Film Franchises

What is a film franchise?

Fill in the gaps:

Harry Potter 8 $7,709,873,183

Marvel Cinematic Universe 10 $7,094,783,319

James Bond 24 $6,198,308,368

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings 6 $5,860,294,200

Star Wars 6 $4,486,206,572

Spider-Man 5 $3,951,409,813

Transformers 5 $3,755,575,090

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 $3,700,230,282

Batman 10 $3,700,015,587

Shrek 5 $3,547,384,012

Twilight 6 $3,334,413,856

Fill in the gaps:

Harry Potter 8 $7,709,873,183

Marvel Cinematic Universe 10 $7,094,783,319

James Bond 24 $6,198,308,368

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings 6 $5,860,294,200

Star Wars 6 $4,486,206,572

Spider-Man 5 $3,951,409,813

Transformers 5 $3,755,575,090

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 $3,700,230,282

Batman 10 $3,700,015,587

Shrek 5 $3,547,384,012

Twilight 6 $3,334,413,856

Highest grossing films 2000-15What do you notice?

2000 – The Grinch

2001 – Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone

2002 – Spider-Man

2003 – LOTR: Return of the King

2004 – Shrek 2

2005 – Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

2006 – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest

2007 – Spider-Man 3

2008 – The Dark Knight

2009 – Avatar

2010 – Toy Story 3

2011 – Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

2012 – The Avengers

2013 – The Hunger Games: Fire

2014 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 1

2015 – Taken 3

In 2012, 8 out of the 10 highest grossing films were franchise films.

1 Marvel's The Avengers

2 The Dark Knight Rises

3 The Hunger Games

4 Skyfall

5 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

6 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

7 The Amazing Spider-Man

8 Brave

9 Ted

10 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Why is this happening?

What does this suggest about contemporary media audiences?

In 2012, 8 out of the 10 highest grossing films were franchise films.

1 Marvel's The Avengers

2 The Dark Knight Rises

3 The Hunger Games

4 Skyfall

5 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

6 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

7 The Amazing Spider-Man

8 Brave

9 Ted

10 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Other films:12th - Wreck-it Ralph13th – Lincoln15th – Django Unchained18th – Les Miserables22nd – Argo23rd – Silver Linings Playbook27th – Life of Pi32nd – Zero Dark Thirty33rd – Flight

Why are franchise films so successful?