The 10 Best Film Franchises That Rocked Our World In 2011

December 12th, 2011

Yes, originality in Hollywood is dead. So thank goodness tinsel-town has an excellent knack for milking the best franchises for all they’re worth. And with new franchises just beginning to stretch their legs – 2012’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and The Hunger Games – here’s the very best in film franchises we enjoyed over 2011!

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

And then we came to the end. After ten years of Harry Potter movies (and thirteen years since the first book hit the shelves) it’s been a wild ride on broomsticks, dragons and hippogriffs. But as we’ve watch Harry grow up to face Voldemort, the final movie as the best payoff we could ever imagine and more. The effects, the action, the deaths and the epilogue – all makes for a film that really marks the end of an era.

2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1

It’s the beginning of the end. Learning from the success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Breaking Dawn is the first part of the final novel. It’s the wedding of Bella and Edward. But more IMPORTANTLY it’s the honeymoon of Bella and Edward. For anyone waiting four books and four movies to see Edward finally tap that…..tap that he does. And he breaks the bed.

3. Fast Five

Suped-up cars, explosions, and heists – everything bad boys and girls want to see in a summer movie! It’s the fifth chapter of the Fast and the Furious franchise and judging from its success (and the fact the major leads from the previous films – which are only loosely connected – returned for this one) we have to wonder…can a sixth one top Fast Five?

4. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

From White Castle to Guantanamo Bay to looking for the best replacement Christmas tree, Harold and Kumar bring us another blitzed out comedy that begs the question – can anything go wrong when you mix stereotypes with marijuana and Neil Patrick Harris and Christmas? The answer is no, nothing can go wrong.

5. Scream 4

It’s a new decade, so it’s all new rules to surviving a scary movie. When the last Scream film came out, there was no Saw, no smart phones, no reality TV to worry about. But in 2011, a masked killer was to think about outrageously gross murders, taping all his or her crimes, and making sure people can watch everything he or she does. Welcome to horror in the 21st century Ghost Face!

6. The Avengers Franchise (Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger)

This is all cooking up to be a feast for the ages! Beginning a few years ago with Iron Man, Nick Fury and his Avengers are beginning to assemble as we were treated to Thor, and the potential villain for The Avengers movie, his brother Loki. Plus, we meet their leader Captain America, and the powerful object causing all the ruckus – the cosmic cube!

7. X-Men: First Class

The relationship between Xavier and Magneto, seeing the actual formation of the X-Men, finally getting Emma Frost and her barely there costume on screen, invoking superheroes, James Bond, war movies and the 1960s groovy-ness all in one film – OMG this was a great movie! It not only supplemented the original trilogy, but paved the way for its own trilogy of “first class” movies following the relationship of the leaders!

8. Rise of the Planet Of the Apes

More of a franchise reboot than a franchise sequel, the film uses the popularity of the name to deliver a fresh take on the series. It created an original movie to serve as the starting point for a whole new slew of movies about giant apes taking over our world. And it worked. It was well-received by critics and, of course there are plans for a sequel.

9. Final Destination 5

The newest film of the franchise goes all the way back to the beginning as we see what happens to another group of kids who were onboard Flight 180 from the first film. Coupled with more creative deaths, taking the premise more seriously and being the only film besides the first to be certififed Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d say the Final Destination franchise is ripe for more sequels!

10. Paranormal Activity 3

I did not see this movie. The tagline that went “the last fifteen minutes will screw you up for life” saw to that fact. However, I’ve heard the movie and the franchise is actually really, really good. That’s why it’s included here – for all the people braver than me who went to see it, and then told me what a chicken I was for missing a really good scary movie. Whatevs’ – I went to see Scream 4, didn’t I?

So what do you think? were these the very best in franchises this year? Or should we have swapped one out with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Madea’s Big Happy Family, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon or Spy Kids 4D: All The Time In The World? And then there’s Puss In Boots, which may have started its own franchise all by itself!

The looks, the celebs, the gossip, the movies, the shows, the songs: Wrap up 2011 right with all the moments that shaped the year right here!

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Tags: Avengers, Fast Five, final destination, Harold and Kumar, harry potter, holiday wrap, Movies, Paranormal Activity, Planet of the apes, scream 4, twilight, x-men