The box office success of
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (
now over $1 billion) has helped push
Star Wars past the
Harry Potter universe of films to become the second-highest grossing franchise of all time.
According to
Star Wars News Net, the
Star Wars franchise - which is comprised of 10 theatrically released movies - has earned a total of $8,556,678,930 worldwide, while the
Harry Potter franchise (9 films) has earned $8,539,253,704.
The regularity of
Star Wars films being released now that Disney is calling the shots pretty much guarantees that the franchise is in no danger of dropping below second; however, another Disney-owned property will probably prevent it from ever becoming first The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already grossed an estimated $13.5 billion worldwide (with
Thor: Ragnarok still in theaters). With Disney pumping out fresh Marvel films at a pace faster than
Star Wars, the number one spot for highest grossing franchise will remain in a very differnt galaxy far, far away — one that'll soon be turned on its head from a visit by Thanos.
Looking ahead,
Star Wars will be bolstered by the release of
Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25, 2018) and
Episode IX (December 20, 2019. Marvel, meanwhile, will see
Black Panther on February 16, 2018,
Avengers: Infinity War on May 4, 2018, and
Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018.