PremiumFrom Despicable Me to Venom, rent Hollywood's biggest franchises on ZEE5
ZEE5 offers a cinematic journey with top Hollywood franchises, featuring action, comedy, and fantasy films.
Last Updated: 11.40 AM, Jun 22, 2024
The grand stories, adored characters, and jaw-dropping special effects of Hollywood franchise films have enchanted viewers all around the globe. Fans may now rent a broad range of cinematic adventures on ZEE5 (also on OTTplay Premium), where they can enjoy some of the most legendary series. Everyone may find their ideal movie, whether it's the high-octane, world-trotting adventures of the Fast & Furious team or the charming and comical adventures of Gru and his Minions in the Despicable Me series. In Ghostbusters, you can experience the paranormal again; in Kung Fu Panda and Shrek, you can enter imaginative worlds; and in Marvel's Spider-Man, you can explore heroic adventures.
These series offer a never-ending supply of pleasure for people of all ages, whether they're more into magical martial arts, cartoon comedies, or action-packed heists.
Hollywood franchise available to rent on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium)
Despicable Me
Sergio Pablos, Cinco Paul, and Ken Daurio are the creators of the Despicable Me franchise. Margo, Edith, and Agnes, Gru's adoptive daughters, and his yellow-coloured Minions are the main characters. Gru is a former supervillain turned secret agent. The original 2010 movie in the franchise has two sequels—Despicable Me 2 (2013) and Despicable Me 3 (2017)—and two spin-off prequels—Minions (2015) and Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)—in addition to a fourth installment, Despicable Me 4, due out on July 3, 2024. It is one of the most profitable franchises ever and the most profitable animated film franchise. Despicable Me ranks 15th among all film franchises in terms of total earnings.
Fifty Shades
E. L. James' novels have inspired three films in the Fifty Shades franchise. Dakota Johnson plays Anastasia Steele's lead role, while Jamie Dornan plays Christian Grey's major role. Sam Taylor-Johnson directed the first film in the series, Fifty Shades of Grey. James Foley directed both the sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Critically panned films aside, the series became the sixth highest-grossing R-rated franchise of all time, with worldwide grosses of almost $1.32 billion.
Fast & Furious
Action flicks in the Fast & Furious (often called The Fast and the Furious) series revolve around a variety of topics, including family, spies, robberies, and street racing. Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, and David Ayer wrote the first film, released in 2001, and based it on Ken Li's "Racer X" from 1998 Vibe magazine. With this picture, the original tetralogy on illicit street racing came to a close with Fast & Furious (2009). With 2011's Fast Five, the series shifted gears to focus on heists and espionage, and five sequels—including 2023's Fast X—continued the trend. Universal added Hobbs & Shaw (2019), a spin-off film, to the franchise. Financially, the franchise has done well, with almost $7 billion in total earnings. It is the most lucrative film franchise of all time, and Universal owns the most successful brand. The first four films were mixed, but critics liked the fifth and succeeding ones.
Ghostbusters
The original 1984 premise by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis is the basis for the Ghostbusters franchise, which consists of spooky comedies. New York City parapsychologists, who study and exorcise demons, demigods, ghosts, and other paranormal phenomena, tell the narrative. The filmography includes the original Ghostbusters (1984), its sequel (1989), 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, 2022–2023's Spirits Unleashed, and 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
Hotel Transylvania
Sony Pictures Entertainment owns the Hotel Transylvania brand that Todd Durham created. Beginning with the 2012 release of Hotel Transylvania, the series continues with the 2015 release of Hotel Transylvania 2 and the 2018 release of Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, for a total of four feature films. With a combined production budget of $245 million, the films have earned nearly $1.3 billion worldwide, despite reviewers' varied reviews. Critics were ambivalent about the fourth and last feature film, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, which premiered on Prime Video on January 14, 2022. The titular plaza hotel was a haven for monsters fleeing human persecution, and the series focused on these creatures' adventures.
Kung Fu Panda
In 2008, DreamWorks Animation released the animated feature film Kung Fu Panda, which launched the martial arts comedy franchise. In a fantastical Wuxia setting in ancient China, where anthropomorphic animals coexist, the adventures of the titular Po Ping, a giant panda (voiced mostly by Mick Wingert and Jack Black), who unexpectedly selects himself as the legendary Dragon Warrior and becomes a kung fu master, unfold. Despite initial scepticism from everyone—even Po—he proves his worthiness as he pursues his destiny. Kung Fu Panda (2008), Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), and Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) are the primary entries in the franchise that feature computer-generated animation. It became the seventh highest-grossing animated film franchise with over $2 billion in total earnings, thanks to the critical and economic success of all four features.
Madagascar
The DreamWorks Animation studio owns and produces the Madagascar film series, featuring Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, and David Schwimmer, all lending their voices to the movies. The Madagascar film series continues, starting with 2005's Madagascar and continuing with 2008's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and 2012's Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. The year 2014 saw the release of a spin-off film, Penguins of Madagascar, which also featured penguins. At the beginning of the series, four anthropomorphic zoo animals, living the ideal life in confinement at the Central Park Zoo, embark on an unexpected journey back to Africa, specifically Madagascar. Now, with the aid of a cunning group of penguins and a plethora of other characters, they must fight for survival as they endeavour to make it back to New York City. The franchise's films have received varied critical reception.
Men in Black
Barry Sonnenfeld's science fiction action comedy movie, The Men in Black (abbreviated MIB), is based on Lowell Cunningham's Malibu/Marvel comic book series of the same name. Lowell Cunningham conceived the series as a UFO conspiracy theory. The series began with the release of Men in Black in 1997 and continued with Men in Black II in 2002, Men in Black 3 in 2012, and Men in Black: International, a spin-off, in 2019.
The Equalizer
It was Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim who first came up with the idea for the Equalizer series of spy thrillers. It all started with an Edward Woodward-starring CBS TV series that ran from 1985 until 1989. Denzel Washington starred in a 2014 reworking of the concept, The Equalizer, followed by 2018's The Equalizer 2 and 2023's The Equalizer 3, a trilogy of films. In the series, a former intelligence agent with a dark secret uses their training and experience to protect the innocent when they are in danger, even as they occasionally face off against former colleagues who are trying to ensnare them or exact revenge.
The Mummy
In the Mummy film series, which is based on the same name, a brave group of archaeologists set out to prevent the inadvertent resurrection of a mummified priest from ancient Egypt, who carries with him a powerful curse. Stephen Sommers penned and oversaw the 1999 remake of The Mummy, which was somewhat faithful to the 1932 original. Adventure scenes, amazing effects, comedy, and an elevated portion of Egyptian mythology take centre stage as the film shifts its genre focus from horror to action. Producers responded to the massive financial success of the original film by producing The Mummy Returns and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Dylan Kussman, David Koepp, and Christopher McQuarrie co-wrote the fantasy action-adventure picture The Mummy, which Alex Kurtzman helmed in 2017. Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts, and Jenny Lumet penned the screenplay. Tom Cruise plays Sergeant Nick Morton, a soldier of fortune who unwittingly discovers the ancient tomb of captured Egyptian princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) in this remake of the Mummy franchise set in Universal's now-defunct Dark Universe. Russell Crowe, Courtney B. Vance, Jake Johnson, and Annabelle Wallis are among the other stars.
Shrek
The 1990 children's book Shrek! by William Steig is the basis for the DreamWorks Animation franchise Shrek. An ogre with a fiery temper and a kind heart, Shrek reluctantly agrees to rescue a princess, which sets him on a path to friendship and a series of adventures in a magical realm. The 2004 sequel, Shrek 2, the 2007 feature picture, and the 2010 animated feature, Shrek Forever After, make up the series. Puss in Boots (2011) and The Last Wish (2022) are the two spin-off features based on the Puss in Boots character. Financially, the series was a smashing success, climbing to the position of second-highest animated franchise and 18th-highest film franchise all-time.
Spider-Man
Both the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007) starring Tobey Maguire and the Marc Webb Amazing Spider-Man films (2012–2014) starring Andrew Garfield are part of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Spider-Man film franchise, which it acquired in 1999. Tom Holland has been in six films so far, ranging from Captain America: Civil War (2016) to Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), most notably portraying the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man. The 2018 animated feature film Into the Spider-Verse starred Peter Parker. The film features Shameik Moore as Miles Morales/Spider-Man, in addition to other Peter Parkers and Spider-Mans from different timelines. In 2023, the sequel Across the Spider-Verse hit theaters, while the final installment, Beyond the Spider-Verse, is currently in production. The reception of the Spider-Man films has been overwhelmingly positive. With Far From Home becoming the first Spider-Man picture to gross over $1 billion worldwide and No Way Home becoming Sony's highest-grossing film of all time, the combined total of these three films is $10.2 billion at the global box office. In 2019, Into the Spider-Verse won Best Animated Feature. Spider-Man 2 won Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards fifteen years ago.
Venom
Venom is a fictional character in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) media brand. He is portrayed by Tom Hardy. In the 2018 film Venom, the symbiote Venom forms a bond with human investigative journalist Eddie Brock upon their arrival on Earth. The two then form a vigilante duo known as the Lethal Protector, and they engage in combat against Riot, Venom's former team leader, and Carnage, Venom's son. These actors represent the character's second cinematic iteration, following Topher Grace's Eddie Brock/Venom and Tobey Maguire's symbiote-encased Spider-Man in Spider-Man 3 (2007). There have been three films using the character as of 2022: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and two MCU features, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Chen's Market (2021), both of which included cameo appearances by the character without proper credit. Venom: The Last Dance will include Hardy's return to the role. Although critics were divided on Hardy's performance, many praised the connection that developed between Eddie Brock and Venom in the film.