The 12 Longest Running Film Franchises

Every movie studio dreams of producing a film franchise that goes on for years or even decades -- and quite a few have done just that. Which series have yielded the most feature films? The answers may surprise you.

The original five movies, starting with ‘Planet of the Apes’ (1968), invented the modern franchise template, telling one large-scale story over several movies. Following Tim Burton’s 2001 misfire, the series righted itself with the excellent ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ (2011) and ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ (2014).

Although he faces competition from the X-Men and even his pal Superman, Batman has been the superhero with the most big-screen appearances, from 1966’s campy ‘Batman: The Movie’ through 2012’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises.’ And there’s more to come as Ben Affleck dons the cowl next year…

The eight-film ‘Harry Potter’ saga is one of the more self-contained series out there. Of course the studio would love it if J.K. Rowling penned another seven books, but as it stands, the series remains one of the most consistent -- and successful -- in screen history.

Studios see horror franchises as cash cows, and the saga of the vengeful undead child killer Freddy Krueger was especially lucrative. The first, third (‘Dream Warriors’) and seventh (‘New Nightmare’) installments are the best, but 2003’s ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ is silly, bloody fun as well.

Starting with 1978’s ‘Halloween’ (with the exception of 1982’s ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’), this series has followed the unstoppable serial killer Michael Myers and his tortured family history to the tune of $367 million worldwide. There’s been talk of an 11^th film, but no sign of it yet.

The clumsy, incompetent Inspector Clouseau bumbled his way through 11 movies, with Peter Sellers defining the role and Steve Martin taking over for two later remakes. The original 1963 ‘The Pink Panther,’ 1964’s ‘A Shot in the Dark’ and 1975’s uproarious ‘Return of the Pink Panther’ are the funniest.

With 11 entries already and at least another 11 coming, the interconnected movies of the MCU represent one of the most ambitious franchises ever. From 2008’s ‘Iron Man’ through last May’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ the movies have put a comic book mythology on the screen with largely satisfying results.

Of the big three modern horror icons -- including Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger -- Jason Voorhees wins for most movies. The hockey-masked murderer was featured in 10 of his own films, costarred in ‘Freddy vs. Jason,’ and got a reboot in 2009. And he may not be done yet.

The U.S.S. Enterprise has been voyaging on the big screen for 36 years, with six classic-cast entries, four ‘Next Generation’ adventures and two featuring the rebooted younger crew. Everyone has their favorites, but ‘Star Trek II’ and ‘Star Trek VI’ are series high points.

Fifty-three years, 23 films (25 if you count two noncanon entries) and six actors later, 007 is still the coolest, most badass, most dashing and most prolific spy hero around. The British secret agent set the standard for all action heroes that followed, and he’s still going strong.

The big green nuclear monster has terrorized audiences for more than 60 years, starring in 28 films from Japanese home studio Toho and two American adaptations. Best of all? Godzilla will keep stomping cities in both countries for years to come, with Toho and Legendary Pictures both planning new Godzilla movies.

Who would have thought that a series of low-budget, raunchy (for their time) British comedy films -- all produced and directed by the same two men, with a revolving cast of top-notch comedians -- would run for 34 years and encompass 31 movies? Well, it did, with this cult franchise certainly living up to its name.