Animation has proven itself to have become some of the most lucrative franchises targeted toward audiences of all ages on the big screen. Especially with continuing support and new installments year after year, the race for which animated franchise is the most profitable is constantly changing and up for grabs. The animated franchises that find the most success usually happen to be some of the most well-regarded and easily recognizable franchises of all time, continuing their legacy in the hearts and minds of many.
The highest-grossing of these franchises are successful enough to rival some of the highest-grossing franchises and movies of all time, showing that animation is just as powerful and profitable as live-action films. For as long as these tried and true franchises continue to thrive and succeed at the box office, animation as a medium will surely stick around and continue to be a pivotal medium in the realm of film.
15’Hotel Transylvania' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.399 Billion
Easily the biggest success story franchise from Sony Pictures Animation,Hotel Transylvaniafound great success not just through its quirky Halloween premise, but its exceptional animation style and signature slapstick humor. The series follows the chaotic life and stories revolving around a hotel resort run by and made for the monsters of the world, acting as a place of refuge from humanity run by the legendary Dracula (Adam Sandler). As the hotel grows more popular and Dracula interacts more with humanity, specifically his daughter’s husband, Johnny (Andy Samberg), he attempts to grow more understanding of humanity.
TheHotel Transylvaniaseries originally found major success as a staple of children’s Halloween films, using classic horror characters to create a fun, child-friendly experience that families worldwide could enjoy. The series only grew to bemore popular and successful with each subsequent theatrical release, withHotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacationbeing the highest-grossing release at $528 million worldwide. While Hotel Transylvania 4 could have found similar success, COVID forced the film to be a streaming original, and it didn’t get a chance at the theatrical window.
Hotel Transylvania
14’How to Train Your Dragon' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.630 Billion
One of the most critically acclaimed and beloved trilogies to come from Dreamworks Animation,How to Train Your Dragonhelped show audiences that Dreamworks was much more than the studio made for simple comedy films. The series' breathtaking visuals and powerful stories of companionship became instant hits, as some of the most widely acclaimed and beloved films that Dreamworks has ever released. The series follows a town of Vikings living in a world widely inhabited by dangerous dragons and their evolution from hiding in fear to befriending and living alongside their scaly companions.
With three equally exceptional and beloved films in the series,How to Train Your Dragonused its wide variety of interesting dragon designs and unexpectedly emotional stories to find box office success worldwide. The first film especially found major success at the domestic box office, earning $217 million and becomingone of the most influential animated films of the early 2010s. With plans to bring the series to the world of live-action withthe upcomingHTTYDremake, one can assume that these levels of success will only grow in the coming years.
How to Train Your Dragon
13’Cars' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.795 Billion
One of the most essential and recognizable moneymakers in Pixar’s lineup,Carshas almost become synonymous withits marketability and appeal as a profit earner for the studio, not just in box office, but for massive merchandise sales. The film takes place in a world populated by living cartoonish cars, living out lives revolving around the classic aspects of automobiles, like racing, fueling, and other simple ways of life. The film largely follows the perspective of Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), a racecar who ends up becoming friends with the citizens of the small town of Radiator Springs.
Cars has proven to be a major success not just for Pixar, but Disney as a whole, being one of the very few Pixar films to be given an entire trilogy worth of successful films. Even more than that, Disney themselves have added to the franchise with a duo of their own spin-off films revolving around the lives and ventures of planes in this universe, which while not major successes, add on to the overall success of the series.
12’Doraemon' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.852 Billion
Doraemonis one ofthe longest-running and most beloved franchisesto come from Japan, and has been consistently releasing feature films since its debut with 1980’sDoraemon: Nobita’s Dinosaur. The film series is adapted from a long-running manga series that follows the stories of a robot cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to help a boy named Nobita Nobi in his day-to-day life. Even long after the original manga and anime series have ended, the film series continues to be highly successful at the Japanese box office.
The series has had 44 individual theatrical releases as of 2023, with even more installments in the works planning to be released in upcoming years. The latest film in the franchise,Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia, was released in March 2023 and earned $35 Million at the box office, while the most successful film in the franchise,Stand by Me Doraemon, was released in 2014 and earned $183 Million. From its first installment until today, the popular Japanese franchise is worth around$1.852 billion.
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11’The Incredibles' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.874 Billion
Even with only two installments under its belt, the critical reception and popularity ofThe Incredibleshas helped it become one of the most financially successful franchises from Pixar. The films follow the adventures of the Parr family, a family of superheroes who are attempting to adapt and live in a 50s-style world that has moved on seemingly without the need for superheroes. The family soon finds itself facing off against a variety of villains as they prove to the world that superheroes still have a place in the world.
Despite having much fewer installments than a number of other animated franchise, the massive success and box office of these two titles skyrockets the franchise into the top 10.The Incredibles 2specifically is Pixar’s highest-grossing film of all time, with amassive worldwide gross of $1.242 billion,nearly doubling the gross of the first film and making for 2/3rd of the franchise’s gross. If the franchise were to ever continue with a third installment, it would surely make for another smash hit at the box office.
The Incredibles
10’Finding Nemo' Franchise
Total Box Office: $1.964 Billion
Another one ofPixar’s greatest hits, theFinding Nemofranchise is another franchise that, despite only having two entries, made a massive splash at the box office thanks to the undeniable quality of its entries. The first film in the series follows the story of a clownfish child named Nemo, who is abducted from his home in the Great Barrier Reef. His father, Marlin, goes on a journey across the ocean in order to find his son, soon joined by an amnesiac fish named Dory, who would become the focus of her own adventure in the sequel,Finding Dory.
WhileThe Incrediblesfranchise received massive box office domination thanks to the monumental success ofThe Incredibles 2, theFinding Nemofranchise only barely beats it with both of the films being massive box office earners. The originalFinding Nemoearned $936 million at the box office,a massive feat for 2003 that made it the then-highest-grossing animated movie of all time, andFinding Doryupped the ante by earning $1.028 Billion.
Finding Nemo
9’Madagascar' Franchise
Total Box Office: $2.270 Billion
One of the most defining and recognizable franchises by Dreamworks Animation, theMadagascarfranchise sees a group of Central Park Zoo animals being transported away to the island of Madagascar. Completely out of their element and thousands of miles away from home, each film in the franchise sees them attempting to get closer and closer to their original home. The series is well known for its pop culture-centric style of humor and its all-star voice cast, including the likes ofBen Stiller,Chris Rock,Jada Pinkett Smith, andDavid Schwimmer.
While the series hasn’t seen a theatrical release sincePenguins of Madagascarin 2014, each entry in the franchise found continuous worldwide success, with each film in the original trilogy earning over $500 million. The franchise had its highest box office return with the finale of the trilogy,Madagascar: Europe’s Most Wanted, which earned $746 million and acted as a true sendoff for the iconic quartet of characters. In total,the franchise amassed around $2.270 billion.
Madagascar
8’Kung Fu Panda' Franchise
Total Box Office: $2.365 Billion
One of the most acclaimed and beloved franchises to come from Dreamworks Animation,Kung Fu Pandafound worldwide success thanks to its timeless cultural themes combined with exceptional animated action and classic cartoon humor. The series follows the adventures and growth of Po (Jack Black), a panda fighter who finds himself unexpectedly being given the title of Dragon Warrior, tasked with protecting the valley of peace from villainous forces.
While each of theKung Fu Pandafilms were exceptionally successful at the domestic box office, their worldwide appeal and cultural significance have played a major part in its massive box office numbers. Each of the films had major legs and success in international markets, withKung Fu Panda 3specifically evenearning more in China than it did at the domestic box office. The series has also continued to stay relevant and at the front of cultural significance with a variety of different animated series between films, keeping interest and excitement in the downtime between releases.
Kung Fu Panda
7’Inside Out' Franchise
Total Box Office: $2.499 Billion
Despite only having two films in the franchise so far, Inside Out has quickly made a name for itself as one of the most successful and acclaimed franchises that Pixar has ever created. BothInside OutandInside Out 2are widely acclaimed and successful in their own right, following the stories and coming-of-age misadventures of a young girl through the perspective of the emotions that guide her day after day. The film’s simple premise and worldwide appeal has made it a highly relatable and iconic story for the modern generation, asthe quintessential Pixar franchise post-2010.
While the first film was already a notable box office hit, earning $850 million at the worldwide box office, the outstanding and monumental success of the sequel is what helped the franchise soar into the record books.Inside Out 2has been smashing records left and right, not only being the highest-grossing movie in Pixar’s filmography, but nowthe highest-grossing animated film of all time. The success surely means that there will eventually be a third film in the series that will continue to launch it even higher up the charts.
Inside Out
6’The Lion King' Franchise
Total Box Office: $2.631 Billion
Consisting of both the legendary 1994 masterpiece and the 2019 remake,The Lion Kingis one of the biggest and most prominent animated franchisesto come from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film follows the story of lion prince Simba, who after being framed for the death of his father, is banished from the valley and grows up away from his original family and friends. Now as an adult, he returns home in order to face his painful past, with a new perspective and understanding of the world thanks to his new and varied upbringing.
The originalLion Kingwas a massive box office hit when it came out, earning $968 million and holding the title of the highest-grossing animated movie of all time untilFinding Nemoin 2003. Even more than that, the 2019 remake continued the powerful box office strength of the original and earned an astronomical$1.663 Billion at the box office, making itthe highest-grossing animated movie of all time. While the 2019 remake may not seem to be an animated movie at first glance, as it is entirely grounded in realism, it still falls under the realm and qualifications of animation.
