Published May 17, 2026, 11:55 AM EDT
Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader, film buff, and amateur historian who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.
It's unusual for box office hits to simply vanish, but these billion-dollar film franchises completely disappeared. Profits are ultimately what drive the movie business, thus successful series often return again and again. It's a major milestone when a franchise surpasses $1 billion at the box office, and it is one of the surest signs that fans are antsy for more.
Many of the most successful film franchises in history are still going strong today, cranking out new sequels and spinoffs to meet demand. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Harry Potter, and Star Wars series are just some of the names that hover near the top of the all-time box office list, and they continue to expand every year. However, longevity isn't always guaranteed in the fickle realm of blockbusters.
Some popular franchises burn out after one bad entry, and producers are too scared to green-light another one for fear of losing tons of cash in the deal. It's usually wise to end a movie series once it crests the peak of its box office viability and begins to slide downward. What's less explicable is why some long-running series vanish despite having some gas left in the tank.
With franchises like Shrek and Ice Age returning in the near future, it's clear that many missing blockbuster series could come back at any point. Nostalgia is another big moneymaker, so the prospect of legacy sequels means no franchise is ever really gone for good. Nevertheless, these billion-dollar series are nowhere to be found.
5 The Lego Movie - $1.1
The four-movie Lego series just barely cracks the $1 billion mark, but it is still conspicuously absent in today's world of massive franchises. 2014's imaginative experiment, The Lego Movie, is a clever use of the popular toy IP, and that continues in its sequel and spinoffs. Generally speaking, the Lego movies are a profitable bunch with a lot of potential.
Though The Lego Ninjago Movie didn't live up to expectations, it is only a minor blip in what is an otherwise viable property. The main series, as well as a Lego Batman sequel seem like an obvious slam dunk. However, Universal now has the rights to distribute Lego movies, while the pre-established characters stay with Warner Bros.
This means that any future Lego movies won't be tied to the billion-dollar franchise. Development has moved slowly since the 2020 switch, and only a few vague announcements have been made in the years since. Sadly, The Lego Movie franchise is probably gone for good.
4 The Hangover - $1.4 Billion
It could be argued that The Hangover is a dead franchise because it ran its course, but that has never stopped Hollywood before. The rip-roaring raunchy flick set a new box office record for R-rated comedies, and its sequels also pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars. It's important to note that the trilogy's box office performance charts like a bell curve.
The first movie snagged nearly $470 million, and the franchise peaked when the second film pulled in $586 million. The Hangover Part III saw a major dip when it only grossed $362 million. The third film's lackluster performance can be chalked up to fatigue, and all three movies were released between 2009 and 2013.
The story concludes in Part III, but clever writing could always bring it back. With more than a decade passing since the last Hangover film, a fourth installment could be a smash hit on nostalgia alone. Comedies are starting to rebound in theaters, and another Hangover adventure is in order.
3 Jason Bourne - $1.6
The Jason Bourne franchise has been one of the crown jewels of action cinema since the turn of the new millennium, but it has been on hiatus for a decade. Starting all the way back in 2002 with The Bourne Identity, Robert Ludlum's CIA assassin has appeared in a handful of movies that combine stellar filmmaking on top of their explosive action. From the outset, Bourne meant box office gold.
The first three movies saw continued box office growth, but the replacement of Matt Damon with Jeremy Renner caused 2012's The Bourne Legacy to stumble mightily. When Damon returned in Jason Bourne, the ship was righted, and it made over $400 million in 2016. The latest film in the franchise is also the second highest-grossing, meaning the series is far from on the decline.
Plans for a sixth Bourne movie have been cooking since 2016, but a major detour has derailed the series. Universal temporarily lost the rights to the series, and things stagnated as it was shopped around. Universal regained the rights in 2025, but no major plans are known. It's only a matter of time before Jason Bourne is back on the big screen, though Matt Damon might not return.
2 Madagascar - $2.2 Billion
There are quite a few multi-billion dollar family film franchises out there, but Madagascar is already starting to be lost to time. The humorous tale of escaped zoo animals captured audience's attention back in 2005, and it scored an impressive half billion at the box office. The first sequel did even better, crossing the $1 billion mark after only two installments.
Unlike other franchises which start to decline and are swiftly abandoned, the mainline Madagascar series actually hit its peak with the third (and so far) final movie. Europe's Most Wanted earned a staggering $700 million in 2012, making it the eighth highest-grossing movie of that huge box office year. Unfortunately, a spinoff put the series on ice.
Penguins of Madagascar was released in 2014, and it failed to live up to expectations and can be considered a blockbuster bomb. Madagascar 4 was on the calendar for 2018, but it was eventually canceled. Another movie isn't off the table, especially considering the franchise's box office potential. If the latest Shrek and Ice Age movies do well, the other smash-hit Aughts animated series will likely return.
1 Pirates Of The Caribbean - $4.5 Billion
As Disney's animated films stumbled in the 2000s, their live-action counterparts took off thanks in large part to the Pirates of the Caribbean series. 2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl brought the beloved theme park attraction to life, and brought cinema back to the classic swashbuckling adventures of old. It also scored over $600 million, making it a bona fide blockbuster.
Dead Man's Chest came three years later and earned over $1 billion. Remarkably, 2007's At World's End almost matched its predecessor. The fourth flick made over $1 billion, making Pirates the first film franchise to release more than one billion-dollar movie. A six-year gap dampened things a bit, and 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales dropped to $700 million.
Pirates of the Caribbean remains a viable property for Disney, even with a poor critical reception to the last movie. It has nearly been a decade since Captain Jack Sparrow swaggered across the screen, and time is running out for Disney to capitalize. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has waffled on a sixth movie, and nothing is set in stone yet. At this point, Disney is leaving a massive box office opportunity on the table.
Source: Box Office Mojo, The Hollywood Reporter
English (US) ·