50 Biggest Movie Fandoms

Resident Evil

The Franchise: The popular zombie-killing video game series spawned an equally hard-to-kill film franchise, which continues to earn millions despite the critics' hatred of creative overlord Paul W.S. Anderson.

The Fandom: When Hollywood.com quizzed fans on the films' appeal, the consensus was that their popularity was chiefly due to "having a thing for hot women that kick-ass."

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Buying different gaming platforms just to be able to play every Resident Evil game.

Withnail And I

The Film: Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical 1960s odyssey sees Richard E. Grant drag Paul McGann on a drink and drugs bender around the Lake District.

The Fandom: Students, mainly. Or old-timers who wish they were still students.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: The infamous drinking game - remember, folks, that although you have to match Withnail drink for drink, you're allowed to substitute lighter fluid for vinegar.

Three Flavours Cornetto

The Franchise: The unofficial 'trilogy' of films directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, in which a cameo by a particular flavour of ice cream corresponds to the genre of the film it appears it.

The Fandom: Wright and Pegg are geeks with a penchant for in-jokes, both to other films and their own work. The trilogy's hardcore fanbase is dedicated to cataloguing every last reference.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Nobody is as devoted as Wright and Penn, who ensure that even fictional streets are named in homage to favourite directors.

Madea

The Franchise: Now seven films strong, Tyler Perry's series about the titular "Mad Black Woman" (played by the director in drag) has earned hundreds of millions of dollars at the US box office.

The Fandom: Perry's films, with their predominantly African-American casts and Christian themes, are eagerly awaited by an audience that tends not to be catered for by mainstream Hollywood.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Something of a back-handed compliment, but Orlando Jones made the headlines earlier this year when he announced he was taking over the role of Madea from Perry. Alas, it was an April Fool's Day gag.

Veronica Mars

The Franchise: If you could measure audiences by the amount of devotion emanating from each viewer, Rob Thomas' TV series about a high school detective would have been a hit. However, actual numbers were low and the show got cancelled. So what's it doing in a list about movies? Read on.

The Fandom: Not content to let Veronica die, Thomas made a deal with Warner Brothers. If the fans pledged enough financial support via Kickstarter, the studio would make the film.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: It took only 10 days to reach the original target of £2 million. When the Kickstarter campaign ended, fans had raised a mind-boggling, record-breaking figure of $5,702,143. The film is due next year.

Plan 9 From Outer Space

The Franchise: Ed Wood's troubled sci-fi movie, cursed with death, lack of funds and the director's limited talent, was dubbed the "worst movie ever made" by critic Michael Medved. At which point, everybody took notice.

The Fandom: Saved from ignominy by hipsters high on irony and affection, the film is now the classic 'so bad it's good' movie, subject to revisionist stage performances that turn the original's unintentional comedy into the intentional kind.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: The moment A-list director Tim Burton said, "to hell with making another Batman movie," and cast Johnny Depp as Ed Wood in his biopic of the director, centred around the making of his most iconic film.

Sex And The City

The Franchise: Girls just wanna have… sex, according to the HBO TV series and its two spin-off films, revolving around the love lives of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends.

The Fandom: A rarity in this list in that this is a female-dominated fandom, but no less obsessive in its association with the characters. Quoting the wisdom of Carrie Bradshaw is a mainstay of Tumblr and Pinterest.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Anybody who was introduced to Jimmy Choo or Loubotin via the show and suddenly developed the need to spend a small fortune on a pair of shoes.

Twin Peaks

The Franchise: David Lynch's TV classic was a mainstream hit, its film prequel less so - you can usually tell the level of love for Peaks by whether a person mentions Fire Walk With Me .

The Fandom: Lynch's trademark surrealism - allied to the premature cancellation of the TV show - has given aficionados plenty of fuel for fanzines in print and online, with an endless stream of debate about what it meant and fan fiction continuing the story.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Anybody who has ever dressed up as the Log Lady to attend a marathon screening of every episode.

View Askew

The Franchise: Perhaps not officially recognised as a franchise, but Kevin Smith's films, from Clerks onwards, are often interlinked thanks to a shared New Jersey setting and repeated characters, not least Smith's own Silent Bob.

The Fandom: More than any other item in this list, this is a cult of personality, centred around Smith himself, with fans proving remarkably loyal to the writer/director's podcasts and live Q&As even as his more recent film output has dropped in quality.

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: The hardcore posters - known as Boardies - who regularly interact with Smith himself on the View Askew Message Board.

X-Men

The Franchise: Fifty years of narrative mutation in the comics has been replicated in the movies, with plenty of variation between the main trilogy, the Wolverine solo gigs and the First Class prequel.

The Fandom: A gang of outsiders, shunned by wider society but finding companionship in shared interests and abilities. Oh, hang on, are we not talking about the characters any more?

Most Amazing Example Of Devotion: Pretty much everyone on this fan art Pinterest page .

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