The 25 Most Powerful Hollywood Movie Franchises

“We crunched the global box office numbers (courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com) for series and franchises that have at least three installments and are still ongoing. (Hence, no “Avatar” or “Lord of the Rings.”) Then we factored in more diffuse criteria, like longevity (how many could you conceivably make?) and merchandisability (does anyone want toys?). And what we came up with was our movie franchise power list, or the 25 Most Powerful Franchises in Hollywood.”

Disney’s Biggest Bet Yet: Shanghai

The $5.5-billion Shanghai Disneyland is a colossal 963-acre park three times larger than Hong Kong Disneyland and anchored by the tallest castle in any Disney theme park. The joint venture with China-based Shanghai Shendi Group, which owns 57% of the park, is the glitziest in a spate of entertainment firms rushing to establish themselves in the world’s most populous nation, one run by a regime that increasingly views entertainment as a vital component of its soft power.

“Over-Thinking” Makes Us Less Creative

In general, there is a tension in our brains between exploration and exploitation. When we are exploratory, we attend to things with a wide scope, curious and desiring to learn. Other times, we rely on, or “exploit,” what we already know, leaning on our expectations, trusting the comfort of a predictable environment.