20 Highest-Grossing Movie Franchises Ranked Worst To Best

20. Transformers

Worldwide box office: $4.48 billion.

On paper, turning the beloved Transformers toy line and TV show into a live-action movie series seemed like a good idea, bursting with possibility and blockbuster potential. But whilst it soared at the box office, the films themselves are far removed from what fans were hoping for.

Save for the recent solo adventure Bumblebee, which was directed by Travis Knight and at least tries to salvage some of the series' dignity, the five mainline movies were helmed by Michael Bay in typically destructive, self-indulgent style.

The first film, released in 2007, had some interesting moments courtesy of its staggering special effects and franchise fan service, but as the sequels wore on Bay's tactless approach to storytelling, character development and fun quickly took hold.

Bayhem squandered the Transformers' potential with overbearing runtimes, unveiled sexism, offensive cultural stereotypes, shaky direction and non-existent care, and by the time Bay left the franchise in 2017, it was too far gone to save.