Perhaps no movie best exemplifies this than the recent sequel-of-sorts to Jumanji, which absolutely nobody asked for. Indeed, there is no film safe from a remake or retelling. Twenty of the top 50 highest grossing movies belong to just four franchises and, with the exception of Harry Potter, none of them show any sign of slowing down. Even when those films disappoint-as they often do-the ensuing anger and controversy still makes money for the production company. The Fast and the Furious franchise is at 8 and counting, taking home a total of $5 billion.įor Hollywood, the safest bets are on old favorites, which come complete with a guaranteed fan base and a bank of nostalgic memories.

The Marvel franchise has released 19 films in the last 10 years, with a worldwide gross of $13.5 billion.

The rest are either adaptations of novels, superhero comics, remakes of older films or just the sequels and prequels to other box office behemoths. Of the 50 highest-grossing movies of all time, only six are original creations. And on both fronts, the numbers keep rising. If there's two trends that define the world of modern movies, it's the number of prequels, sequels and remakes on offer, and the number of money those prequels, sequels and remakes bring in.

Highest grossing movies