27 Comedy film franchises

The Ace Ventura franchise consists of American detective-comedies, with two theatrical films, one made-for-television film, and one animated television series. The overall story, based on an original concept and story written by Jack Bernstein, follows the criminal investigations of the titular and comedic pet detective.

Back to the Future is an American science fiction comedy franchise written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, directed by Zemeckis and produced by Gale and Neil Canton for Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, and distributed by Universal Pictures. The franchise follows the adventures of a high school student, Marty McFly, an eccentric scientist, Doctor Emmett "Doc" Brown, and, in the third film, Clara Clayton, a schoolteacher, as they use a DeLorean time machine to time travel to different periods in the history of Hill Valley, California.

The Boss Baby is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee. The franchise began with the 2017 film The Boss Baby and has since grown to include a sequel, a television series, and an interactive special.

The Carry On series primarily consists of 30 British comedy films (1958–1978), four TV Christmas specials, a television series of thirteen episodes, and three stage plays. A 31st film, Carry On Columbus, was made in 1992 but only featured 4 "irregular" cast members from the original series of films. The films' humour was in the British comic tradition of music hall and bawdy seaside postcards. Producer Peter Rogers and director Gerald Thomas drew on a regular group of actors that included Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Kenneth Connor, Peter Butterworth, Hattie Jacques, Terry Scott, Bernard Bresslaw, Barbara Windsor, Jack Douglas, and Jim Dale.

Cars is a CGI-animated film series and Disney media franchise set in a world populated by anthropomorphic vehicles created by John Lasseter. The franchise began with the 2006 film of the same name, produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was followed by a sequel in 2011. A third film was released in 2017. The now defunct Disneytoon Studios produced the two spin-off films Planes (2013) and Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014).

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a media franchise produced by Sony Pictures Animation and loosely based on the book of the same name by Judi Barrett. The films have received generally positive reviews from critics. The series has grossed $517 million at the box office.

Despicable Me is a computer-animated media franchise centering on Gru, a reformed super-villain, and his yellow-colored Minions. It is produced by Illumination and distributed by its parent company Universal Pictures.

Evil Dead is an American supernatural horror film franchise created by Sam Raimi consisting of four feature films and a television series. The series revolves around the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient Sumerian text which wreaks havoc upon a group of cabin inhabitants in a wooded area in Tennessee.

The Grease franchise consists of American films and television productions, based on the 1971 musical. The stage production was first adapted for film with, Grease (1978), followed by Grease 2 (1982); while a prequel titled Summer Lovin' entered development beginning in 2019.

The Herbie franchise, consists of American race car-sport family-comedies, including five theatrical feature films, one television film, a television series, and other multimedia releases. The overall story centers around the titular character, an sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own and is capable of driving himself. The vehicle is often times a legitimate contender, though the underdog contestant in competitive races, but to a greater degree assists his human owners in bettering their lives.

High School Musical is an American media franchise centered on a series of musical romantic comedy-drama films created by Peter Barsocchini. The franchise also includes stage musicals, books, comics, live shows, video games, and a television series.

Hotel Transylvania is an American animated media franchise created by comedy writer Todd Durham. It consists of four theatrical films, three graphic novels and three short films produced by Sony Pictures Animation, as well as a flash-animated TV series broadcast on Disney Channel and several video games. The series consists of an ensemble cast, usually led by the voices of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez.

The Incredibles is a Disney media franchise created by Pixar Animation Studios. Brad Bird wrote and directed both films, and Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, and Samuel L. Jackson are part of the cast. The first film, The Incredibles, was released in November 2004 and received acclaim from critics, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The second film, Incredibles 2, was released in June 2018, received mostly positive reviews and set the record for best opening weekend for an animated film with $183 million. The series has grossed a combined $1.8 billion worldwide.

The Lego Movie is an American media franchise based on Lego construction toys. It began with the 2014 film The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The success of the film led to the release of two licensed video games, a 4D film theme park attraction, two spin-off films titled The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were released in 2017, Unikitty! an animated television series that also came out in the same year, and the sequel to the original movie titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. Plans for a third spin-off film and a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie were later shelved. The franchise has received a generally positive critical reception, with the exception of The Lego Ninjago Movie which received mixed reviews, and has grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office. While Warner Bros. still owns the rights to their run of the franchise from 2014 to 2020, including the Unikitty! TV series, Universal Pictures bought the rights to make plans for an upcoming Lego Movie as part of a 5-year deal.

Lilo & Stitch, also known simply as Stitch, is an American Disney media franchise that commenced in 2002 with the release of the animated film of the same name written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The combined critical and commercial success of the original film, which was a rarity for the company's feature animation studio during the early 2000s, led to three direct-to-video and television sequel feature films, a short film, three animated television series, several video games, some theme park attractions, and various merchandise.

Madagascar is an American computer-animated media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film Madagascar, the 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the third film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin off film featuring the penguins, titled Penguins of Madagascar, was released in 2014. A fourth film, Madagascar 4, was announced for 2018, but has since been removed from its schedule due to the studio's restructuring.

Monsters vs. Aliens is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation. The franchise began with the 2009 film Monsters vs. Aliens and has since grown to include a short film, two television specials, a television series, and a video game.

Police Academy is a series of American comedy films, the first six of which were made in the 1980s and the seventh in 1994. The series opened with Police Academy (1984), which started with the premise that a new mayor had announced a policy requiring the police department to accept all willing recruits. The film followed a group of misfit recruits in their attempts to prove themselves capable of being police officers, and succeeding both in spite of and because of their eccentricities. The main character in the first four films, Carey Mahoney, was a repeat offender, who was forced to join the police academy as punishment. The seventh and to date last installment, Mission to Moscow, was released in 1994. Guttenberg in September 2018 announced that a new Police Academy film was in the works.

The Rush Hour franchise is a series of American action comedy films created by Ross LaManna and directed by Brett Ratner. All three films center around a pair of police detectives, Chief Inspector Lee and Detective James Carter, who go on their series of misadventures involving corrupt crime figures in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. The films incorporate elements of martial arts, humor, and the buddy cop subgenre. The films were released theatrically from 1998 to 2007, attaining commercial success; critical reception was mixed.

The Secret Life of Pets is an American animated media franchise created by Illumination. Directed by Chris Renaud, the series stars the voices of Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell and Dana Carvey among others. The first film, The Secret Life of Pets, was released on July 8, 2016 and received positive reviews from critics. The second film, The Secret Life of Pets 2, was released on June 7, 2019 in the US and received mixed reviews from critics. The series has grossed $1.3 billion so far.

Shrek is a media franchise by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on William Steig's 1990 picture book of the same name. It includes four computer-animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film currently in the works. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003.

Spy Kids is an American spy action comedy adventure family film series created by Robert Rodriguez. The main series follows the adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage. The films tend to have a strong Latino theme, as Rodriguez is of Mexican descent.

Stuart Little is a mixed live-action and computer-animated American film franchise based on the 1945 children's novel of the same name by E. B. White. The films are produced by Franklin / Waterman Productions and released by Columbia Pictures.

The Toxic Avenger is a multimedia low-budget superhero comedy splatter film franchise originating with the 1984 film The Toxic Avenger, and continuing through three film sequels, a stage musical production, a comic book series from Marvel Comics, a video game and a children's TV cartoon. Two less successful sequels, The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie, were filmed as one. Director Lloyd Kaufman realized that he had shot far too much footage for one film and re-edited it into two. A third independent sequel was also released, titled Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. An animated children's TV series spin-off, Toxic Crusaders, featured Toxie as the leader of a team of mutated superheroes who fought against evil alien polluters. The cartoon series was short-lived and quickly cancelled. In 2019, it was announced that Legendary Pictures would be making a reboot of the film, with original creators Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment serving as producers, and Macon Blair serving as writer and director.

Wet Hot American Summer is an American satirical comedy media franchise created by David Wain and Michael Showalter with stories centered on Camp Firewood, a summer camp located near Waterville, Maine. Since the release of the 2001 film, the franchise has expanded to include a documentary film, two web miniseries, two books, a tabletop role-playing game and a soundtrack.

Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh. It commenced in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.

Wreck-It Ralph is an American media franchise primarily consisting of an animated comedy film series produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The series tells the story of the eponymous arcade game villain named Wreck-It Ralph, who rebels against his "bad guy" role and dreams of becoming a hero. The series has grossed $1 billion worldwide.