Best Movies Series Ever Ranked: #3 Changed Cinema Forever
- 01. What Are the Best Movie Series Ever? Critics Agree on These Top Franchises
- 02. Critics' Top 10 Movie Franchises Ranked by Data
- 03. Top Critical darlings: Average Tomatometer Scores
- 04. Audience Favorites: Highest Audience Scores
- 05. Box Office Giants: Highest Average Domestic Earnings
- 06. Why Toy Story Holds the #1 Spot
- 07. Indiana Jones: The Best Live-Action Adventure Series
- 08. Middle-earth: Tolkien's Epic Adaptation Excellence
- 09. Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Universe-Building Phenomenon
- 10. Methodology: How These Rankings Were Calculated
What Are the Best Movie Series Ever? Critics Agree on These Top Franchises
The best movie series ever according to critics are Toy Story (98.75% average Tomatometer), How to Train Your Dragon (93.3%), and Mad Max (90%), with Toy Story ranking #1 globally for both critical acclaim and audience scores as of June 2020. For live-action franchises, Indiana Jones (86.25%Tomатometer) and The Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth (79.3%) lead the rankings, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominates box office with $404M average per film.
Critics' Top 10 Movie Franchises Ranked by Data
Rotten Tomatoes analyzed 153 movie franchises using three metrics-Average Tomatometer, Average Audience Score, and inflation-adjusted Domestic Box Office-to crown the definitive best franchise ever.
| Rank | Franchise | Avg. Tomatometer | Avg. Audience Score | Avg. Domestic Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toy Story | 98.75% | 90.25% | $462,000,000 |
| 2 | How to Train Your Dragon | 93.3% | 89% | $203,130,826 |
| 3 | Indiana Jones | 86.25% | 81.25% | $515,870,633 |
| 4 | Middle-earth (LOTR + Hobbit) | 79.3% | 86.3% | $420,055,657 |
| 5 | Marvel Cinematic Universe | 84.7% | 82.3% | $404,780,252 |
| 6 | Back to the Future | 78% | 85.7% | $328,209,623 |
| 7 | Spider-Man | 81.25% | 77% | $411,579,893 |
| 8 | The Hunger Games | 78.25% | 76.75% | $405,606,192 |
| 9 | Wizarding World (Harry Potter) | 78.6% | 79% | $363,870,410 |
| 10 | Star Wars | 72.9% | 72.5% | $692,833,333 |
This data-driven ranking reveals that animated franchises dominate critical acclaim while space operas lead commercial success.
Top Critical darlings: Average Tomatometer Scores
Critics consistently reward consistent quality across installments, with these franchises earning the highest average Tomatometer scores:
- Toy Story - 99% (4 films, all Certified Fresh)
- How to Train Your Dragon - 93.3% (trilogy, all 90%+)
- Mad Max - 90% (including Mad Max: Fury Road at 97%)
- John Wick - 88.3% (4 films with rising critical acclaim)
- Ip Man - 87.2% (Hong Kong martial arts trilogy)
- Indiana Jones - 86.3% (Raiders of the Lost Ark at 95%)
- Kung Fu Panda - 85% (animated trilogy)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe - 84.7% (23 films through Endgame)
- Evil Dead - 82% (including Evil Dead Rise)
- George Romero's Living Dead - 81.3%
The Toy Story franchise remains unique as the only series with all four films scoring 90% or higher on Tomatometer.
Audience Favorites: Highest Audience Scores
Fans gravitate toward emotional storytelling and nostalgic appeal, producing these top audience scores:
- Toy Story - 90.3% (universal cross-generational appeal)
- How to Train Your Dragon - 89% (friendship themes resonate deeply)
- Middle-earth - 86.3% (Tolkien's legacy drives fandom)
- Back to the Future - 85.7% (30+ years of cultural staying power)
- Bad Boys - 84% (buddy-cop chemistry endures)
- John Wick - 84% (action choreography praised)
- Ip Man - 82.4%
- Marvel Cinematic Universe - 82.3%
- Indiana Jones - 81.3%
- Evil Dead - 80.8%
Notice how Back to the Future ranks #4 with audiences despite only #12 with critics, showing fan devotion exceeds critical consensus.
Box Office Giants: Highest Average Domestic Earnings
Commercial success tells a different story, with franchise scale and global appeal driving these numbers:
- Star Wars - $692,833,333 (12 films including sequels and spinoffs)
- Jurassic Park - $541,149,213
- Indiana Jones - $515,870,633
- Toy Story - $462,000,000
- Jaws - $428,732,426
- Middle-earth - $420,055,657
- Spider-Man - $411,579,893
- The Hunger Games - $405,606,192
- Marvel Cinematic Universe - $404,780,252
- Shrek - $390,501,104
Star Wars' unmatched earning power pulled it into the top 10 despite mediocre critical scores.
Why Toy Story Holds the #1 Spot
Toy Story's dominance stems from revolutionary innovation and timeless storytelling. As the first fully computer-animated feature film, it ushered in a new era for animation.
"Toy Story is anything but your average, run-of-the-mill kiddie cartoon... it remains the studio's crowning achievement, and is officially the Best Movie Franchise Ever."
Key facts about Toy Story's record-breaking run:
- First film: October 22, 1995 (Pixar's debut feature)
- All four films certified Fresh: Toy Story (100%), Toy Story 2 (100%), Toy Story 3 (98%), Toy Story 4 (97%)
- Toy Story 3 won Best Animated Feature Oscar li>Generated over $3 billion worldwide across four films
- Inspired Best Animated Feature Academy Award creation in 2002
The Pixar legacy continues defining animation excellence through this franchise.
Indiana Jones: The Best Live-Action Adventure Series
Indiana Jones ranks #2 overall and #1 among live-action franchises, with Harrison Ford owning the screen as the iconic archaeologist.
| Film | Release Year | Tomatometer | Notable Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | 95% | AFI's #6 Greatest American Movie |
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | 1984 | 84% | PG-13 rating created |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | 1989 | 88% | Sean Connery's Oscar-nominated performance |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | 2008 | 78% | 27-year gap between films 3 & 4 |
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's collaboration created adventure cinema's gold standard.
Middle-earth: Tolkien's Epic Adaptation Excellence
Peter Jackson's Middle-earth trilogy (LOTR + Hobbit) achieved 17 Academy Awards from 30 nominations, with Return of the King winning all 11 categories it was nominated for-a record.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) outperforms The Hobbit trilogy critically, yet both together create cinema's most ambitious fantasy adaptation.
Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Universe-Building Phenomenon
Launched with Iron Man, the MCU became an industry-changing initiative with 23 films through Avengers: Endgame.
Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Iron Man kick-started the connected universe model now emulated by every major studio.
Methodology: How These Rankings Were Calculated
Rotten Tomatoes compiled data from 153 franchises meeting strict criteria: minimum 3 installments, reliable Tomatometer scores, Audience Scores, and domestic box office data.
Exclusions included: franchise subsets (individual MCU solo films), non-franchise trilogies (Three Colours), and series without sufficient U.S. theatrical data.
This rigorous methodology ensures fair comparison across decades of cinema.
Key concerns and solutions for Best Movies Series Ever Ranked 3 Changed Cinema Forever
Which movie series has the highest critic score?
Toy Story holds the highest critic score with a 98.75% average Tomatometer (99% rounded), making it the only franchise where all four films scored 90% or higher.
What is the best live-action movie series ever?
Indiana Jones ranks as the best live-action movie series with an 86.25% average Tomatometer and $515M average box office, combining critical acclaim with commercial success.
Which franchise has the highest audience score?
Toy Story leads with a 90.25% average Audience Score, demonstrating universal cross-generational appeal among moviegoers.
What movie series made the most money?
Star Wars dominates box office with $692,833,333 average domestic earnings per film, driven by 12 installments including sequels and spinoffs.
Are animated franchises better than live-action according to critics?
Yes-animated franchises dominate the top critical rankings, with Toy Story (#1), How to Train Your Dragon (#2), and Mad Max (#3) leading the Tomatometer chart.
