Most successful sports movie franchise
Who
Rocky franchise
What
1513939512 US dollar(s)
Where
Not Applicable ()
When

The Rocky (USA) boxing-movie franchise – Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006), Creed (2015) and Creed II (2018) - had grossed $1,513,939,512 (£8.97 billion) at the worldwide box office as of 1 March 2020, according to The-Numbers.com. The series charts the life of fictional boxer Robert "Rocky" Balboa, aka "The Italian Stallion" (portrayed by Sylvester Stallone), and, latterly, Donnie Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of Balboa's best friend and former rival Apollo Creed.


Stallone (who wrote all but one of the series) earned himself two Oscar nominations for his portrayal of Balboa – Best Actor in Rocky and Best Supporting Actor in Creed – and the original movie took home awards for Best Picture (accepted by producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler), Best Director (John G. Avildsen) and Best Film Editing (Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad). In the Creed sequels, Stallone reprises his role as Balboa, who reluctantly agrees to train his friend's son Donnie as he attempts to establish himself as a boxing champion.

The most successful instalment in the franchise is Rocky IV – starring Dolph Lundgren as Balboa's Soviet rival Ivan Drago; as of 1 March 1986, it had grossed $300,373,716 (then £234 million) and was, for more than 20 years, the highest-grossing sports movie at the worldwide box office.