With 12 movies and even more spin-offs, sequels, prequels, and TV series all produced since The Phantom Menace set the stage in 1977, Star Wars has become one of the most loved and successful franchises in cinematic history. Testament to its undeniable cultural impact is the fact that there are very few people out there who are unable to name at least a few iconic names and lines from the classics, even including the ones who haven’t managed to watch one of the films in full.
Having said this, just how does the stellar legacy of Star Wars compare against the most successful franchises of all time?
Battle of the Best
The Film Franchise Showdown produced by SlotsOnlineCanada.com shows the top ten leading franchises based on their return on investment (ROI) figures and totaled critic scores including IMDb and award nominations and wins. In this showdown, Star Wars shines bright in second place, with an average critic score of 279.02 per film and managing to exceed the budget through box-office earnings an average of 13.59 times per film.
The Film Franchise Showdown crowns Episode IV – A New Hope from the original trilogy as the most successful installment, with a staggering ROI figure of 70.49. To put this into perspective, the most successful installment for Lord of the Rings, which is number one on the Film Franchise Showdown, has an ROI of 11.92! A New Hope has a total critic score of 380.00, though this is surpassed three episodes later by The Force Awakens, with a score of 435.00.
With these figures, it’s clear that Star Wars has been adored by the world from the very beginning.
Standing the Test of Time
The cultural impact of Star Wars on the film industry is something that has been rightfully recognized and credited time and time again in countless articles and dedicated studies. It stands as one of (if not the most) iconic science-fiction series out there and is the only one that made it into the Franchise Showdown, surrounded by other fantasy, superhero, and action titles.
Whilst other franchises on the rankings, such as Jurassic Park in fifth place, are mostly appreciated mostly for the first movies and less successful down the line, Star Wars has managed to maintain a huge and loyal cult following. Despite the older movies reigning supreme, rest assured that Star Wars has not fallen flat. Even Andor, the most recent series which started airing on Disney+ this September, was highly anticipated and has received a 96% critic approval rating and an 85% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For those who have seen the first season and are already craving for more, you will be glad to hear that others have already begun to speculate on the details of season two’s release.
It is no small feat that it has managed to best more current franchises like MCU and Harry Potter, both of which have had huge budgets to make use of. With such persistent, overwhelming appreciation, it is impossible to say that Star Wars has passed its prime even almost half a century since it was introduced to the theatres.