The 23 most successful movie franchises of all time, based on the billions of dollars they have made at the box office

Riding the record-setting success of "Black Panther" into the massive, upcoming release of "Avengers: Infinity War," the Marvel Cinematic Universe's catalog of films gives it a commanding lead among the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time.

To figure out which other film series have made their mark, we turned to Box Office Mojo to rank the most successful film franchises in history by their worldwide box office totals.

From the "Star Wars" films to the "Mission: Impossible" series, many of these franchises have had staying power over the course of decades.

And for many of them, the box office is only the start, with things like merchandising adding even more into the coffers of their respective companies.

Here are the 23 most successful movies franchise of all time at the global box office: