Summary
- Action franchises succeed based on longevity, box office success, and impact over the years.
- Many of the best action franchises are still in full swing, like James Bond and Mission: Impossible.
- A few franchises have helped influence the genre more than others, such as the Bourne movies and Die Hard.
The biggest action franchises have helped shape the genre into what it is today, and many of them are still delivering thrilling new installments. When talking about the biggest action franchises of all time, it’s important to consider longevity, box office success and impact. The best of the best can combine all three of these factors, producing successful movies for decades which influence the future of the genre.
The action genre overlaps a lot with sci-fi and fantasy, but true action franchises should treat these as secondary concerns. The MCU and the Lord of the Rings both have incredible action sequences, but neither of them should be earnestly considered as action franchises. The best action movies of all time often spawn sequels, and franchises need to sustain their quality to compete with the great juggernauts of the genre.
Related 20 Greatest Action Movie Stars Of All Time, Ranked
The action genre has been lucky to see so many incredible actors over the decades, but of all of them, who are the absolute best action stars?
10 Lethal Weapon
4 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $952,000,000.
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Lethal Weapon didn’t invent the buddy cop genre, but the combination of Riggs and Murtaugh perfected the formula which countless other movies have tried to replicate. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover play off each other brilliantly, injecting plenty of heart and humor into the franchise. Lethal Weapon is typical of the 1980s and 1990s action blockbuster trends. There are explosions and shootouts galore, but there’s also always time for a well-placed quip or two.
Lethal Weapon
didn’t invent the buddy cop genre, but the combination of Riggs and Murtaugh perfected the formula which countless other movies have tried to replicate.
The last Lethal Weapon movie came out in 1998, but the franchise was revived with a TV series that recast Riggs and Murtaugh. After the success of that show, Gibson and Glover are set to team up once again for Lethal Weapon 5. It remains to be seen if the throwback charms of the franchise can slot into the current landscape of the action genre, or if Riggs and Murtaugh really are getting too old for this.
9 Die Hard
5 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $1,436,000,000.
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If the first Die Hard movie was the only outing for Bruce Willis’ John McClane, he would still hold a place as one of the most iconic action heroes of all time. The subsequent four movies only added to his legend, although none of them ever quite lived up to the original. The Die Hard franchise evolved from a simple story about a hero cop single-handedly taking down a terrorist cell to a series of increasingly bizarre stunts which strain the limits of credulity.
If the first
Die Hard
movie was the only outing for Bruce Willis’ John McClane, he would still hold a place as one of the most iconic action heroes of all time.
Throughout the franchise’s various highs and lows, Willis is the source of some much-needed continuity. His charming performances are enough to get audiences on board while everything around him becomes bigger and louder. Die Hard had a huge impact on action movies, particularly action heroes, and its positive impact outweighs some of its preposterous missteps.
8 John Wick
4 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $1,026,000,000
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John Wick is an underdog franchise that has kept on going. Not much was expected with the first movie in 2014, but Chad Stahelski’s exciting, kinetic direction and Keanu Reeves’ performances as the stoic assassin John Wick have helped breathe new life into the action genre. Reeves gets a chance to show off his martial arts skills in John Wick, and the franchise surrounds him with a revolving cast of brilliant co-stars.
2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4 was arguably the year’s best action movie, and it lifted the franchise’s box office total over the billion-dollar mark. With the dramatic conclusion to the fourth movie, the franchise is now at a crossroads. It has already had a TV spinoff, but the franchise is set to grow even bigger. The first John Wick spinoff movie, Ballerina, is slated for a 2025 release with Ana de Armas in the lead role.
7 The Matrix
4 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $1,791,000,000
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The Matrix is a cornerstone of the sci-fi genre, but its legacy is just as relevant in the action genre. A lot of the time, The Matrix feels like an excuse for the Wachowski sisters to explain away the surreal fight scenes they want to direct by tying them to an intriguing sci-fi premise. Keanu Reeves proved he was an action star long before he became John Wick, and The Matrix remains his biggest action franchise.
A lot of the time,
The Matrix
feels like an excuse for the Wachowski sisters to explain away the surreal fight scenes they want to direct by tying them to an intriguing sci-fi premise.
The Matrix movies use their cyberpunk setting to create fight scenes that aren’t tethered to reality. They incorporate elements of Hong Kong martial arts movies and wire-fu, but they also have plenty of original touches which are only made possible by the unique sci-fi premise. After a mediocre fourth movie, it took a while for confirmation of The Matrix 5. Director Drew Goddard now faces the daunting task of following the Wachowskis with his own vision for the franchise.
6 Mad Max
5 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $700 Million.
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The Mad Max franchise started way back in 1979, but it’s still at the forefront of exciting action movies in 2024. Director George Miller revived the story of post-apocalyptic adventurer Max Rockatansky with 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, still one of the best action movies of the 21st century. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was released nine years later, and the franchise is set to continue with Mad Max: The Wasteland.
The
Mad Max
franchise started way back in 1979, but it’s still at the forefront of exciting action movies in 2024.
Mad Max has influenced countless other post-apocalyptic stories, from its visual design to the lives of its characters. When Miller made Fury Road after a 29-year franchise hiatus, he proved that none of his imitators had come close to replicating the quality of his creation. In an era of CGI-heavy blockbusters, both Fury Road and Furiosa show the benefits of practical effects.
5 Indiana Jones
5 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $2,345,000,000.
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Indiana Jones is a throwback to the pulp action heroes of the 1930s and 1940s, but Steven Spielberg’s biggest franchise repackaged that same sense of adventure for a new audience. When Indy first appeared clutching his bullwhip in Raiders of the Lost Ark, his retro charms were combined with a sense of vitality and realism that made him feel like so much more than a mere archetype.
The franchise has often been the ideal sandbox for Spielberg to lay out some of his most daring and spectacular action set pieces.
The Indiana Jones franchise totals five movies, with all but the most recent being directed by Spielberg. The franchise has often been the ideal sandbox for Spielberg to lay out some of his most daring and spectacular action set pieces, including the mine cart chase in Temple of Doom and the confrontation with a German tank in The Last Crusade. The last two movies may have tarnished the legacy of the original trilogy somewhat, but they still deliver a handful of genuinely exciting action scenes.
4 Jason Bourne
5 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $1,665,000,000.
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The Bourne franchise isn’t the biggest in terms of longevity or box office receipts, but few action franchises have ever had such a massive impact on the style of the genre. When The Bourne Identity was released in 2002, it provided the perfect antidote to the overblown, absurd action of the 1980s and 1990s. The Bourne Identity‘s more grounded approach reshaped the future of action movies.
The
Bourne
franchise isn’t the biggest in terms of longevity or box office receipts, but few action franchises have ever had such a massive impact on the style of the genre.
Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies and Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise both owe a great debt to the Bourne franchise, just like so many other recent action hits. Aside from its shaky-cam fighting style, the Bourne franchise was also revolutionary for its portrayal of global politics and espionage. In a post-9/11 world, the Bourne franchise showed a hero on the run from his own government, perfectly capturing the disillusionment and paranoia of American society at the time.
3 Fast & Furious
11 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $7,321,000,000
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In its original guise, the Fast and Furious franchise might not have had the legs to become such a box office juggernaut. However, the street racing series soon transformed into something with much broader appeal, and Dom Toretto and his crew started taking on dangerous heists and international espionage. Fast and Furious is undoubtedly ridiculous, but the franchise leans into its corny appeal. It knows what the fans want to see, and it knows how to deliver that.
Fast and Furious
is undoubtedly ridiculous, but the franchise leans into its corny appeal. It knows what the fans want to see, and it knows how to deliver that.
With the Fast and Furious franchise set to conclude with its next entry, fans can expect an explosive finale. The characters have already been to the depths of the ocean and to outer space, so there’s no way of guessing what’s in store next. As long as the franchise provides fitting send-offs for its cast of lovable characters, it will likely be another massive hit. There’s also a chance that there could be more spinoffs to follow 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw.
2 Mission: Impossible
7 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $4,144,000,000.
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The first Mission: Impossible movie is a thrilling adaptation of the 1960s TV series, but there is little to indicate what the franchise would eventually become. For the most part, the franchise has gotten better with each entry, which defies the trend that impacts practically every other major Hollywood franchise. The big key to the franchise’s success is, of course, Tom Cruise, who exudes movie star charisma in an era where star power is sorely lacking.
For the most part, the franchise has gotten better with each entry, which defies the trend that impacts practically every other major Hollywood franchise.
Mission: Impossible‘s stunts have gotten bigger and better, with Tom Cruise outdoing himself with every new release. However, the franchise is about far more than just jaw-dropping thrills. With some great villains and just the right amount of sci-fi tech, Mission: Impossible has ensured that it has a compelling story to tell. Expectations are high for the franchise’s eighth movie, slated for release in 2025.
1 James Bond
25 Movies. Franchise Box Office: $7,878,000,000.
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The James Bond franchise began back in 1962 when Sean Connery made his first appearance as 007 in Dr. No. From his very first scene, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette in a glitzy casino, a cinematic icon began to take shape. There have now been 25 official James Bond movies with six different actors stepping in as Ian Fleming’s famous spy, and the franchise has always been at the forefront of action movie trends.
Action movies simply wouldn’t be the same without the pioneering stunts and the iconic characters of the
James Bond
franchise.
The James Bond movies provide the gold standard that all spy thrillers have to live up to in some way or another. The franchise has had its ups and downs over the past seven decades, but it has sustained its classy appeal. Action movies simply wouldn’t be the same without the pioneering stunts and the iconic characters of the James Bond franchise. The big question now is how the franchise will prepare for its next era after Daniel Craig’s departure, as casting for Bond 26 remains a mystery.