, but most people can't remember which movie was which, so there's less impact individually. Same goes for Dirty Harry, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, or Lethan Weapon. There are many other 2-, 3-, or more part movie series that have had impacts, but none as great throughout all of culture as the 9 listed above.
Why? No mention of Ghostbusters!
The two movies grossed hundreds of millions, sold millions in merchandise were responsible for three spinoff cartoon series and and a whold line of toys.
It's place in popular culture is just as engrained as Star Wars and far more so than the Pirates of the Carabbean or Jurassic Park movies.
Ghostbusters would be an even bigger francise had a third movie been made but sadly, it's never happened.
1. Star Wars--First three are all brillant. Latest three good enough to not tarnish its #1 standing.
2. James Bond--90s versions of Bond hurt its standing but Connery/Moore are legends and Casino Royale was a strong comeback.
3. The Godfather--All three brilliant, Oscar caliber.
4. Lord of the Rings--Not a favorite of mine, but the Oscar nods keep coming.
5. Star Trek--Geeks rejoice, half the population may not admit it but everyone has a little Trekkie in them.
6. Rocky--We'll give Sly a muligan for Rocky 5, but the first four were all entertaining including an Oscar for Rocky 1.
7. Back To The Future--All three brillant, plus it's amusement park ride is just as good.
8. Indiana Jones--All three brilliant (gave Future the nod over Indy cuz it's ride is better)
9. Harry Potter--Another one not a favorite of mine, but its emense popularity can't be denied.
10. Batman--the first one was amazing (thanks to Tim Burton and Jack Nicholson), too bad they went down hill from there, which is why it's so low on the list.
11. Terminator--this movie was ahead of its time and the second one was better than the first!
12. Austin Powers--What comedy franchise has spawned more quotable characters?
13. Dirty Harry--What action character had more of an impact on pop culture in the 70s than Harry Callahan?
14. Die Hard--John Maclane was Dirty Harry for the 80s.
15. Nightmare On Elm Street--The horror genre's only entry, but by far its best because of its staying power. (see Poltergeist below). Although Jason Takes Manhatten almost singlehandly gave Friday the 13th the edge.
The following movies, which had brilliant originals, didn't make the cut because their sequals were SO bad (in my opinion):
Jaws
Poltergeist
Ghostbusters
Jurassic Park
Superman
Here's my Top 10:
1. Star Wars
2. The Lord of the Rings
3. James Bond
4. Indianna Jones
5. The Matrix
6. The Terminator
7. The Godfather
8. Pirates of the Carribean
9. Star Trek
10. Die Hard
Eliminate these first:
Jaws - my favorite movie but the sequels were absolutely atrocious and why most people don't even consider the first movie as being any good, because all they remember are how ridiculous the sequels were. Sames goes for Ghostbusters (some people are not even aware of a sequel it was that bad), and just about every horror series. Jurrasic Park makes this list, too. The sequels were popcorn movies at best and they detract heavily from the huge impact of the first.
Now, take into account staying power, ability to stay memorable despite bad sequels, and at least one sequel or remake must be almost as good as the first.
10. Rocky - One an Oscar, still quotable, and Rocky IV ended the Cold War which should count for something.
9. Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark led to the creation of PG-13, and the series just rolled on from there solidifying the legends of the biggest box office producer, director, and actor of all time. Lacking somewhat in quotes unless we're talking about snakes, but everyone recognizes the man in the hat.
8. Terminator - T2 was a movie making marvel at the time and all 3 have been fantastic in story and execution, not to mention making Arrnold the Governator and helped James Cameron become known for writing tough female characters for the rest of his career.
7. Star Trek - the only reasons it isn't higher was because it hasn't had the crossover to worldwide mainstream as Star Wars, but plenty of pop culture references and a lasting legacy in geekdom. Live long and prosper.
6. Die Hard - Not only did it make Bruce Willis an action star (his career started on Moonlighting lest we forget), but it single handedly changed the summer action movie. It has never looked back and trhe sequels hold up as well.
5. Batman - People were insane when the first Batman came out and merchandise sales were through the roof. Jack Nicholson was an all-time great villain in the first installment. Led to numerous other super hero movies including the making of Spiderman. The new versions maintain the Dark Knight as the greatest super hero legend even over Supe and Spidey. The fourth movie never happened, so let's all agree to forget it.
4. The Godfather Saga - Not only are there a million quotes, still plays as the greatest movie drama series of all time. Every mob movie and TV show are inevtibly compared to it, if not created because of it. Created Al Pacino's and Roberty DeNiro's careers. Not to mention Oscra glory.
3. Harry Potter - The books are the real draw but the movies have created even more demand for the books. The merchandise and world wide fan base push this up the list although cinematically, not great. Fun and entertaining and the fact that the whole series will command tremendous receips all tolled, it comes close.
2. Lord of the Rings - Oscar sweep, epic movie making, great acting, great books, toys a plenty, and world wide crossover appeal. Easy #2.
1. Star Wars - makes number 1 easily despite three mediocre at best prequels. Let's face it, they sucked compared to the first three productions. But, that's just how good Episodes 4, 5, and 6 were. Includes the all-time greatest collection of characters - Darth Vadar, Han Solo, Chewbaca, Yoda, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt, Luke, Leia, ewoks and jawas... No movie series has had as much of an impact on movie making special effects, pop culture, box office draw, action figures and toys, Halloween costumes, world wide appeal, you name it. And it is still watchable. People camped out for months to buy tickets to crappy prequels just because the originals were that spectacular in scope. And I bet we can all recite just about every line from the original series. That damn good.
2. James Bond > I've honestly never watched one, but gotta give it props for going the distance
3. the Evil Dead trilogy > utterly entertaining, the trilogy follows the misadventures of zombie-fodder Ash (the ever-charismatic Bruce Campbell) and director Raimi's progression from shoestring-budget gorefest to low-budget parody to moderate-budget farce - superb.
4. Back to the Future > great fun, and a clever concept executed with an even more clever simplicity; it's been suprisingly little-imitated or aped for modern-day franchise purposes
5. the Alien *ahem* quadrilogy > this franchise is just a lil' different; four gifted and completely different directors take turns at playing with the monsters-in-space scenario - Sigourney Weaver's enduring Lt. Ellen Ripley is a rare female franchise lead and she does a magnificent job of stringing together the four installments
6. Spider-Man > yeah so the backlash has started with a sometimes-convoluted and sketchy 3rd installment - nonetheless, Sam Raimi lifted the franchise bar back to heights worth scaling with his first two popcorn-munchin' installments, and just you wait n' see how Spidey3 does on DVD sales; it'll be enormous ... Raimi managed to combine the requisite thrills and established plot points with occasional quirky moments that most big franchises won't go near; e.g. Peter Parker's funky-walkin' turn to the 'dark side' in SM3, or Willem Dafoe's wicked thanksgiving appearance, or the return-to-horror feel imparted when Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms become autonomous and murder a team of surgeons - great supporting turns by J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina and James Franco
7. Indiana Jones - the first film will forever be a classic; the follow-ups very entertaining but never quite replicated the magic of Raiders imo
8. Karate Kid > 3 quality films imo; popcorn-y martial arts philosophy mixed with classic teenage angst-y moments; the formula is pretty strictly adhered to in all three films as our underdog/hero Daniel(-san) overcomes harsh bullying through the teachings of his wise mentor ... good stuff with decent values; all three movies resist the temptation to engage in chop-sokey fests in favour of imparting Myagi's simple moral code. Daniel-san went off the rails way before Peter Parker and Anakin Skywalker btw!!
9. Lord of the Rings - incredibly impressive adaptation of the classic fantasy book, but ultimately overwrought and a little stiff imo - this isn't Peter Jackson's fault, whatever this epic trilogy lacks comes from the vaguely quaint source material
10. Friday 13th/Halloween > formulaic crap, but like their protagonists, they never seem to die, again, props for goin' the distance
Spiderman and Shrek wouldn't make any list written 10 years from now for the same reason Back to the Future didn't make mine. It has to remain relevant.
Star Trek gets an honorable mention?
*puts phaser on heavy stun*
There was in my opinion one very notable omission: Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns (A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, and arguably even A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck You Sucker) were a film franchise before there really were many film franchises. Besides being commercially successful, reviving a dead genre, and spawning countless imitations, those movies were and continue to be a major influence on many, many notable filmmakers and definitely deserve to be somewhere in the top 10.
This is an awesome list and I am sure it took great amounts of research to choose what franchises and order they go in on the list. Star Wars of course is the best of all time and Batman might be next. We may have lost Spiderman due to Sam Raimi selling out for some extra cash. But all in all, great read!
OH AND WHERE IE DIE HARD!!!!!!!
Stephen
BTTF.com
And then as far as animation franchises Toy Story is at least on par with Shrek.
Almost all of those series sold more tickets and made more money for the studios than Shrek. Harry Potter has no place on this list as each and every movie in the series has failed to live up to expectations. The Matrix as well, which is given honorable mention, wouldn't belong anywhere near this list as only the 2nd one had any real theatrical success and that was based more on the good feelings people had about the first, as evidenced by the failure that was the third entry. Jurassic Park is another franchise that should not be included because it really has no sustainability and has just continued to re-hash the orginal. Not to mention how much more successful Indiana Jones was anyway.
Terrible List!
It was more than a blockbuster. It was a phenomenon. When a film can capture the publics imagination like that, that's power!
Not bad considering it's not even a trilogy.
Then how can you list Star Wars?! It helps if you don't contradict yourself.
"Star Wars pretty much invented the concept of the movie franchise"
you have to love ignorant 20-year-olds who don't know history. What were all those Universal Monster movies from the '30s and '40s?
Jessica, stop kissing the editor's ass. This list shows he didn't do much research besides looking at what's on his DVD shelf.
I also like how you apparently like Weird Al--something I can't help but respect you for--but then you use him to defend Jurassic Park. You know what OTHER movie inspired a Weird Al song? The first Spider-man. Come to think of it, there's also two of his songs inspired by Star Wars. No mention there. And you know what? The Flintstones movie ALSO inspired one of his songs (even though the content of the song was based on the show). If you're gonna use the fact that a Weird Al song was based on a movie, at least take into consideration the others that have shared the "honor" in the past.
I thought the Rocky or the Rambo movies would get a mention.
The Matrix series had only one good movie. And that was the first one. The rest were very ordinary.
Again, loved Nolan's reimaging of Batman, and CANNOT wait until the sequel. He's got nothing on Spider-Man, but then again... no one should ever compare them. Batman's only counterpart in the Marvel universe is The Punisher. And there, I gotta admit, the Bat would triumph.
Now, I love Spider-Man, but if Batman set out to fight and defeat Spider-Man, he would probably win. If they just bumped into each other on the street, Spidey has a super advantage, no doubt. But if it were Batman's goal to take him down, he would plan it out and execute it and get the win. He wouldn't play fair. Knock-out gases, booby traps, whatever it took.
Same with The Punisher. Read the MAX series of comics to get a real taste for what Frank Castle is capable of. He is a very good mirror of Batman in his cunning and planning, though he is more than willing to go to extremes. The Punisher is very adept at predicting reactions of various people and setting traps. Perfect example is in the Man of Stone series in which he sets up a whole bunch of claymores in a rocky area, all spread out. He then engages a bunch of troops with heavy machine gun fire in the open. Now, well trained troops will seek cover. The best cover in the environment that Frank Castle -chose to have the battle in- is those rocks. They retreat to the rocks, boom. That's how one guy takes down 15.
Man I'm a dork. Love comics. And just like any Head Honcho I can think of the same fight ending 12 different ways - 6 with Batman winning and 6 with Spidey winning. Though in another defense of Batman, let's not forget that Superman gave him, and only him, some kryptonite to be used to take Superman down if it ever comes to that. He trusts/thinks Bruce to be the only one capable of doing it.
Another wildly successful franchise in asia was Jackie Chan's Police Story films. They actually made Jackie Chan the largest draw in the world, a fact forgotten or ignored in the US.
Anyone who claims Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan was "ridiculous" and "cheesy" is simply flat-out intoxicated and can expect to be laughed off the web.
lol. I think Neil Miller's list is pretty much dead on, but i wouldn't could Jurrassic Park in there. 2 and 3 were just awful. So JP1 would fare well in a list in 'greatest movies of all time' but I don't think the Franchise is that fantastic.
I don't like Star Trek either. but perhaps it was up there. and certainly more nerdy than Star Wars!
JKH