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- The 25 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time
Did you grow up watching Pokémon or collecting Pokémon cards? Or perhaps you discovered the colossally successful entertainment franchise during the Pokémon Go craze. Launched on July 6, 2016, a record-breaking 130 million people downloaded the free app. Today, the Pokémon Go community is still thriving with over 5 million players. It made an estimated 795 million dollars worldwide in 2018 alone. This contributed to Pokémon being the highest grossing media in global history.
The 25 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time infographic
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The top 25 highest grossing media franchises of all time worldwide (by total revenue in U.S. dollars) are as follows:
- Pokémon – $92.121 billion
- Hello Kitty – $80.026 billion
- Winnie the Pooh – $75.034 billion
- Mickey Mouse & Friends – $70.587 billion
- Star Wars – $65.631 billion
- Anpanman – $60.285 billion
- Disney Princess – $45.187 billion
- Mario – $36.143 billion
- Shōnen Jump / Jump Comics – $34.117 billion
- Harry Potter – $30.871 billion
- Marvel Cinematic Universe – $29.128 billion
- Spider-Man – $27.078 billion
- Gundam – $26.457 billion
- Batman – $26.448 billion
- Dragon Ball – $24.031 billion
- Barbie – $24.003 billion
- Fist of the North Star – $21.818 billion
- Cars – $21.794 billion
- Toy Story – $20.743 billion
- One Piece – $20.515 billion
- Lord of the Rings – $19.937 billion
- James Bond – $19.900 billion
- Yu-Gi-Oh! – $19.848 billion
- Peanuts – $17.428 billion
- Transformers – $17.220 billion
Pokémon was created in 1996, meaning that it has earned an average of nearly $4 billion a year. This number is impressive, but it does not fully convey what franchises have been wildly successful in recent times. While not included in the top 25, the film Frozen earned $11.3 billion in just 6 years!
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is estimated to have grossed over $29 billion including box office, merchandise, home entertainment, and comic volume revenue; over $19 billion came from the box office alone. It’s important to note that this estimate was calculated BEFORE the release of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame which have already added billions to the MCU’s total gross and Endgame is only just getting started!
