The Longest Movie Franchise Of All Time Probably Isn't What You Think

There have been several dozen films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, going strong and releasing multiple films almost every year since its beginning in 2008. The MCU's overwhelming volume has inspired several conversations by pundits and critics, wherein they ponder the series as one of the longest-running in cinema history. It is, of course, by no means the longest. Indeed, a close study of cinema history will immediately reveal film franchises that handily outstrip it.

One might immediately think of Godzilla, for instance, a film series that has been chugging along pretty steadily since its debut in 1954. To date, there have been 38 feature films (in both Japan and America) in the "Godzilla" franchise. Some deep-cut kiddie-entertainment enthusiasts may be able to recall that there are already 43 animated movies to star Mattel's Barbie, and that's not even counting Greta Gerwig's live-action blockbuster. Those 43 movies were made between 2001 and the present. 

When one delves into cinema history, one might find that there are some old-timey Western franchises that stand above all the others in both their prolificacy and their longevity. Furthermore, delving into Japanese tokusatsu films and martial arts movies will also find some franchises, characters, and stories that have installments numbering in the 90s and 100s.

Currently, the longest-running film franchise in cinema history is the Wong Fei-Hung series of films, most of them made in Hong Kong, starting in 1940. Wong Fei-Hung was a real life martial artist who lived from 1847 to 1925, but he came into cultural prominence thanks to the many, many movies made about him. There are, to date, 123 Won Fei-Hung movies. 

Of course, whether or not the Wong Fei-Hung movies count as a "franchise" is up for debate. Yes, there are 123 Won Fei-Hung movies, but they haven't all been made by the same production company, and they don't all follow the same continuity. For instance, Jackie Chan played Wong (seen above) in the 1978 film "Drunken Master," and that film has nothing to do with the six films in the "Once Upon a Time in China" series that starred Jet Li (and later, Vincent Zhao) as Wong. The "Once Upon a Time" series, incidentally, is often cited as the best martial arts film series of all time. 

Sammo Hung even played Wong in the 2004 American remake of "Around the World in 80 Days." Counting the Wong movies as a single "franchise," then, may be dubious. It would be like saying that every single adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is part of the same franchise. There are many, many Dracula movies, but they're not all of a piece. Also, because Wong Fei-Hung is a folk hero, his stories are in the public domain. As such, there is no singular controlling corporate interest behind all the movies, binding them together as a "franchise."

One can, however, point to the many Wong Fei-Hung movies that starred Kwan Tak-Hing as a single franchise. Kwan played Wong Fei-Hung in no less than 77 films (though some may be lost) beginning in 1949 and lasting through the 1980s. Those films all presumably follow a single continuity, arguing that they are the same "franchise." And while 77 is a far cry from the 123 film in toto, it's still am impressively long series of film. 

Other series, though, have that 77 record beat.

The TV series "Kamen Rider" debuted on Japanese television in 1971, and it has been returning into the public eye periodically ever since. The very, very prolific series has also spawned numerous theatrical features, many of them re-cut versions of TV episodes. Many of the "Kamen Rider" movies are shorts, but they certainly count, as they were indeed released in theaters. Like Godzilla, "Kamen Rider" is repeatedly rebooted for new "eras," and a deep-cut fan will be able to tell you more closely about the divisions and nuances of the various "Kamen Rider" generations. 

The premise is fun: In the near-future, the world is in the grip of Shocker, an oppressive terrorist organization founded by ex-Nazis. Shocker has advanced technology that allows them to kidnap unsuspecting citizens, brainwash them, and transform them into cyborg slaves. The titular Kamen Rider was mutated (into a part-grasshopper) and assimilated, but they escaped before the brainwashing part of the procedure. He became a superhero who aimed to fight and destroy Shocker. He was also fond of using a motorcycle, hence the "Rider" part of his name. 

The first Kamen Rider movie, "Go! Go! Kamen Rider," was released in 1971. The latest Kamen Rider film, "Kamen Rider 555 20th: Paradise Regained," was released in 2024. American audiences may be familiar with Hideako Anno's 2023 reboot of the series "Shin Kamen Rider," a film that rests in the same filmmaking ethos as Anno's "Shin Ultraman" and "Shin Godzilla." Like Godzilla, there isn't a single, solid Kamen Rider continuity, but unlike the Wong Fei-Hung movies, they are all overseen by a single corporate entity. Therefore, Kamen Rider is the longest-running film franchise of all time. 

The longest-running American film series is likely the 72 film-long series of Westerns starring Roy Rogers, released from 1938 to 1951. Roy Rogers, of course, was a prolific and popular cowboy performer who was best known for rodeo shows, cowboy songs, and his horse, Trigger. His series, "The Roy Rogers Show," was one of the most popular of its day, and he popularized the song "Happy Trails," which many of us know merely through cultural osmosis. We have also internalized "Yippiee-Ki-Yay," thanks to Rogers. (No, John McClane didn't invent it.) The 72 Roy Rogers movies were all put out by Republic Pictures, and they all seem to follow a singular continuity. 

The Roy Rogers movies may be the longest-running series of films put out by a single studio, following the same actor, and taking place in the same continuity. Roy Rogers always played the folk version of himself.

The first Roy Rogers movie was "Under Western Stars," and it was about Roy battling evil water-controlling fat cats who wanted to charge farmers for using their utilities for farming. Roy Rogers wasn't grizzled or a gun-slinging badass but a noble, gentle, bland hero in a white hat. In 1944, in the film "Cowboy and the Señorita," Rogers was joined by his longtime partner Dale Evans. Roy and Dale would marry in 1947 and would stay married until her death in 1998. The 72nd and final Roy Rogers movie was "Pals of the Golden West," released in 1951. 

72 films from 1938 to 1951 averages out to about 5.5 films a year. Those pundits who talk about the extensive nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would do well to remember the busy cinematic life of Roy Rogers.