Some characters are so endearing that one does not mind viewing them on screen time and again. Here’s a look at some of the longest-running franchises of all time

Yathesht Pratiraj

With the recent release of Tom Cruise’s new film, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One, which is the seventh installment in the franchise, one would assume it is the longest movie franchises of all time. However, it does not even come close to the top! Here is a look at the longest film franchises till date.

Robotic cat
Doraemon: 42 films

One of the most well-known characters in the Japanese anime and manga industry is Doraemon. Apart from the long-running anime series, Doraemon has had a successful run with its films as well. The franchise boasts of 42 films. The films are based around a robotic cat, Doraemon, which is sent from the future to aid a young boy, Nobita, who is not doing well in life. The upcoming film, Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony, is set for a release in March, 2024.

Many avatars
Godzilla: 36 films

Some Godzilla movies are silly and comic, while others are a little more dark, violent and intense. With Godzilla, some films focus on fantasy, some on science fiction, some on horror while some are a little bit of everything. Over the years the audiences have seen a number of avatars of Godzilla, to be specific, 36 different one! The upcoming film featuring both the iconic King Kong along with Godzilla is titled, Godzila X Kong: The New Empire.

Truly Marvel-lous
Marvel Cinematic Universe: 32 films

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently the fastest-growing film series, having released 32 movies in just 15 years. If not for burnout and viewer fatigue, the MCU might become the most successful film series of all time within a decade or so, at least at its present rate of expansion.

Strong Bond
James Bond: 27 films

Six decades later, the James Bond franchise is still going strong and doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. It’s a carefully planned series that keeps a variety of clichés, characters and formulae throughout each film, while also allowing for the opportunity to occasionally cast a different actor in the lead role, and potentially steer the series in different directions. With so many films in the franchise already, there has been a buzz around a female 007 since the release of the last film, No Time to Die, in 2021.

Immortal zone
The Mummy: 19 films

With 85 years between the first Mummy film in 1932 and the latest one in 2017, there is hardly a chance anyone would have seen both of them! Maybe it is appropriate that a franchise about an ancient immortal mummy will outlive all of us.

In the web
Spiderman: 16 films

It might be surprising, but the Spiderman franchise did not begin with Sam Raimi’s trilogy in the early 2000s. That was the first global venture for the character, but Spidey has always been a beloved comic book character and it has had multiple live-action films dating back to the 1970s. There was a Japanese film featuring the character in the 70s too. Apart from that, the Spiderverse has expanded a lot. Now, Peter Parker is not the only Spiderman; with the introductions of Miles Morales and the Indian Spiderman, Pavitra Prabhakar, the Spiderverse is on the rise.

War path
Star Wars: 12 films

The series has 12 feature films in about 40 years i.e. three trilogies around the Skywalker family, two live-action anthology films, and another animated theatrical release in 2008. Since then, apart from the movies, there have been TV series around the franchise as well as multiple games, which have done well.

Star power
Star Trek: 13 films

Star Trek film franchise started in 1979, around 10 years after the legendary original series first aired on television during the late 1960s. The original cast of the series was initially the focus, but succeeding films featured characters from the next generation, and the most recent trilogy (2009–2016) acted more like a reboot. It is easily the top two movie franchises with the name ‘star’ in it.

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