What was the first crossover movie like The Avengers, using only movie franchises?
The Avengers is taking 4 separate movie franchises (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America) and combining them all into one huge movie with all the main characters from each movie.
Doing some preliminary research, I have not found anything in cinema history that has been attempted like this before (however in other media like comics, TV, literature, it seems it has).
My question is simply, is this the first movie to attempt a major crossover of cinema franchises? If not, what was the first movie to accomplish this? What was the success of this movie (sales, overall critic/public opinion)? And what were the franchises that it combined?
Best Answer
French gentleman thief Arsène Lupin battles the English detective Sherlock Holmes in the 1910 German drama film serial Arsène Lupin contra Sherlock Holmes.
Wikipedia says:
A contemporary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941) was the creator of the character of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin who, in Francophone countries, has enjoyed a popularity as long-lasting and considerable as Sherlock Holmes in the English-speaking world.
There had been individual Arsène Lupin and Sherlock Holmes films before this, the first appearing in 1908 and 1900 respectively.
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Answer 2
Since your question asks What is the first crossover movie? I'll submit two of the earliest I have found, depending on your definition of "crossover".
For movie horror/sci-fi franchises, there is Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943).
But I think the earliest could be Laurel and Hardy's appearance in the Our Gang comedy short Wild Poses (1933). Both Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy are separate movie franchises.
Answer 3
I would think Alien vs. Predator would be an example of combining franchises, which was released in 2004.
While not a critical success (garnered only 22% Tomatometer), it did gross $80.2 million. It even spawned a sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007.
Answer 4
If we're not talking public domain characters, then my mind immediately turns to Japanese monster movies. There are several monsters with their own movies, but on occasion they would appear together in a "Vs." movie. Earliest one I could find is King Kong vs. Godzilla, which was release in 1962.
Answer 5
Are you asking specifically about comic book franchises? There have been no shortage of public domain crossovers, or crossovers between a branded character set and public domain characters. (For example, The Three Stooges Meet Frankenstein (1948), The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976, and has Sherlock Holmes meet Sigmund Freud). King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) is another example. There's really no shortage of this sort of thing.
Answer 6
“Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein” features:
- Dracula
- Frankenstein
- The Wolf Man
- The Invisible Man (cameo)
and of course...
- Abbot and Costello
All of the above had had their own independent movies (at least one, some more) beforehand. That’s five different franchises meeting up in one movie, making it quite comparable to the Avengers in the sense you’re describing.
Answer 7
I would submit "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as the first film to crossover the the most franchises...
Including characters from :
- Disney Warner Bros.,
- Fleischer Studios,
- King Features Syndicate,
- Felix the Cat Productions,
- Turner Entertainment, and
- Universal Pictures/Walter Lantz Productions
- Paramount Pictures
- Columbia Pictures
- 20th Century
The entire character list too long to post. But includes well over 50 characters,
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