20 biggest superhero film franchises of all time

Whether your favorite Dark Knight was played by Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, or Ben Affleck, there’s one thing we can all agree on: Batman is one of the most famous, popular, and successful superheroes of all time. As of 2017, DC Comics’ caped crusader has appeared in 12 films, and “Justice League” (set for release on Nov. 17, 2017) will make a baker’s dozen. And this doesn’t even include the animated movies!

Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, Blade has now had three movies made about him, with Wesley Snipes playing the titular role in all three films. It started with “Blade” in 1998, which was followed by “Blade II” (directed by Guillermo del Toro) in 2002 and “Blade: Trinity” in 2004. Although none of the films managed more than a 57-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, all three earned at least $129 million at the worldwide box office. There have been ongoing talks for years about bringing Blade back into the Marvel Universe, but as of now, nothing is scheduled.

Most people are aware of the recent Captain America films from 2016, 2014, and 2011 starring Chris Evans, but the franchise also includes installments from 1990 and 1979, which featured Matt Salinger (son of “Catcher in the Rye” author J.D. Salinger) and Reb Brown in the lead roles, respectively. Although the first two films were enormous flops at the box office (the 1979 version made something like $10,000 versus a $10 million budget), the last three have raked in a combined $2.2 billion worldwide.

The first Fantastic Four film attempted to bring Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, and the Thing to the big screen in 1994, but it was ultimately never released. However, executive producer Bernd Eichinger kept at it, and ended up eventually succeeding with a 2005 film that starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis. The franchise was rebooted in 2015 with a whole new cast, which was a good thing, as Evans had already moved on to the aforementioned Captain America films. Although the reboot performed decently at the box office, it was critically panned and won three Razzies.

The “Guardians of the Galaxy” film franchise has only been in existence since 2014, it already includes two James Gunn-directed films that have earned a combined $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office. The films feature an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Michael Rooker, and the franchise’s overwhelming popularity has already led to talks of a third installment.

Hellboy is a relatively new character, as his first appearance was in “San Diego Comic-Con Comics” #2 in 1993. After Guillermo del Toro found success directing “Blade II,” he continued working in the superhero genre by bringing Hellboy to the big screen in 2004. The film was reviewed favorably by critics and earned $99 million, which led to a critically acclaimed 2006 sequel, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” that brought in $160 million. Although countless rumors have circulated over the last decade, del Toro recently stated that “Hellboy 3 100% will not happen.”

The character of Iron Man first appeared in the pages of “Tales of Suspense” #39 back in 1963, but he didn’t become a true household name until Robert Downey Jr. portrayed the snarky superhero on the big screen in 2008. Although the Iron Man franchise now includes three films (thanks to sequels in 2010 and 2013), Downey’s character has also starred or appeared in 2012’s “The Avengers,” 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” and the upcoming “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” He will also reprise the role again for the 2018 Avengers sequel, entitled “Avengers: Infinity War.”

The futuristic law enforcement officer known as Judge Dredd has never been incredibly popular in the superhero world, but that hasn’t stopped two films from being made. Sylvester Stallone played him first in 1995’s “Judge Dredd,” which was something of a hit at the overseas box office, and Karl Urban also played him in a 2012 reboot simply titled “Dredd.” The latter only earned $41 million in theaters, making a sequel unlikely - however, the success of original content on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime could change this.

Until just recently, the Power Rangers film franchise only included two films: 1995’s “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” and 1997’s “Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie,” which earned a somewhat modest combined total of $76 million at the worldwide box office. However, the series was rejuvenated in 2017 with the feature film “Power Rangers,” which starred a new cast of up-and-coming actors, as well as Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, and Bill Hader. It didn’t make nearly as much as expected, but the reboot still managed $140 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million.

Although Jon Bernthal is keeping the Punisher fresh in people's’ minds with his portrayal of the character on Netflix’s “Daredevil,” some folks forget that the vigilante superhero has actually had three films made about him. Dolph Lundgren (a.k.a. Ivan Drago of “Rocky IV” fame) first played Frank Castle in 1989, but the release was a critical and financial flop. The franchise was resurrected in 2004 with Thomas Jane in the lead, and rebooted once again in 2008 for “Punisher: War Zone” with Ray Stevenson. Although the reviews and box office numbers have never been ideal, fans of The Punisher have generally enjoyed all three adaptations.

Peter Parker’s alter-ego is set to swing back into our lives with “Spider-Man: Homecoming” on July 7, featuring Tom Holland in the lead role. He was passed the torch by Andrew Garfield (2014’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man), Tobey Maguire (2007’s “Spider-Man 3,” 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” and 2002’s “Spider-Man”), Nicholas Hammond (1979’s “Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge”, 1978’s “Spider-Man Strikes Back,” and 1977’s “Spider-Man”), and Shinji Todō (1978’s “Spider-Man”). However, Holland also appeared in “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), which was his actual introduction to the role.

Superman has had quite the journey on the big screen. After first appearing in Action Comics #1 in 1938, the Man of Steel had a short stint as an animated film character in 1941, followed by two movie series in 1948 and 1950, and finally the first feature film, “Superman and the Mole Men,” in 1951. When “Superman” was released in 1978, George Reeves had passed the baton to Christopher Reeve, who starred in the incredibly successful blockbuster alongside fellow acting legends Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Ned Beatty. Reeve stuck around for a handful of sequels, but the film franchise went dormant for 19 years, until the release of “Superman Returns in 2006. Seven years later, “Man of Steel” and its star, Henry Cavill, resurrected it yet again. Cavill went on to share the spotlight with Ben Affleck for 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and he will also appear in “Justice League” later this year.

Cowabunga! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have now been snacking on pizza and learning martial arts from a wise old sewer rat in films for nearly three decades. (And yet they are still apparently in their teens.) It all started with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in 1990 and its two sequels in 1991 and 1993, a 2007 reboot that used 100-percent CGI, and another reboot in 2014. That last film was produced by Michael Bay and starred Megan Fox and Will Arnett, and it led to a sequel, 2016’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” which is the most recent film to date.

Considering the success of superhero films in the 1990s and 2000s, it’s surprising that The Avengers - a team consisting of Captain America, Hercules, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and some more of the biggest names in comics - wasn’t made into a feature film until 2012. What isn’t surprising, however, is that the eventual movie made more than $1.5 billion at the box office. The 2016 sequel, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” nearly matched that total with its $1.4 billion, and two more installments are reportedly on the way.

Mark Ruffalo has been quite busy playing the Incredible Hulk in recent years, portraying the superhero in “The Avengers” (2012) and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015), as well as a post-credits scene in “Iron Man 3” (2013). Additionally, Ruffalo has already signed on to reprise the role in three future films. Prior to that, Edward Norton owned the role for a single film, 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” and Eric Bana did the same for 2003’s “Hulk.” Although the latter was the first feature film in the franchise, the duo of Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno previously appeared in a handful of made-for-TV movies between 1977 and 1990.

The first live-action Thor appearance actually came in 1988 in one of the aforementioned made-for-TV Hulk films. Horror director Sam Raimi was actually the first to attempt a Thor feature film way back in 1991, but it didn’t come to fruition for a full two decades, and by then Raimi had dropped out and the project was instead helmed by director Kenneth Branagh. “Thor” eventually earned nearly $450 million worldwide, leading an even more successful sequel, 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World,” which netted $645 million. The third installment, “Thor: Ragnarok,” is scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 3, 2017.

It might seem hard to believe, but Hugh Jackman has now played Wolverine a total of nine times over the last 17 years. Six of these films centered on numerous X-Men members, but three films - “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), “The Wolverine” (2013), and “Logan” (2017) - focused almost exclusively on Weapon X himself. The $615 million earned by “Logan” (compared to a budget of only $97 million) has made it one of the most successful films this year. Unlike most other film franchises in this list, there are no immediate plans for another sequel at this time.

Wonder Woman’s first film appearance wasn’t 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” as most people incorrectly believe; there was actually a 1974 made-for-TV film called “Wonder Woman” that starred Cathy Lee Crosby in the titular role. Regardless, Wonder Woman could basically qualify for this list on the success of the most recent film alone, as 2017’s “Wonder Woman” (starring Gal Gadot) hit the jackpot at the box office, earning a whopping $710 million and counting.

In all, 10 X-Men films have been brought to the big screen, although several of these were spin-offs that centered on specific superheroes within the team. It all started with 2000’s “X-Men,” which was followed by “X2” (2003), “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006),”X-Men: First Class” (2011), “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014), and 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Deadpool,” as well as the three aforementioned Wolverine films. Unlike that franchise, X-Men still has no end in sight, with “Deadpool 2,” “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” and “New Mutants” all scheduled for release in 2018.

Even though he has no supernatural powers or expensive suits and gadgets, Zorro is often referred to as America’s first superhero. Since being created in 1919, Zorro has been portrayed in American film numerous times by the likes of Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, Frank Langella, Anthony Hopkins, and Antonio Banderas. In all, about 40 films have been made about Don Diego de la Vega’s alter-ego, including many produced in Mexico and Europe. The Zorro character is timeless, so you never know when another movie might come along.