10 Longest-Running Movie Franchises Of All Time

In an industry constantly chasing the next big trend, true cinematic immortality is a rare achievement. Countless blockbuster hopefuls come and go, but a select few titans of the silver screen have managed to captivate audiences across multiple generations. From towering monsters tearing through metropolises to caped crusaders defending the innocent, these legendary properties have survived changing tastes, shifting cultures, and endless reboots to remain the cornerstones of pop culture.

But what exactly makes a movie franchise one of the longest-running of all time? For the purposes of this list, a franchise’s longevity is measured strictly from its very first theatrical film release. This means that early animated theatrical releases and classic cinematic serials absolutely count, provided they marked the property’s official debut on the big screen.

Furthermore, to qualify as an enduring legacy rather than a nostalgic relic, these franchises must still be alive and kicking today. To make the cut, a franchise must remain active—meaning it has either released a theatrical movie within the last decade or has a confirmed upcoming installment currently in development.

While some of these entries blur the line between one continuous, unbroken storyline and a legendary character being repeatedly reinvented for new eras, their box office dominance is undeniable. Pulling off this level of sustained relevance is a miracle Hollywood rarely manages to replicate. Here is how the 10 longest-running active movie franchises stack up, starting with the oldest.

King Kong Franchise — 93 Years Active

Few movie monsters have endured as long as King Kong, who first terrorized audiences by scaling the Empire State Building in King Kong in 1933. Blending adventure, horror, and tragedy, the franchise built its foundation on the emotional complexity of its towering ape—a creature as sympathetic as he is destructive. Over nine decades, Kong has survived silent-era spectacle, stop-motion animation, multiple remakes, and full reboots, always finding a way to recapture the imagination of a new generation without losing the mythic weight of the original.

The franchise’s modern era arrived with Kong: Skull Island in 2017, which folded the giant ape into Legendary’s MonsterVerse alongside Godzilla. That crossover universe proved remarkably durable, culminating in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in 2024, with a sequel already confirmed for 2027. What started as a Depression-era creature feature has transformed into a globe-spanning cinematic universe—proof that audiences nearly a century later are still willing to watch Kong tear cities apart on the biggest screen possible.

Superman Franchise — 85 Years Active

Release Date

July 11, 2025

Runtime

130 minutes

Superman’s cinematic legacy predates most modern franchises by decades, beginning with Max Fleischer’s acclaimed theatrical animated shorts in 1941 before transitioning to live-action serials and eventually becoming the blueprint for the superhero blockbuster. Richard Donner’s Superman in 1978 defined the genre for a generation, while later iterations—from Bryan Singer’s homage to Zack Snyder’s darker reimagining—each grappled with what the character means to contemporary audiences. Few superheroes have carried as much cultural weight, across as many formats, for as long.

The franchise enters a new chapter with James Gunn’s Superman in 2025, the cornerstone of DC Studios’ fully rebooted universe. David Corenswet steps into the cape alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, and Nathan Fillion, with Gunn returning the character to his roots as a symbol of hope and decency. After years of tonal uncertainty across multiple failed continuities, the reboot represents DC’s clearest attempt yet to build something cohesive and lasting with the Man of Steel at its center.

Batman Franchise — 84 Years Active

Created by

Bob Kane, Bill Finger

Latest Film

The Batman

Upcoming Films

The Batman Part II

Batman’s screen history stretches back to 1943 theatrical serials, but the character became a cinematic institution through Tim Burton’s dark, operatic Batman in 1989. What followed was a franchise defined by reinvention—from Joel Schumacher’s campy excess to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, widely considered among the finest superhero films ever made. No other comic book hero has been reinterpreted so dramatically across so many tonal registers, with each creative team essentially building a Batman from scratch rather than simply continuing what came before.

Robert Pattinson’s turn as the Caped Crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman in 2022 earned strong critical reception, and a sequel is currently in development for 2027. Beyond film, Batman’s cultural footprint includes the landmark Arkham video game trilogy, and a rogues’ gallery so iconic that the Joker, Catwoman, and the Riddler have each anchored major productions of their own. Few fictional characters have demonstrated such range—or remained so commercially vital—across nearly nine decades.

Godzilla Franchise — 73 Years Active

Created by

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe

Movie(s)

Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante

Video Game(s)

Godzilla, Super Godzilla, Godzilla (1990), Godzilla: Unleashed, Godzilla: Monster War, Godzilla: Battle Legends, Godzilla: Save The Earth, Godzilla: Monster of Monsters!, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

Cast

Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell

Godzilla was born from genuine trauma. Ishiro Honda’s 1954 original was a direct expression of postwar Japan’s nuclear anxiety, giving shape to the invisible horror of atomic destruction through a monster that could not be reasoned with or stopped. That allegorical weight has never fully left the franchise, even as it expanded into dozens of sequels spanning wildly different tones—from campy monster brawls to the devastating, Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One in 2023, which stripped the character back to its roots as a force of irreversible catastrophe.

Hollywood entered the Godzilla universe with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot in 2014, sparking Legendary’s MonsterVerse—a shared universe that united Godzilla and Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021 and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in 2024. With a MonsterVerse sequel slated for 2027 and Toho continuing its own productions in Japan, Godzilla operates simultaneously across two entirely separate cinematic traditions. Few franchises can claim that kind of parallel vitality in their eighth decade.

James Bond Franchise — 65 Years Active

TV Show(s)

Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond

Video Game(s)

GoldenEye 007, The World Is Not Enough, 007: Nightfire, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, Quantum of Solace, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, James Bond 007: Blood Stone, GoldenEye 007 Remake, 007: Agent Under Fire

First TV Show

Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond

Before shared cinematic universes became Hollywood’s dominant business model, James Bond proved audiences would follow the same character across generations of actors, directors, and geopolitical climates. Eon Productions’ adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novels launched with Dr. No in 1962, establishing a formula—globe-trotting espionage, memorable villains, elaborate set pieces, and iconic theme songs—durable enough to outlast the Cold War that inspired it. Sean Connery defined the role, but Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig each left a distinct mark on cinema’s defining spy saga.

Craig’s tenure concluded with No Time to Die in 2021, which brought a rare sense of emotional finality to a franchise traditionally resistant to consequence. The search for his successor has generated the kind of sustained public fascination few casting decisions can match, with the next iteration of 007 still in active development. Across 25 official Eon productions, Bond has grossed billions worldwide and delivered some of action cinema’s most iconic sequences—from GoldenEye to Casino Royale to Skyfall.

Planet Of The Apes Franchise — 59 Years Active

Created by

Pierre Boulle

Video Game(s)

Planet of the Apes, Revenge of the Apes, Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier, Crisis on the Planet of the Apes

Cast

Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, Linda Harrison, Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, James Franco, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Freida Pinto, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jason Clarke, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer, Woody Harrelson, Amiah Miller, Kevin Durand, Dichen Lachman, William H. Macy, Owen Teague, Freya Allan

Planet of the Apes arrived in 1968 with one of cinema’s most legendary twist endings and a political sharpness that set it apart from typical sci-fi blockbusters. Based on Pierre Boulle’s 1963 novel, the original film used its ape-ruled world to explore race, power, and human arrogance—themes that have kept the franchise relevant through every subsequent era.

Four sequels, two television series, and Tim Burton’s polarizing 2001 remake followed, each attempting to recapture what made the original so unsettling and so enduring.

The franchise was fully revitalized with Rupert Wyatt’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011, which leveraged performance-capture technology to turn Caesar—brought to life by Andy Serkis—into one of the most compelling protagonists in modern blockbuster cinema. The subsequent trilogy built a genuinely moving arc across Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes in 2024 launched yet another new chapter, proving the saga still has plenty of story left to tell.

Rocky Franchise — 51 Years Active

Cast

Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Tony Burton, Mr. T, Brigitte Nielsen, Dolph Lundgren, Tommy Morrison, Antonio Tarver, Tessa Thompson

Latest Film

Creed III

Upcoming Films

Creed 4

Movie(s)

Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, Creed, Creed II, Creed III

Sylvester Stallone wrote Rocky in three days and sold it for almost nothing to retain the starring role—a decision that paid off when the film won the Academy Award for best picture in 1977 and launched one of Hollywood’s most beloved sports franchises. The series followed Rocky Balboa through six films spanning nearly three decades, chronicling his rises, falls, and comebacks with a sincerity that kept audiences invested long after the sport itself faded from mainstream relevance. Few franchises have sustained that kind of emotional loyalty over such a wide span of time.

Rocky pulled off one of Hollywood’s rarest tricks when it successfully handed the baton to a new generation through Ryan Coogler’s Creed in 2015, introducing Adonis Creed—played by Michael B. Jordan—as the son of Rocky’s greatest rival. The transition preserved the franchise’s emotional core while finding something genuinely fresh to say. Creed III arrived in 2023 with Jordan stepping into the director’s chair for the first time, delivering the series’ biggest opening weekend ever and cementing the spinoff as a franchise in its own right.

Star Wars Franchise — 50 Years Active

When George Lucas’ Star Wars launched in 1977, it fundamentally transformed how Hollywood thought about blockbusters, merchandising, and the possibilities of cinematic world-building. Set in a galaxy far, far away, the original trilogy introduced one of fiction’s most iconic casts of characters, from Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia to Darth Vader, and created a mythology rich enough to sustain decades of expansion. Few properties have inspired the kind of generational devotion that leads grandparents and grandchildren to the same theater for the same franchise.

Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 accelerated that expansion dramatically, producing a sequel trilogy, anthology films including Rogue One and Solo, and a sprawling slate of streaming series led by The Mandalorian. The results have been uneven—the sequel trilogy sparked fierce debate among longtime fans—but the universe has proven resilient. The Mandalorian & Grogu is confirmed for theatrical release, and with the franchise now approaching its 50th anniversary, the galaxy far, far away shows no signs of going dark.

Alien Franchise — 48 Years Active

Movie(s)

Alien, Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Prometheus (2012), Alien: Covenant (2017), Alien: Romulus (2024)

Video Game(s)

Alien: Isolation (2014), Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013), Aliens vs. Predator (2010), Aliens vs. Predator 2 (2001), Aliens vs. Predator (1999), Alien 3: The Gun (1993), Alien 3 (1992), Aliens (1990), Aliens: The Computer Game (1986), Alien (1984)

Cast

Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance, Pete Postlethwaite, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir

Created by

Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott’s Alien in 1979 arrived as something almost entirely new—a claustrophobic, slow-burn horror film that happened to be set in space, grounded in corporate indifference and biological dread rather than the optimism that defined most sci-fi of the era. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley became one of cinema’s great action heroes across four films, while the Xenomorph cemented itself as one of the most visually striking creature designs in movie history. James Cameron’s Aliens in 1986 remains a masterclass in the rare sequel that expands its predecessor’s world without diminishing it.

The franchise has navigated a complicated middle era—David Fincher’s Alien 3, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection, and Ridley Scott’s prequel duology Prometheus and Alien: Covenant earned mixed receptions—but Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus in 2024 was greeted as a genuine return to form, drawing strong reviews and impressive box office returns. Nearly five decades after the Nostromo’s crew first heard that distress signal, the Xenomorph continues finding fresh ways to terrify audiences.

Jurassic Park Franchise — 34 Years Active

Movie(s)

Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park 3 (2001), Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

TV Show(s)

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2020), Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024)

Video Game(s)

Jurassic Park (1993), Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (1994), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (2003), Jurassic Park: The Game (2011), Jurassic World: The Game (2015), LEGO Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World Evolution (2018), Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2021)

First Film

Jurassic Park (1993)

First TV Show

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1993 remains one of the defining blockbusters of its era—a film that made dinosaurs feel genuinely alive through a groundbreaking combination of animatronics and computer-generated imagery that still holds up today. Based on Michael Crichton’s novel, the story used its spectacular premise to raise serious questions about genetic ethics, corporate hubris, and humanity’s compulsion to control forces it doesn’t fully understand. Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm delivered the franchise’s thesis with one line: life, uh, finds a way.

Two sequels and a long dormancy preceded a successful relaunch with Jurassic World in 2015, which became one of the highest-grossing films ever made and introduced a new generation to the park’s irresistible premise. The Jurassic World trilogy concluded with Dominion in 2022, reuniting original cast members Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum alongside the newer leads. Jurassic World Rebirth arrived in 2025 to relaunch the series once again—evidence that more than 30 years in, audiences still cannot resist watching dinosaurs remind us who was here first.