Back in 1937, with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs — the first-ever feature length animated movie — the precedent was set, demonstrating that animated films, when crafted with skill and creativity, possess an inherent potential to captivate audiences and perform exceptionally well at the box office. This enduring trend has turned animated movies into a consistent force in the ever-evolving landscape of cinema economics.
Unlike many other cinematic genres, the charm of a good animated movie transcends generational boundaries, making it a versatile and timeless form of entertainment. The magic lies in the ability of animated films to resonate with audiences of all ages. Whether you're a child enraptured by colorful characters and whimsical adventures, or an adult appreciating the nuanced storytelling, sophisticated animation techniques, and subtle adult jokes, animated movies have a unique capacity to engage and delight viewers across the spectrum of age and experience.
Below, we look at the most successful animated movie franchises of all time based on their earnings at the worldwide box office, some of which, due to the universal appeal of many of these titles, sit among the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, regardless of genre or medium.
10 Doraemon — $1.7 Billion
Doraemon follows the adventures of a robotic cat named Doraemon, sent from the future to aid a young boy named Nobita Nobi by using futuristic gadgets to navigate everyday challenges and dilemmas. Your surprise at the inclusion of Doraemon in this list can be forgiven as, despite their massive success in Japan, Doraemon movies haven't gained the same level of recognition in the Western world. The cultural nuances and specific themes embedded in the narratives may contribute to the limited appeal outside of Japan, where familiarity with Doraemon and his world may not be as widespread.
Having said this, the Doraemon movie franchise boasts an impressive legacy, with over 40 movies under its belt. This extensive cinematic collection attests to the huge domestic appeal of the lovable blue cat and his adventures with Nobita.
How It Performed at the Box Office
In 2015, Doraemon emerged as Japan's reigning film franchise, surpassing Godzilla by grossing over ¥100 billion in revenue and selling a staggering 100 million tickets at the domestic box office. Fast-forward to the present day, and the Doraemon films have amassed over $1.7 billion, globally, securing its position not only as the highest-grossing film in the country, but also as the premier non-English film franchise globally. Its impact reverberates across borders, firmly establishing Doraemon as one of the most lucrative animated film franchises on the international stage.
9 The Incredibles — $1.87 Billion
Distribution
The Incredibles movie franchise consists of just two entries: The Incredibles released in 2004 and Incredibles 2 in 2018. Far more than just animated superhero movies, while still delivering thrilling action sequences, they simultaneously explore the intricacies of family life and societal expectations, injecting a blend of humor and heartfelt moments.
The first installment, released in 2004, garnered widespread acclaim for its clever subversion of superhero clichés. Its equally successful 2018 sequel continued the legacy, maintaining the perfect balance between satire, action, and emotion. Pixar's adept storytelling not only secured both films as classics but also established them as benchmarks for both animated and superhero movies as a whole.
How It Performed at the Box Office
The first movie achieved substantial success, accumulating over $631 million globally. Its sequel, Incredibles 2, not only lived up to the high expectations set by its predecessor, but also surpassed them, becoming a colossal hit, with a staggering worldwide gross exceeding $1.2 billion. The series' cumulative box office performance stands at an impressive total of over $1.8 billion, showcasing the world’s unbridled enthusiasm for Pixar's unique blend of action, humor, and heart.
8 Finding Nemo — $1.96 Billion
Finding Nemo and its sequel, Finding Dory, both crafted by Pixar Animation Studios, plunge audiences into the mesmerizing depths of the ocean. Released in 2003, Finding Nemo follows Marlin, a clownfish, on a poignant odyssey across the expansive sea to rescue his son, Nemo, who is captured by a diver and placed in a fish tank. The film's touching exploration of father-son relationships, complemented by breathtaking underwater visuals, won the hearts of audiences worldwide.
Finding Dory, released in 2016, shifts the spotlight to Dory, the forgetful royal blue tang fish, as she embarks on a quest to reunite with her long-lost family. This sequel's success underscores its compelling narrative, humor, and emotional resonance, establishing it as a worthy extension of the beloved underwater universe introduced in Finding Nemo.
How It Performed at the Box Office
The Finding Nemo franchise has navigated the box office waters with tremendous success, marked by impressive global figures on both sides of the pond. The original film, Finding Nemo, made a splash with audiences worldwide, accumulating a substantial box office gross exceeding $940 million. Finding Dory continued the series' triumphant journey, surpassing $1 billion in global box office revenue. Together, these films propelled the Finding Nemo series to a cumulative total of nearly $2 billion, emphasizing its widespread appeal and audience engagement.
7 Madagascar — $2.27 Billion
The Madagascar film series, crafted by DreamWorks Animation, embarked on an entertaining journey enriched by its stellar cast of voice actors. Kicking off in 2005, Madagascar introduced audiences to the comedic shenanigans of the misfit bunch of zoo animals, voiced by a cast of renowned actors including Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
This animated adventure's success paved the way for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in 2008 and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012, maintaining the comedic synergy of the ensemble cast. Meanwhile, the series expanded with the spin-off Penguins of Madagascar in 2014, focusing on the espionage exploits of the penguin characters.
How It Performed at the Box Office
The inaugural film, Madagascar, set the stage with a robust box office gross exceeding $542 million worldwide. Building on this success, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa soared to new heights, contributing significantly to the series' cumulative performance with a global box office figure surpassing $603 million. The franchise expanded its reach with the spin-off Penguins of Madagascar (2014), which brought its own comedic flair and added to the overall success of the Madagascar universe with a healthy $373 million additional earnings at the box office.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted continued the trend, achieving a global box office gross of over $746 million. Collectively, these films propelled the Madagascar series to an impressive total worldwide gross, surpassing the $2.27 billion mark, affirming the franchise's ability to entertain audiences globally and cementing its place as one of the most successful and offbeat movies in the animated film landscape.
6 The Lion King — $2.63 Billion
From its emotionally compelling coming of age story to the fantastic and memorable soundtrack and its cast of wild and wacky supporting characters, the original Lion King has rightfully earned its place as one of the most successful and well-respected movies of all time. In 2019, a new generation was treated to a "live-action" remake, which stirred considerable debate around its classification as a live-action film due to its groundbreaking use of photorealistic animation.
Despite the term "live-action," the film relied heavily on advanced animation techniques, with every frame intricately crafted to replicate the natural world (per Los Angeles Times). The stunning visual effects brought the iconic animated characters to life in a new way, blurring the lines between live-action and animated filmmaking. For the sake of this list, we are making the argument that, despite being marketed as live-action, it is in fact still an animated movie.
Aside from these major theatrical releases, The Lion King franchise expanded with several direct-to-video spin-offs and sequels, delving into additional chapters of the Pride Lands' saga and offering fans new adventures with familiar characters, with the likes of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa.
How It Performed at the Box Office
1994’s The Lion King roared into cinematic history, with a staggering $422.8 million earned in North America and an additional $545.7 million in other territories, making for a worldwide total of $968.5 million. Following its initial theatrical run, during which it earned $763 million, The Lion King secured its place as the highest-grossing animated film of its time and the highest-grossing movie of 1994. This animated masterpiece also claimed the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, trailing only behind Jurassic Park (1993) until it was overtaken by Independence Day a couple of years later.
The 2019 remake further elevated the triumph of the iconic franchise, achieving a staggering global box office gross of over $1.6 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time. This remarkable performance not only solidified the enduring appeal of the beloved tale, but also significantly contributed to the overall success of The Lion King franchise. When combined with the earnings of the original animated classic and its subsequent re-releases, the franchise's cumulative box office surpassed $2.6 billion, marking it as an absolute powerhouse in the world of cinema.
5 Frozen — $2.74 Billion
Disney’s Frozen franchise commenced with the release of Frozen in 2013. This animated musical captivated audiences globally with its heartwarming narrative centered around sisterhood, love, and self-discovery, amplified by the iconic anthem "Let It Go" as sung by small children across the globe, much to the joy of parents, we’re sure.
Building on this success, Disney unveiled the sequel, Frozen II, in 2019, extending the magical journey of Elsa, Anna, and their companions. This installment delved into the origins of Elsa's powers and introduced a new batch of sing-alongs. With immense success the series has seen, it’s unsurprising that Disney are reportedly working on further sequels to maintain the momentum.
How It Performed at the Box Office
Frozen proved to be a monumental success, grossing over $1.2 billion worldwide, breaking records, and becoming Disney's highest-grossing animated film and the highest-grossing movie of the year. Its sequel, Frozen II, continued the franchise's incredible performance, exceeding its predecessor's box office success with a global gross of over $1.45 billion, setting the record for the highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time for an animated film.
Already sitting on a cumulative gross of $2.74 billion, and with more movies in the works, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the franchise move its way further up this list in the future, with a very real potential of reaching the top spot.
4 Ice Age — $3.21 Billion
The Ice Age franchise, produced by Blue Sky Studios (now owned by Disney), took audiences on a prehistoric adventure filled with humor, heart, and endearing characters. Kicking off with Ice Age in 2002, the film introduces Manny the wooly mammoth, Sid the sloth, and Diego the saber-toothed tiger as an unlikely trio navigating a world on the brink of a massive ice age. The franchise continued to evolve with several sequels, including Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), and Collision Course (2016), each adding new layers to the characters' journeys.
Most recently, the franchise saw the side character Buck Wild (voiced by Simon Pegg) take center stage for his own spin-off, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, which was released directly to Disney+. Unfortunately, the movie failed to reach the high expectations set by the rest of the franchise and received mainly negative reviews due to its unoriginal plotline and humor falling flat.
How It Performed at the Box Office
Ice Age kicked off the series strongly with a global box office gross surpassing $383 million. Subsequent entries continued on an upwards trajectory, with The Meltdown’s worldwide gross exceeding $660 million, Dawn of the Dinosaurs grossing over $886 million globally, and Ice Age: Continental Drift accumulating a staggering $877 million. It wasn’t until Collision Course that the series’ popularity began to wane, with it making $408 million. The series' cumulative worldwide gross has reached over $3 billion, solidifying Ice Age as one of the most successful animated franchises of all time.
3 Toy Story — $3.27 Billion
Spanning across nearly 24 years, the Toy Story franchise's ability to blend technological innovation with timeless storytelling has solidified its place as one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time. It all began with Toy Story in 1995, a groundbreaking animated feature that marked Pixar's feature-length debut and set a new standard for CGI animation. Four years later, in 1999, Toy Story 2 continued the saga, further elevating the storytelling and earning acclaim across the board.
After a decade, Toy Story 3 hit theaters in 2010, tugging at heartstrings with its poignant exploration of growing up and moving on. Toy Story 4, graced screens in 2019, introducing new characters and providing what many thought was a fitting conclusion to Woody and Buzz's adventures. (Recent rumblings have indicated, however, that a new installment may be in the works.)
2022’s Lightyear saw Pixar shifting its formula and putting Buzz Lightyear at the forefront in his spin-off movie, only this time the story unfolds in a distinct universe separate from the main Toy Story films. It is portrayed as a movie that characters from the primary Toy Story series have watched. The focus of Lightyear revolves around Buzz Lightyear, depicted as a human character in this film rather than a toy.
How It Performed at the Box Office
Across its four main entries, the series has amassed an eye-watering total worldwide gross of over $3 billion. Toy Story set the stage with a notable global box office figure of approximately $373 million. The momentum continued with Toy Story 2, which surpassed its predecessor, grossing around $497 million globally. The emotional and critically acclaimed Toy Story 3 saw an impressive surge, reaching a worldwide box office gross of over $1.06 billion. Toy Story 4 matched those figures, also earning approximately $1.07 billion globally.
Unfortunately, Pixar’s change in direction didn’t resonate as well with audiences, and Lightyear became the first critical and commercial disappointment in the franchise, grossing just $226.4 million against a budget of around $200 million.
2 Shrek — $4.02 Billion
The Shrek franchise, originating in 2001 with its eponymous debut, has become an iconic and irreverent force in animated filmmaking. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the original Shrek introduced audiences to the unconventional and lovable ogre, Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers, and his wisecracking companion, Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy.
The success of the first film led to three more main releases: Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010). Each installment expanded the fantastical world of Far Far Away, blending humor and heart while exploring themes of self-acceptance and friendship. The franchise also spawned two successful spin-offs based on the adventures of the lovable feline rogue, Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas.
How It Performed at the Box Office
The original Shrek burst onto the scene in 2001, grossing an impressive $488 million worldwide. Its sequels, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third ,and Shrek Forever After, continued the franchise's triumph, each contributing significantly to the overall success. Shrek 2 stands out as a particularly noteworthy entry, grossing over $928 million globally and becoming one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.
The spin-off film Puss in Boots, which centered around the charismatic feline character, added to the franchise's achievements with a global box office gross exceeding $554 million. Combined with its follow-up, The Last Wish’s $480 million, these movies brought the franchise over the $4 billion mark, making it the second-highest-grossing animated movie franchise of all time.
1 Despicable Me — $4.6 Billion
Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise has not only made a significant impact at the box office, but has also become a cultural phenomenon in its own right. It all started with the release of Despicable Me in 2010, introducing audiences to the initially villainous Gru and his army of Minions. The film's success paved the way for the hugely successful sequels Despicable Me 2 and Despicable Me 3, which further explore Gru's good/evil dichotomy.
However, it was the Minions spin-off in 2015 that propelled the franchise to unprecedented heights. Focused on Gru's adorable yellow sidekick creatures, the film became an internet phenomenon and the Minions' universal charm, coupled with their comedic antics, transcended borders and languages, turning them into a cultural sensation which showed no sign of slowing down with the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru.
How it Performed at the Box Office
The Despicable Me / Minions franchises has proven to be animation’s biggest global box office juggernaut, consistently delivering impressive numbers. The total worldwide gross for the franchise is staggering, surpassing $4.6 billion. Despicable Me itself garnered over $543 million globally, while its sequel, Despicable Me 2, further solidified the series with an incredible $970 million in worldwide box office earnings.
The Minions movie propelled the franchise to new heights, raking in over $1.1 billion, becoming one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. The subsequent entries, Despicable Me 3 and Minions: Rise of Gru, continued this trend, raking in around $1 billion each and contributing towards what is the most successful animated franchise of all time.
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