A beloved and long-running staple of cinema, animated offerings have accounted for some of the greatest movies of all time. While many of these movies are primarily targeted at younger audiences, the innate overall quality, sidesplitting humor, and universal themes that can be found in the best animated movies ever made still make for timeless films that appeal to audiences of all generations. In many cases, the wildfire success of these outings has spawned multi-film franchises that have gone on to become some of the most commercially successful ventures in cinematic history.

While it’s interesting to note that no animated entries make up the all-time top ten list of highest-grossing movie franchises, cinema’s top fifty is still peppered with standout offerings, ranging from beloved classics like Toy Story to exciting new arrivals like Inside Out. Earning eye-watering commercial returns to rubber-stamp their status as box-office тιтans, the highest-grossing animated movie franchises of all time encompᴀss some of the most influential and significant movies that popular culture has ever witnessed.

10

Madagascar

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $2.2 Billion

The rare example of a series that improved from a critical and commercial perspective with every subsequent release, Madagascar beats out the likes of The Incredibles and Moana to land as the tenth-highest-grossing animated movie franchise of all time (via The Numbers). From a financial perspective, this trend continued until 2014’s spin-off film, Penguins of Madagascar, which regrettably ended up underperforming at the box office.

However, while Penguins of Madagascar may not have lived up to financial expectations, the movie’s gross of just under $367 million worldwide was still enough to elevate Madagascar above Finding Nemo into cinema’s top ten highest-grossing animated franchises of all time. However, considering Madagascar 4 has failed to materialize more than a decade later, the franchise looks to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and buried as of 2025. Accordingly, don’t be surprised to eventually see this long-time top ten fixture overtaken in the coming years.

9

Kung Fu Panda

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $2.3 Billion

While rumblings over a potential Kung Fu Panda 5 have yet to be confirmed, the Jack Black-led martial arts comedy series is still one of the most financially lucrative animated offerings that cinema has ever witnessed. Grossing more than $2.3 billion worldwide across four movies to land as the ninth-highest-grossing animated franchise of all time (via The Numbers), the whopping returns from 2024’s Kung Fu Panda 4 saw the series return to cinema’s animated top ten after an absence of nearly a decade.

One of popular culture’s most well-known and prominent animated offerings for the better part of two decades, Kung Fu Panda’s remarkable box-office returns are a testament to just how much of a fan favorite this franchise remains to this day. The eye-watering returns from the series’ latest installment would indicate that it’s highly unlikely that we’ve heard the last of Po and Company, although it’s worth noting that the franchise risks sullying its sterling wider reputation, should future installments run out of steam.

8

Inside Out

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $2.5 Billion

Depicting the inner workings of a young girl’s mind through an array of personified emotions, the critically acclaimed Inside Out movies have earned status as one of the most profitable animated franchises of all time in the space of just under a decade. The eighth-highest-grossing animated series ever made (via The Numbers), Inside Out’s box office gross of just over $2.5 billion from two movies is nothing short of staggering.

While the 2015 original’s return of more than $850 million was nothing to sniff at, 2024’s Inside Out 2 broke multiple box-office records. Taking a little shy of $1.7 billion, Kelsey Mann’s sequel almost doubled Inside Out’s worldwide box office gross to land as the highest-grossing movie of 2024 and the ninth-highest-grossing movie of all time. It was also briefly the highest-earning animated movie ever made, before being surpᴀssed by 2025’s Ne Zha 2.

7

Frozen

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $2.7 Billion

A critical and commercial smash hit of the highest order, both of Frozen’s installments to date have broken the $1 billion mark at the box office to complement an array of glowing reviews, prompting the commission of 2027’s upcoming third entry, Frozen 3. As such, don’t be surprised if Frozen’s standing as the seventh-highest-grossing animated franchise of all time (via The Numbers) is subject to change down the line.

Frozen proved to be the highest-grossing film of 2013, while the sequel landed in the number three spot for 2019. The animated musical fantasy also bears the prestigious distinction of being the only franchise outside of Avatar to have all of its entries listed in the top 25 highest-grossing movies of all time, with Frozen and Frozen II clocking in at the 24th and 15th spots, respectively.

6

Fengshen Cinematic Universe

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $2.7 Billion

An extremely recent addition to the top ten highest-grossing animated franchises of all time, the Fengshen Cinematic Universe is likely the most profitable film series that you’ve never heard of. The Chinese animated fantasy adventure films currently make up the sixth-highest-grossing animated franchise in cinematic history (via The Numbers), charging in ahead of storied names such as Finding Nemo, How to Train Your Dragon, or The Incredibles.

2019’s Ne Zha had already landed as one of the most successful pieces of Chinese cinema ever made, courtesy of a stellar box office gross of more than $742 million, a state of affairs that wasn’t hurt by 2020’s spin-off entry Legend of Deification taking home just under $244 million a year later. However, it was the release of 2025’s box office тιтan Ne Zha 2 that has really got people taking notice. Grossing a whopping $1.98 billion to date, the sequel is already the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time.

5

Ice Age

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $3.2 Billion

After a hiatus that will have lasted a decade, one of the most profitable animated franchises in cinematic history is set to finally make its return when Ice Age 6 is released in 2026. While the series made a comeback of sorts through a standalone spin-off, 2022’s The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, the upcoming entry will mark the sixth official chapter in the fifth-highest-grossing movie franchise of all time (via The Numbers.)

It says a lot about Ice Age’s impressive box-office returns that the franchise has retained such a high placing among its peers, despite not having produced a movie from the original series for the better part of a decade. Furthermore, Ice Age is virtually neck and neck with its closest compeтιтor in Toy Story with an approximate worldwide total gross of $3.2 billion. As such, the box office returns from each storied franchise’s upcoming installment will be key in seeing who comes out on top by the time 2026 rolls to a close.

4

Toy Story

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $3.2 Billion

Eliciting laughter and tears in equal measure since 1995’s original installment, Toy Story is as close to a universally beloved animated franchise as one is likely to find. Earning consistently outstanding reviews across four installments of the main series, Toy Story held status as the third-highest-grossing animated franchise of all time until as recently as last year, before the success of 2024’s Mufasa: The Lion King bumped it down to fourth spot (via The Numbers.)

While 2022’s spin-off entry Lightyear didn’t receive the same degree of critical acclaim and bombed at the box office, Toy Story has proved to be such a commercial тιтan over the years that it did little to affect the wider franchise’s standing. Boasting two entries that have broken the $1 billion barrier at the box office, the franchise could still rise higher in the pecking order yet with the upcoming release of Toy Story 5.

3

The Lion King

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $3.3 Billion

It speaks volumes to the profitability of The Lion King that it’s still the third-highest-grossing animated movie franchise of all time (via The Numbers), despite the fact that two of its five entries don’t even factor into consideration when it comes to box office results. Two animated sequels to 1995’s original, 1998’s The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and 2004’s The Lion King 1 1/2 were released direct-to-video, meaning the franchise’s figures didn’t truly take off until the pH๏τorealistically animated remake dropped in 2019.

The quintessential example of a box-office billion-dollar hit with low Rotten Tomatoes scores, The Lion King raked in an eye-watering $1.6 billion worldwide to land as the second-highest-grossing movie of the year and the eleventh-highest-grossing movie of all time, despite an array of mixed reviews. 2024’s prequel-sequel Mufasa: The Lion King didn’t produce such stratospheric results, but still took home more than $714 million to land as the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 2024, in spite of similar lukewarm reviews to its predecessor.

2

Shrek

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $4 Billion

The announcement of the upcoming Shrek 5 has signaled the return of one of the most universally beloved and commercially successful animated franchises of all time. While there’s a valid argument to be made that the series focusing on the eponymous ogre has never come close to measuring up to the stellar quality of its first two outings, Shrek’s wild popularity has been underlined by an array of consistently stellar box-office results that place it as the second-highest-grossing animated movie franchise of all time (via The Numbers.)

The franchise’s standout levels of longevity and marketability have been further highlighted by the success of the Puss in Boots spin-off movies, with both entries led by Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckling feline earning positive reviews to complement strong box-office performances. Simply put, it’s hard to find an animated franchise that can even begin to give Shrek a run for its money.

1

Despicable Me

Worldwide Box Office Gross: $5.6 Billion

The highest-grossing animated movie franchise of all time (via The Numbers) by a considerable distance, Despicable Me and its spin-off movie series Minions reign supreme at the box office. While this is a state of affairs that seems set to continue with the upcoming 2026 release of Minions 3, the franchise already outstrips its nearest animated compeтιтor in Shrek by more than $1 billion as of 2025.

Remarkably, the franchise just fails to make wider cinema’s top 10, despite a total return of more than $5.6 billion across six entries, landing as the 13th-highest-grossing movie franchise of all time. These exemplary levels of success are even more surprising when one considers that Despicable Me’s entries have often received a lukewarm critical response, with the sharp contrast in the movies’ reviews and box office returns underlining the franchise’s status as one of popular culture’s most prominent fan favorites.

Source: The Numbers