It's quite a feat when a series reaches four movies. Though it seems like there are a lot of franchises that are comprised of four films or more, there are a lot more that fail after just one or two.
The success of these series are thanks to a lot of things, and between the casting, the storylines, and the look of the movies, they have built enormous fanbases. Whether one is soaking up the aesthetic of the Wizarding World or battling bad guys with James Bond, there are tons of great long-running franchises that deserve this success.
Ocean's (4 Films)
The first movie in the Ocean's series, Ocean's Eleven, has become one of the best crime comedies and a classic heist film, and the sequels are great too. What's so good about the franchise is that, in terms of a team made up of bankable and charismatic movie stars, there wasn't anything like it.
With the exception of Ocean's 8, there hasn't been anything like it since either. There are the Avengers movies that bring so many actors together, but they all had their own movies in the franchise before that, and the series is what made those actors stars in the first place. The likes of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and George Clooney were all movie stars long before Ocean's Eleven was released.
Fast & Furious (10 Films)
Including the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, there are now 10 movies in the Fast and Furious franchise, which is astounding given that it started as a Point Break-influenced crime drama. Even the F9 director joked about Fast & Furious 68, but even though he said it in jest, it wouldn't be that surprising if the franchise reached that number.
That director, Justin Lin, is to thank for just how many hours fans have of Dominic Toretto driving fast cars and yelling about family. It was he who rebuilt the series with the fourth entry as a high-octane, action-packed franchise. If the fourth film ended up being another street racing movie, the series could very well have ended there.
Mission: Impossible (6 Films)
Just like the Fast and Furious series, Mission: Impossible hasn't always been as sturdy of a franchise as it is today. Mission: Impossible 2 was so negatively received that it almost ruined the series. But after a six-year break, it returned more solid than ever, and ever since Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, the movies have gotten more outrageous with each consecutive release.
Fans don't flock to the cinema for the narrative of the Mission: Impossible movies, but out of pure intrigue of whether or not Tom Cruise will survive climbing up the tallest building in the world or doing a death-defying HALO jump. The series also has a lot of respect because, given that most action is CGI these days, Cruise is committed to practical effects and doing these stunts in real life.
Alien (8 Films)
In terms of genre, the Alien series has interestingly taken many different forms over the years, and the change-up even started all the way back with the second movie, Aliens. The first film was Jaws in space, a terrifying horror movie that had the audience watching through their fingers, whereas the second was much more of an action movie.
Though there have been some questionable entries, such as Alien: Resurrection and the Alien vs. Predator series, they're always still entertaining. Even now, the series continues to shift genres. The prequel to the series, Prometheus, is a philosophical sci-fi movie that attempts to tackle one of life's biggest questions, "who are life's creators?"
Die Hard (5 Films)
Though it wasn't expected to be a big, industry-changing movie, Die Hard's concept of an everyday guy attempting to take down a group of terrorists in a building was hugely influential. There have been so many movies that have ripped off the concept, including Die Hard 2, but nothing beats the original.
The later movies in the series don't make much sense, as though John McClane was simply an out-of-his-element New York cop in the first few movies, he became an action hero later on. However, though Live Free or Die Had was guilty of this, it was still a great entry into the series and has one of the best set pieces of all the movies. There are even reports of another Die Hard sequel in the works, eight years after the last film.
Toy Story (4 Films)
It's clear that the Toy Story series is Pixar's baby. The studio has gotten into the habit of taking a decade between each movie to develop the narrative and work on the extremely advanced animation.
The time between movies is part of why it's so beloved, as the characters grow with the children who loved the very first movie, and fans were going to college just as Andy was going to college in Toy Story 3. Though some Redditors think Toy Story 4 was disappointing, it was a perfectly sweet epilogue to the high stakes ending of Toy Story 3, where all the toys thought they were going to die in an incinerator.
Star Wars (11 Films)
The Star Wars franchise has expanded exponentially since it was acquired by Disney. And though seeing the opening crawl and John Williams' musical score every two years might have softened some of the excitement, there's so much content for fans.
Not only are there nine movies in the main saga, but there are two spin-off movies and the TV show The Mandalorian, and there are even more shows currently in development. The most recent movies have been polarizing, to say the least, but unlike other long-running movie series, Star Wars still has a better batting average than most.
MCU (25 Films)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to achieve the impossible so many times. When movie studios were taking liberties with heroes' outfits to avoid looking goofy, Marvel Studios unashamedly released movies where the superheroes were in comic book-accurate outfits from the get-go.
Though there were a few Marvel story climaxes that fell short, the studio has released an innumerable amount of team-up movies that somehow tell a coherent story that wraps up dozens of story arcs in mostly satisfying ways. More than anything, movie critics were talking about the inevitable superhero fatigue and the decline of the genre before the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. But that was six years ago and the MCU has only gotten stronger, and there are no signs of it slowing down.
The Wizarding World (10 Films)
As was the case with Toy Story, the majority of fans of the Harry Potter series, who were young children, grew up with the characters of the movies. That's what made the connection between the fans and the series so strong, along with the magical world that was just so great to live in for 2.5 hours at a time.
After the tear-jerking eighth movie in the series, The Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the franchise continued with the Fantastic Beasts series, with a third movie due for release next year. As it comes with the subtitle The Secrets of Dumbledore, it's hinting at the series becoming more tied to Harry Potter, and fans may see some familiar faces.
James Bond (25 Films)
Saying that there are more than four movies in the James Bond franchise is an understatement, as the newly released No Time To Die marks the 25th movie in the series. The titular character has been portrayed by six different actors, with each one of them putting their own iconic spin on the spy. It's a testament to how great the franchise is, as every fan has their own favorite for their own reasons.
Spanning almost 60 years, the Bond franchise continues to surprise. Daniel Craig's version of the character is the first of the series to have a story arc over five movies, and he's certainly the first Bond to have any character development.