1. Pokémon
Pokémon, also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is a media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, a Japanese company founded and with shares divided between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The franchise was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995, and is centered on fictional creatures called “Pokémon“, which humans, known as Pokémon Trainers, catch and train to battle each other for sport.
Year Of Inception: 1996
Total Estimated Revenue: $95 Billion
2. Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty also known by her full name Kitty White is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, created by Yuko Shimizu and currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi. Since the cartoon character’s creation, Hello Kitty has become a media franchise including a product line, clothing apparel, toy-line, manga comics, anime series, popular music, and other media.
Year Of Inception: 1974
Total Estimated Revenue: $86 Billion
3. Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh is a media franchise produced by The Walt Disney Company, based on A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard‘s stories featuring Winnie the Pooh. It commenced in 1966 with the theatrical release of the short ‘Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree‘.
Year Of Inception: 1924
Total Estimated Revenue: $76 Billion
4. Mickey Mouse Universe
The Mickey Mouse universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting for stories involving Disney cartoon characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and many other characters.
Year Of Inception: 1928
Total Estimated Revenue: $74 Billion
5. Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise holds a Guinness World Records title for the “Most successful film merchandising franchise.”
Year Of Inception: 1977
Total Estimated Revenue: $68 Billion
6. Anpanman
Anpanman is a Japanese children’s superhero picture book series written by Takashi Yanase, running from 1973 until the author’s death in 2013. Heavily merchandised, the Anpanman characters appear on virtually every imaginable children’s product in Japan, ranging from clothes and video games to toys and snack foods.
Year Of Inception: 1973
Total Estimated Revenue: $63 Billion
7. Disney Princess
Disney Princess, also called Princess Line, is a media franchise and toy-line owned by The Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Products chairman Andy Mooney in the early 2000s, the franchise features a line-up of fictional female protagonists who have appeared in various Disney franchises.
Year Of Inception: 2000
Total Estimated Revenue: $46 Billion
8. Shonen Jump
Jump Comics is a line of manga magazines created by Shueisha. It began with Shōnen Jump manga magazine in 1968, later renamed Weekly Shōnen Jump.
Year Of Inception: 1968
Total Estimated Revenue: $40 Billion
9. Mario
The Mario franchise is a media franchise, published and produced by video game company Nintendo, starring the fictional Italian character Mario.
Year Of Inception: 1981
Total Estimated Revenue: $36 Billion
10. Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films, independently produced by Marvel Studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
Year Of Inception: 2008
Total Estimated Revenue: $35 Billion
