10 Huge Movie Franchises That Don't Have A 5 Star Entry

2. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008-2014)

In just six years, Marvel Studios has arguably become the most popular brand in Hollywood, with the projects that comprise the MCU earning almost $7bn at the box office, putting the title of biggest franchise in history well within sight. A massively ambitious strategy that has seen all of their movies exist in a shared cinematic universe has paid off with huge dividends, resulting in many of their competitors attempting to replicate the formula. While the studio has yet to suffer a box office flop or make a genuinely terrible movie, the established Marvel formula has yet to produce an undisputed classic either. Of course, that could very well change in the near future given the quality of the studio's recent output. 2014 has proved to be a banner year for the studio both critically and commercially thanks to Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. The Winter Soldier earned almost twice as much as its predecessor at the box office while Guardians, long-regarded as the studio's biggest gamble, has become the highest-grossing original entry in the MCU, with both staking a claim for the title of best Marvel movie yet. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World stand out as the studio's weakest efforts but the rest of their output has been good at the very least, with the first Iron Man and The Avengers being particular highlights. After ten movies, Marvel have managed to keep up an impressive level of consistency across their projects and with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man set for next year, not to mention a release strategy planned out until 2028, surely it is only a matter of time before the studio produce an undisputed five-star great.