1) The Twilight Saga (2008 – 2012)
- 5 films with a combined budget: $385 million
- International Box Office: $3.3 billion
- Comparable to: 4 Pirates Of The Caribbean movies ($3.7 billion)
- Earned more than: 3 Iron Man movies ($2.4 billion), 3 The Dark Knight movies ($2.5 billion)
Yes, there are also two male leads in this franchise – Edward and Jacob, but the entire thing plays out through the perspective of Bella. She is the centre of the franchise – the protagonist, and ultimately, the hero. Over the course of five films, Bella transforms from a confused, lost and isolated teenager, into powerful woman and mother – by following her instincts, having the courage of her convictions and striving for what she wants.
Though the story of Twilight encompasses Bella’s romantic relationship with Edward – a vampire – and her friendship with Jacob – a werewolf – the overall story is one of achieving life goals against the odds. In each instalment, events conspire to throw Bella off her chosen course – to pursue a life with Edward. In Twilight, Bella falls for Edward, but discovers he is a vampire – making herself a target for hostile vampires who would seek to hurt Edward and his family by hurting her. In New Moon, Bella is deeply depressed due to enforced separation from Edward and, after a Romeo And Juliet style miscommunication, Bella must prevent Edward from taking his own life when he is led to believe that she herself is dead. In Eclipse, Bella must finally choose between a life with Edward – including being turned into a vampire – or a life without him. She chooses to allow him to ‘turn’ her, but he argues against it. In Breaking Dawn: Part 1, Bella marries Edward and conceives his child – which puts her life at risk, until Edward relents and turns her into a vampire, as she always wished. In Breaking Dawn: Part 2, Bella must protect her child from a coven of powerful, hostile vampires, and in doing so, becomes a powerful woman in her own right.
Apart from the strong female lead at the centre of this franchise, the series is notable in one other way – it is written by women. The source material – the ‘Twilight Saga’ books – are written by author Stephanie Meyer (who also produced instalments 4 – 5), and crucially, each screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg, in close consultation with Meyer.
To be clear on the implications of that, this is a story written by women, about a girl becoming a woman, that became a multi-billion dollar film franchise.
Now, tell me again why we can’t have a female-led superhero movie franchise?