The worst movies of the century

Warner Bros. (left); Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (center); Warner Home Video (right)

Marvel heroes, Star Wars rebels and Harry Potter wizards are all money.

This is a rundown of Hollywood's top-grossing film franchises, ranked by worldwide box-office grosses as compiled by The Numbers. The data site roughly defines a franchise as any series of two or more theatrical films linked by a shared universe; it counts some titles as belonging to multiple franchises. Stats are current as of publication in January 2020.

41. Jason Bourne ($1.67 billion worldwide gross)

The Matt Damon film series dates back to 2002's "The Bourne Identity." Its fifth and most recent installment, 2016's "Jason Bourne" (pictured), is the franchise's highest-grossing, with $416.2 million in worldwide receipts, per The Numbers.

40. Kung Fu Panda ($1.81 billion worldwide gross)

The CGI-animated children's franchise, starring the voice of Jack Black, gets on this list thanks to strong performances from its three big-screen entries.

39. The Incredibles ($1.87 billion worldwide gross)

This Pixar franchise has produced only two feature films to date, but they've both done a, well, incredible job at the box office, especially 2018's "The Incredibles 2" (pictured), which grossed $1.24 billion globally, per The Numbers.

38. The Conjuring ($1.91 billion worldwide gross)

This seven-film paranormal franchise includes the Annabelle movies, "The Nun" and "The Curse of La Llorona," but takes its name from the series' first entry, released in 2013.

37. Men in Black ($1.94 billion worldwide gross)

2019's "Men in Black: International" (pictured), starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, added a relatively meager $230 million to this film series' ledger. That left the bulk of the money-making work to be done by the franchise's first three MiB movies with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

37. Thor ($1.95 billion worldwide gross)

Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson enjoyed more box-office success with 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" (pictured), which established itself as the top-grossing Thor movie with a $854 million worldwide take, per The Numbers.

35. Indiana Jones (worldwide $1.96 billion gross)

This swashbuckling series, which takes its name from Harrison Ford's iconic character, is the most dormant franchise in this rundown, even though it hasn't dropped a new film in theaters since 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

34. Finding Nemo ($1.97 billion worldwide gross)

This two-film Pixar property has produced outsized grosses from both 2002's "Finding Nemo" and its 2016 sequel, "Finding Dory" (pictured).

33. Jumanji ($1.997 billion worldwide gross)

The eye-popping total for this action-comedy franchise includes not only the Dwayne Johnson-led films, 2017's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and 2019's "Jumanji: The Next Level" (pictured), but also the 1995 "Jumanji," starring Robin Williams, and the Jon Favreau-directed "Zathura," released in 2005. The latter film takes place in the same universe as the "Jumanji"-titled movies.

32. Terminator ($2.08 billion worldwide gross)

In this six-film franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator model has never ridden higher than it did in the James Cameron-directed "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (pictured), which grossed more than $500 million in 1991.

31. Planet of the Apes ($2.12 billion worldwide gross)

This franchise dates back to 1968's "Planet of the Apes." It includes Tim Burton's 2001 same-titled remake, and runs to the reboot era's "War for the Planet of the Apes," released in 2017. 2014's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (pictured) is the biggest hit of them all, with a $710.6 million worldwide gross, per The Numbers.

30. Captain America ($2.24 billion worldwide gross)

The Avengers-assembling "Captain America: Civil War" is the top-grossing film in this three-film franchise. According to The Numbers, the 2016 film grossed $1.15 billion.

29. Star Trek ($2.267 billion worldwide gross)

Through 13 films, from 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to 2016's "Star Trek Beyond," the iconic sci-fi franchise has occasionally posted blockbuster numbers at the domestic box office, but hasn't always moved at warp speed in overseas markets.

28. Madagascar ($2.27 billion worldwide gross)

2014's "Penguins of Madagascar" (pictured) was a box-office disappointment compared with its predecessors in the four-film, CGI-animated franchise.

27. Iron Man ($2.42 billion worldwide gross)

No movie in the three-film, Robert Downey Jr.-led superhero franchise has made a bigger box-office splash than 2013's "Iron Man 3" (pictured), which grossed $1.22 billion globally, according to The Numbers.

26. Dark Knight trilogy ($2.45 billion worldwide gross)

Christopher Nolan's three-film set, starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, began with 2005's "Batman Begins," and took its franchise name from 2008's game-changing "The Dark Knight." And though the theatrical run of "The Dark Knight Rises" (pictured) was marred by an opening-night mass shooting at a Colorado theater, the 2012 film grossed a franchise-best $1.1 billion worldwide, per The Numbers.

25. Superman ($2.55 billion worldwide gross)

The grosses of eight movies are counted in this franchise's cumulative tally. The group includes 1978's landmark "Superman" (pictured), the 1980s bombs "Supergirl" and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns" reboot and the two Zack Snyder-directed entries, "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

24. The Lion King ($2.64 billion worldwide gross)

This Disney franchise features only two theatrical releases, but that's enough when the first movie, 1994's "The Lion King," grosses nearly $1 billion worldwide, and the 2019 photo-realistic remake, featuring the voice of Beyoncé, takes in more than $1.6 billion.

23. Frozen ($2.67 billion worldwide gross)

This Disney franchise makes the list on the strength of just two movies: the original "Frozen," released in 2013, and "Frozen II" (pictured), released in 2019.

22. The Hobbit ($2.92 billion worldwide gross)

This franchise consists of Peter Jackson's three Hobbit films released from 2012 to 2014. The first installment, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (pictured), starring Martin Freeman, grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

21. Hunger Games ($2.96 billion worldwide gross)

This four-film dystopian set established Jennifer Lawrence as a box-office force, and peaked with 2013's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (pictured), which grossed $864.9 million globally, according to The Numbers.

20. Toy Story ($3.05 billion worldwide gross)

This acclaimed four-film franchise from Pixar hit a new best with 2019's "Toy Story 4" (pictured), which grossed $1.07 billion worldwide, according to The Numbers.

19. Ice Age ($3.18 billion worldwide gross)

Though not so successful at the domestic box office as the Toy Story movies, the five Ice Age films have it all over Woody and Buzz's gang overseas. According to The Numbers, 2012's "Ice Age: Continental Drift" (pictured) grossed $161.3 million in North America -- and a phenomenal $718.4 million internationally.

18. Twilight ($3.32 billion worldwide gross)

The six-film vampire franchise, based on the best-selling, young-adult book series, proved the buying power of the young, female audience. It went out on top with 2011's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (pictured), which grossed nearly $830 million worldwide, per The Numbers.

17. Shrek ($3.55 billion worldwide gross)

This five-film franchise dates back to 2001's "Shrek," and includes the 2011 spinoff, "Puss in Boots." "Shrek 2" (pictured) looms above them all, with a $937-million worldwide box-office performance, per The Numbers.

16. Mission: Impossible ($3.58 billion worldwide gross)

The long-running, six-film Tom Cruise franchise hit a new high with 2018's "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (pictured), which grossed $787.5 million worldwide, according to The Numbers.

15. Despicable Me ($3.71 billion worldwide gross)

The highest-grossing animated franchise on this list, this four-film series takes its name from the 2010 movie that introduced super-villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and the Minions. The 2015 spinoff film, "The Minions" (pictured), grossed a franchise-best $1.16 billion worldwide, per The Numbers.

14. Pirates of the Caribbean ($4.52 billion worldwide gross)

This five-film, Johnny Depp-led franchise slumped with its most recent entry, 2017's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," but it's produced two billion-dollar-grossing entries, 2006's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (pictured) and 2011's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."

13. Transformers ($4.85 billion worldwide gross)

The Numbers counts 1986's low-budget, low-grossing "The Transformers: The Movie" as the first film in this seven-film franchise -- a collection that was kicked into another gear via Michael Bay's 2007 "Transformers," elevated to a box-office high with 2011's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (pictured) and expanded with the 2018 reboot, "Bumblebee."

12. Jurassic Park ($4.99 billion worldwide gross)

Launched in 1993 with Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park," this five-film dinosaur franchise reached new heights with 2015's "Jurassic World" (pictured), which grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, per The Numbers.

11. DC Extended Universe ($5.28 billion worldwide gross)

As of 2019, there were seven films under this franchise umbrella: "Wonder Woman," "Shazam!," the Superman solo entry, "Man of Steel," the team-up films "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Justice League" and "Suicide Squad," and the lone billion-dollar-grossing entry, 2018's "Aquaman" (pictured).

10. Lord of the Rings ($5.86 billion worldwide gross)

This six-film franchise includes Peter Jackson's three Hobbit movies, and the filmmaker's three Lord of the Rings movies, including the billion-dollar-grossing "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (pictured). (Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord of the Rings feature film from the 1970s is not considered part of the cinematic universe.)

9. Fast and the Furious ($5.9 billion worldwide gross)

This nine-film saga has been revving up the box office since 2001's "The Fast and the Furious." "Furious 7" (pictured), released after the 2013 death of series star Paul Walker, grossed a franchise-best $1.5 billion worldwide, per The Numbers.

8. Batman ($6.04 billion worldwide gross)

The grosses of 14 films make up the box-office tally for this superhero franchise. The flicks date back to Tim Burton's 1989 genre-changing "Batman," and include the theatrically released animated entries such as "Batman: The Killing Joke" and "The Lego Batman Movie," as well as the spin-offs, the billion-dollar-grossing "Joker" (pictured) and "Catwoman." (The 1966 big-screen movie, "Batman," which was produced by a different studio than the other Caped Crusader films, is not included in the count.)

7. X-Men ($6.05 billion worldwide gross)

This 12-film mutant franchise, based on Marvel's iconic comic-book title, reached new heights with the first Deadpool standalone film (pictured) -- and sunk to a new box-office low with 2019's "Dark Phoenix."

6. James Bond ($7.12 billion worldwide gross)

The Numbers' stats for this franchise include all 26 big-screen adaptations of author Ian Fleming's 007 spy novels: the canonical films starring Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig; and, the non-canonical films, the 1967 comedy "Casino Royale," and the 1983 Connery one-off, "Never Say Never Again."

5. Spider-Man ($7.23 billion worldwide gross)

Nine big-screen Spidey-centric movies have been released dating back to 2002's "Spider-Man." At the box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe- and Tom Holland-era "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (pictured) looms above them all -- the Tobey Maguire movies, the Andrew Garfield movies, the animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse" and the Tom Hardy-led spinoff, "Venom."

4. Avengers ($7.77 billion worldwide gross)

Though "Captain America: Civil War" leans heavily into Avengers territory, only the box-office totals for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's four formally branded Avengers movies are counted here. That is more than enough. All four films grossed at least $1.4 billion worldwide; "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" both crossed the $2-billion mark.

3. Harry Potter ($9.19 billion worldwide gross)

The wizarding franchise's box-office total covers 10 films: eight Harry Potter installments, and two Fantastic Beasts movies. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (pictured) is on top, with a $1.3 billion worldwide gross, per The Numbers.

2. Star Wars ($10.28 billion worldwide gross)

C-3PO has been a near-constant presence in the 12 big-screen adventure films released from 1977's "Star Wars" (pictured) to 2019's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." Five of the films have crossed the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office: "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Rise of Skywalker."

1. Marvel Cinematic Universe ($22.59 billion worldwide gross)

This 23-film mega-franchise, which dates back to 2008's "Iron Man," is the world's biggest-grossing film franchise -- by a lot. The series' bottom line benefits from the numbers put up by the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and Avengers movies, as well as from the Hulk, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel properties.