10 Movie Franchises We Cannot Believe Are Still Going

Summary

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• Many long-running movie franchises continue despite their inconsistent quality and lack of fresh ideas.
• Some franchises, like
  James Bond
  and
  Planet of the Apes
  , have managed to endure and reinvent themselves over many decades.
• Other franchises, like
  Toy Story
  and
  Ghostbusters
  , should have ended after their satisfying conclusions but continue due to financial reasons.

Many movie franchises that should have ended long ago are shockingly still going. Some of these even gave viewers seemingly satisfying and emotional conclusions before choosing to continue anyway. Others have wrestled through several lackluster incarnations with little success in attempts to regain their former glory. A few are simply astounding for their massive staying power, becoming cinematic staples for generations of moviegoers.

There are plenty of movie franchises that are surprisingly still kicking after decades, whether they’re genuinely successful or not. A number of them do seem to be improving with a change in creative teams that are passionately taking the franchises in new directions. With others, it may be a surprise to hear they are still going, whether due to large gaps since their last releases, or their consistent lack of quality. Some of these franchises deserve to finally get the boot, though, with much-overdue conclusions.

10 James Bond

Year started: 1962 | Latest Release: No Time to Die (2021)

The James Bond franchise has already managed a lifespan of more than 60 years by constantly inviting new directors and, of course, new lead actors to put their spin on Ian Fleming’s creation. Still, with 25 official (EON-produced) installments as of 2023, not to mention the non-canon films, it is astounding just how many James Bond movies there are and how enduring their legacy has proved. Meanwhile, after Daniel Craig’s final appearance in the series being in 2022’s No Time to Die, fans lie in wait for the announcement of the next actor who will take on the iconic role in the 26th James Bond movie.

9 Jurassic Park

Year started: 1993 | Latest Release: Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

The Jurassic Park franchise has been chasing the thrilling highs of Steven Spielberg’s original for over 30 years, to little avail. The series has run its course — at least the films have anyway. The latest feature-length release, Jurassic World Dominion, was messy, tension-less, and much too long. Still, Jurassic Park‘s animated spinoff shows are bringing something new to the franchise, promising exciting new continuations of the dinosaur-driven franchise in other mediums.

8 Toy Story

Year started: 1995 | Upcoming Release: Toy Story 5 (2025/2026)

Despite Toy Story 3 being a satisfyingly moving conclusion to the story of Buzz, Woody, and their friends, Disney and Pixar plowed ahead anyway, releasing a fourth entry with a fifth Toy Story movie on the way. The third film’s tearjerking conclusion to Andy’s storyline as he grows up and goes to college, giving away his beloved toys, was a phenomenal place to end things. Toy Story 4, on the other hand, with its simple and dramatically weightless storyline felt more like a lengthy TV special than a feature. As beloved as these characters will always be, it’s time for the franchise to hang up its spacesuit and cowboy boots.

7 Planet Of The Apes

Year started: 1968 | Upcoming Release: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

It may be surprising to learn that 2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the 10th entry in the franchise. Sure, the rebooted film series has brought dazzling new life to the franchise through modern special effects, visually daring direction, and, of course, Andy Serkis’s phenomenal motion-capture performance. Still, looking back on how groundbreaking the first film’s mix of thought-provoking social commentary and heart-pumping action was more than 50 years ago, it is unbelievable that the series still manages to find ways to push its boundaries.

6 Despicable Me

Year started: 2010 | Upcoming Release: Despicable Me 4 (2024)

When Despicable Me was released in 2010, no one could have predicted the massive internet and cultural phenomenon the franchise, and specifically its energetic and kooky yellow Minions, would become. However, for all this franchise’s non-stop antics and slapstick gags, the jokes don’t always land, and the shrill Minions and the films’ thin plots have become grating. Still, Minions: Rise of Gru was a major improvement on the first Minions spinoff, so hopes are high for the sixth entry in the franchise, Despicable Me 4, which is set to return to the main storyline and characters of the original entries.

5 Rocky

Year started: 1976 | Latest Release: Creed III (2023)

Rocky has come a long way from Sylvester Stallone running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with the spinoff series Creed taking the franchise in a very different, although tonally similar, direction. The entries in Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed trilogy have managed to find a fresh visual style and reinvigorate the franchise’s fight sequences with electric new choreography. Still, when the screen isn’t filled with punches, the Creed films go from enthralling to mostly formulaic, proving this franchise has run its course.

4 Ghostbusters

Year started: 1984 | Upcoming Release: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

After the failure of a female-led reboot, Ghostbusters came back with a continuation of the original movies by Jason Reitman, son of the first two films’ director, Ivan Reitman, and he brought care and heart to the franchise. Still, Ghostbusters has sadly moved away from the ridiculous comedy the original was known for, opting for something closer to straight-forward science-fiction. With most of its appeal, and much of its writing, focused on the series’ nostalgia factor, and the tone completely different from the originals, it might be time for this franchise to come to an end.

3 Fast & Furious

Year started: 2001 | Latest Release: Fast X (2023)

Including the spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, there have been 11 films in only 22 years since the release of the first entry in this franchise. While featuring exciting action sequences, the Fast & Furious movies have become increasingly more ridiculous, with the latest feeling like a parody of itself. The screenwriters constantly add more convoluted twists to keep the story going. Before even reaching its 11th outing with Fast X, the series ran out of steam years ago.

2 Transformers

Year started: 2007 | Upcoming Release: Transformers One (2024)

Besides the spinoff prequel Bumblebee, which received positive reviews, every movie in the live-action Transformers franchise has a rotten critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The films were never about more than spectacle, and their formulaic plots and cliché characters, not to mention their bizarre lack of continuity, haven’t helped prove the franchise deserved to be such a success for decades. No matter their poor quality, there seems to be no end to this franchise, which should not have made it past its poor first entry, let alone see its eighth film coming in 2024.

1 Saw

Year started: 2004 | Latest Release: Saw X (2023)

The latest sequel, Saw X, earned the Saw franchise its best-ever reception thanks to a cleverly plotted narrative and complex character development. It’s surprising nonetheless that a niche, low-budget horror series has managed to find such a massive loyal fanbase and gone for so long. While its latest release is promising for the future of the franchise, it’s amazing the series lasted through the poorly conceived entries released in the 19 years between the first Saw and Saw X.