Most Powerful Fandoms in the World

A true fan is someone who can relate the every small detail, emotion, and action, where each loss feels like a personal loss. As a fan, we cry, we laugh, and we celebrate. Each one of us is a part of a fandom of our choice, many of us even a part of many. Without any doubt, we can say that fan clubs are the most powerful source to bring people together from different corners of the world. 

However, you can be a part of the die-hard Potterhead, who loves to keep their wand steady and strong, or the fan clubs of MCU or DC, who loves watching their favourite superhero putting their costume on and saving the world from all the negativity. The fan clubs bring together as well as a reason for some intense never-ending debates.

Are you curious to know about the world's biggest fandom? So let’s fasten our seatbelts now, as we are going to begin a ride across the multiverse of fandom.

Largest Fandoms Across the Globe

Hola, mates! It is now time to dig into the list of the world's favourite fandoms. Many people around the world are fascinated by these fandoms. With a range of fictional stories like Harry Potter, the Sci-Fi character of Iron Man, and Thor, or the famous DC superhero Batman, people have vast options available to explore. So, what is a fan club or a fandom? The word fandom is a combination words fan and kingdom, so fandom in simple words is a kingdom where the fan rules. Fandom is not something people do for fun, but this is the way fans live. Each fandom has its own rules, customs, and lingo. The fans are even a part of some secret organizations knowingly and openly. All fans part of the fandom rules there as their nation.

Many of us have the question in our mind how is the biggest fandom created? The whole process begins with a large number of people showing their interest and love for fiction, movies, any personality, gaming, music, etc, and connecting. They keep their eyes on every specific change and predict about what is yet to come. They even pay tribute to the artists by producing their artwork, and short videos. All the fans like me, have their thought about moving to that particular universe where we can represent ourselves in the coolest way.

The coolest fandom is not always magical or full of rainbow or unicorn vibes. It gets worse sometimes, based on the recent movies, and characters.. The fans involve themselves in war mode, to prove who is the best. In the battle of the best, there are no hammers, shields, or wands but many screens, and keyboards which are the only weapons.

Despite all the disruption, these fandoms are a wonderful place to live. This is a great way to encourage our original thought. It fosters a sense of communism and gets along among its members. Additionally, it is itself a lot of fun to do.

Potterhead: Harry Potter

The world-famous Harry Potter Merchandise has brought magic to our childhood and caught the attention of all ages around the world. Many of us are still waiting for that one letter from Hogwarts, and take the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾. The magical creation by J.K Rowling, tells a story about “The Boy Who Lived”, a school of wizards, witchcraft, and the famous and powerful villain, the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort. All the elements of the movie create magic within our lives every time.

Potterhead, which is a very known fandom in the world started after the release of the first Harry Potter movie, Philosopher’s Stone, back in 2001. Even before the cinematic appearance, the Book series of Harry Potter had its own fandom, even the sales of the book series witnessed massive sales after the release of the movies. The series of Harry Potter movies has eight parts. Don’t know how many times we thought of roaming around the roads of Dragon Alley, trying to fly with the broom, and ending by asking ourselves, “am I a muggle?” We still cry by watching Dobby and Professor Snape dying. Isn’t it? The most important character in the movie, Harry, has the biggest fandom in the world, Potterhead. Do you know how to spot a Potterhead? That person will know all the special spells, names, and colors of the houses from Gryffindor to Slytherin, from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade. Harry Potter may be a simple book or a movie series for others, but for a proud Potterhead, we live in Hogwarts, and magic runs within our bodies.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most popular fandoms in the world that puts together a team of superheroes. The fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are big-time fans of Sci-Fi, and they passionately watch everything through the Multiverse of Madness. For an ideal MCU fan, the madness began with the first Iron Man movie released in the year 2008, and the craze never stopped. The concept of multiple universes or multiverse came into the picture with the cinematic appearance of Captain America: The First Avenger in 2010. The MCU even announced the upcoming range of movies and saw the craze among fans. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is home to popular superheroes such as Ironman, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, X-Man, Spiderman, and many more. It is not possible for one person to know about even one Marvel superhero till date. In just ten years of its journey, Marvel became one of the largest superhero merchandise in the world. Stan Lee, the legend himself, or we can say the superhero behind the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, calls the fandom “True Believers.”

The strong faith in the Avengers of all the MCU fans, and the largest teen followers of Spiderman, makes the most complex yet entertaining movie series. Each movie comes with a new clue and ends with a new easter egg every time. The other side of the MCU universe is where we see the story of Peter Quill or the Star-Lord. The Multiverse will expand further with more new zombie blood and craziness. A secret to spotting a fan of the MCU or a Marvel Zombie is when you can see them watching a Marvel movie in the theater and waiting for the short post-credit scene, by that time the whole theater will get empty. You can even spot the true emotion if you see someone watching The Avengers: Endgame, where Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, dies. We, being a part of MCU fandom wake up every with the belief that Iron Man will come back again the way he amazed everyone by saying, “I am Iron Man”, which are still the most magical words for a true believer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We, all MCU fan believes that we have one Spiderman, Thor, or Hulk within ourselves, all we need is a spark to light it.

Army: BTS

If you want to talk about the number of fans, there is nothing more huge than the fandom of BTS Army. The craze of K-Pop music took world affairs to the next level. The most amazing thing you can spot nowadays is how K-Pophas influenced our lives, no matter which age group we belong to. Most importantly, the kids who don’t even have any knowledge about the Korean language, still have a strong liking and fondness towards BTS. No doubt, ‘The ARMY’ is having the most powerful fandom in the world. The reason behind reaching the highest peak of popularity it brought to an end to the fandom of one of the most popular and dignified musical bands, the ‘beliebers’ group which was created with fellow followers and supporters of Justin Biber. The worldwide popularity and fame is the major reason why the BTS ARMY became so popular in the short climb of BTS being the first K-Pop group to win a place in the Billboard 200 Chart.

The ‘Beliebers’ were surpassed by The Army, and history was created when BTS, or the BangTan Boys, won the title of Top Social Artist in the Billboard Award with the huge and largest ever over 300 million votes worldwide. Since then, there was no one more powerful to stop them in this field. A lot of success and fame is earned from every single corner of the world. The reason behind all this is the generous amount of love and emotion people spend on them. Their cheerful presentation brings almost everyone on the same page. Ask the true meaning of a dream who considers himself or herself as a part of the Army. That one dream is so huge itself and gets stronger day by day. The dream is to attend one live show of BTS.

The BTS fans have three official handles on X, formerly Twitter with the name ‘BTS on Billboard’ to support all the advances of BTS on the charts, ‘BangTan TV to keep track of YouTube views, and another third ‘BTS’ page to drive their efforts through hashtag voting on social media. As per the suggestion of the  Korean media, the fanbase of BTS Army is so strong that it can influence any marketing strategies easily and help to grow and maximize sales. With more popularity, there is a large amount of hate, criticism, and negativity that comes with all the years. The Korean media also said they even have the power to stop the sales of BTS-based merch to put down all the trolls. There have to be at least some benefits of being the largest fandom in the world. The fame will be just a waste if you can not pull some strings. The joint efforts of the ARMY along with social media have enabled them to recollect reinforcements and required funds to help all the LBGTQ+ refugees and other social causes behind. So, until a bigger competition comes along, the ARMY will continue marching on without any halts.

Warsies: Star Wars Saga

Star Wars is one of the oldest and most famous fandoms in the world that actually needs no introduction and has a massive number of fans worldwide. Star Wars drives the craze of multimedia fantasy world among the fans. Crested by George Lucas back in 1976, has a fandom from different age groups, starting from boomers to Gen Z. Star Wars started its journey as a multimedia company at the beginning, and currently has one of the strongest and largest franchises that create different aspects of entertainments such as, TV shows, movies, novels, video games, comics, toys and much more. Star Wars fandom is the second largest fandom in the world after BTS ARMY. The reason behind their ongoing popularity is that they successfully deliver entertainment that is different and unique and has something to discuss.

Their content is filled with archetypal themes that have an interesting political climax within, spiritual significance, religious sentiments, and mythology with a classical touch that has made its way to the top. Star Wars enthusiasts are truly versed in multiverses, they have compiled knowledge about one galaxy, which is far and far away from the Sith to the Jedi, and from the Form to the Dark Side into the Star Wars merch. The fandom had a fan base of 68 billion members worldwide in 2019, and all of them were united by ideas and different from each other based on a canon or a non-canon event. The fandom, Warsies, themselves are rich legends, by wear costumes and hold lightsabers and come along as a welcoming community on May 4th by making it a holiday. On this day they attend ceremonies and conferences and involve themselves in charitable works. Warsies belong to that one community that creates the legacy of a lasting fandom.

DC Comics

DC Comics is one of the most popular American comic book publishers which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros, and equally owns a flagship unit named DC Entertainments. DC Comics is among the oldest comic publishers that started its journey back in 1937, with its first-ever comic under the banner of DC Comics. The fantasy starts with the story of the most powerful man on Earth, Kal-el who was sent to the Earth from another planet Krypton. He sacrificed by giving up his life in the Justice League when the fans could not hold back their tears. Yes, we cried, cried our hearts out yet felt proud. The dark story of Bruce Wayne, Batman has shaken our minds each time after think about the deepest pain he shares with himself. The journey of becoming Batman in life and saving Gotham City each time it seeks is a true emotion. We love that man in a black costume with a dark black cape, extremely arrogant, distrustful, vengeful, and cynical yet intelligent, determined, passionate, and resilient.

The character of Batman is the favourite of all because of the representation of the human nature of the character. During some phases of our life, we connect to Joker very much. That one negative character touches every soul, the story of his life tells the ruthlessness of life. Joker is a representation of the soul who is always alone even in the crowd, and roams around Gotham City. Each conversation between Batman and Joker is so well-connected that even lands smoothly in the hearts of the DC fans. You can even relate if you are a DC fan, and running late for your work, wish to have the superpower of Flash, just a blink, and you have arrived at your destination, sounds fun right? The community of viewers and readers who are spending decades celebrating the powers of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman by watching them on screen or reading the comics. All the fans of DC Comics connect into the universe so perfectly from the Gotham City to Metropolis or from the Justice League to Suicide Squad.

Game of Thrones

One of the huge fanbases of the TV series Game of Thrones is known for its huge production values. The show had a high-value production, with stunning and breathtaking visuals, including magnificent battle sequences, and elaborating costume designs. The epic level of scale, along with the cinematic quality has earned the maximum popularity. Game of Thrones is equally famous because of the sudden twists and most unexpected moments throughout. The story of the show is inspired and taken from the highly acclaimed book series by George R.R. Martin, which is also among the reasons behind collecting much love and support. The series remains one of the greatest TV series of all time, although many people criticize this series for a foggy ending and an improper conclusion.

The entertaining turns and high-class battells made this saga a phenomenal fanbase worldwide. From the Wall to the Iron Throne the Dragons, or Dire Wolves, all are the reasons the show is a part of the Wall of Fame. The power of the fandom can be imagined by seeing the memes, and numerous theories on the death of Jon Snow, or how the ending of the show became the center of the discussion.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The sudden death of Mathew Perry has shaken the world, all the fans of F.R.I.E.N.D.S are living their lives in denial. It is hard for us, as a fan to accept the fact that our beloved Chandler is not with us anymore, and this heartbreaking incident will make it difficult to watch the show with the same excitement and craze. In 2023, some who have not heard about this masterpiece may be living a life inside a cave. F.R.I.E.N.D.S which is a very popular American sitcom. The show was running for decades and finally ended in 2004. Though it stopped but still the popularity and discussion still did not. In social media, every day we come across an endless number of memes and short videos that cherish our mood all the time. If you want to know the craze of the shoe, ask a fan “Do Joey and Rachel make a good couple?” or maybe “Were Ross and Rachel on a break?” and get ready for the limitless discussion afterward. The craze was so high that another sequel came with a whole new concept “The Reunion”, which shows the same gang and their life after ten long years. The fanbase of F.R.I.E.N.D.S is probably one of the most innocent and calm yet strong followers. The show was famous for its witty and one-liners, and hilarious comedy scenes. This is one of the remarkable pieces from the 90s and a tale of six friends, who experience almost all major experiences such as marriage, love, divorce,  heartbreaks, children, celebrating a new job, or the shaking moments after losing a job, and every other type of drama.

A close-knit friends group, and how hilariously they are experiencing the friendship. It even brings a unique concept that when there is nothing crazy, that situation itself is the craziest situation ever. The crazy reaction of Ross Geller still makes us laugh. We as Gen Z, are always busy with our work, and wish to have some fun in our lives, probably why we can connect to the hidden humor the most. The reason this show is so popular among all Gen Z is all of us can relate to all the situations, their daily life, and their ups and downs, and would like to live the same life with our friends. This show is a whole celebration of friendship and has one of the biggest fandoms globally. The merchandise of this show has picked up a sudden and massive speed over the past few years.

Minecraft

A series of sandbox gameplay was launched in the market back in the year 2009. Minecraft developed by  Mojang Studios has become the most selling video game and created a history. A huge fandom of video games, Minecraft has sold over 300 copies, and close to 140 million or above monthly active game players across the world as per the latest report of 2023. This game series is also popular because it can be accessed from various popular and major platforms. In this gameplay, the players can explore a blocky and 3D village.

The game was originally named a cave game and one of the reasons why it grabbed a lot of attention and popularity is because of its no-so-complicated structure where the players can create things, but instead of creating simply, they can also collect the resources to build different structures. Steve, Alex,  Ender Dragon, Zombie Pigman, Creeper, Enderman, Wither, or Zombie, hold on, you must not be getting any idea what I am talking about. Ask a Minecraft enthusiast about them, they will elaborate to you and surely ask you to join their team for amazing gameplay. There are more than 12 editions of Minecraft available for players, the Java edition is the most popular among all. This game had a separate fanbase since its launch and currently has the most popularity in the online gaming world.

Sherlock

“My friend Watson” is probably one of the most popular three magical words for any Holms lover. We always imagine ourselves standing one fine morning in front of 221B Bakers Street, waiting for the legend to come out wearing a long black coat, and a hat on his head, and his partner Dr. Watson in search of the clues to solve their new case. Mr. Sherlock Holmes is a private consulting detective famous for his extraordinary observation skills, invented by the great British author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyal. How using his brain he finds a way to resolve the most difficult problems blows our mind. Even during the most intense situation the short and funny conversation between Mr. Holms and Watson brings a smile to the corner of our lips. No doubt why Sherlock is so famous among people is his humor.

Not only in TV, the storybooks of Sherlock Holmes are equally popular and available in multiple languages. Not only the new generation, but people of all ages are in love with the stories. The extraordinary problem-solving skill often seems like getting water in a huge desert suddenly. Fans of the amazing detective movie series often cross paths by discussing their favorite Sherlock screenplays by Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr. But after every discussion, it is all about the one and only Sherlock Holmes.

Disney

More or less our childhood is surrounded by the characters of Disney. From Mickey Mouse to Cinderella or Snow White made our childhood so special, and magical. Till date, one of the biggest merchandise in the world is Disney, a popular American mass communication and entertainment, and multimedia company, also known as Walt Disney. We are almost familiar with every character of Disney, and they are most popular among the kids. The channel has a follower over millions and never fails to deliver magic into our lives. One of the biggest fandoms around the world is Walt Disney, which is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank. Singing “Un Poco Loco” or “Hakuna Matata” along with the little ones can wipe off all our stress anytime.

There are an endless number of animated movies that raise the bar for animated cinemas worldwide. All the Disney movies are filled with extreme emotions, optimism, and joy. All character shows deep development and influence us to grow with them. These movies show extreme emotional ups and downs in life, though at the end represent a happy ending. From Mama Coco’s death in Coco, the disappearing Bing Bong in Inside Out, or Mufasa’s death in Lion King, the Disney movies gave many heart-wrenching moments. Our eyes filled with joy and sparkle and gave us a happy cry when Rapunzel met her parents after years in Tangles, Circle of Life in Lion King, and Andy Gives His Toys a New Home in Toy Story 3. Disney movies deliver the greatest lessons of life and teach us the importance of family, friends, and every small moment, and might be the reason behind the huge success and growth of one of the biggest fandoms globally.

Doctor Who 

Doctor Who is one of the most popular TV series in the world, has set history, and appeared on the list of Gunnies World Records as a Sci-Fi TV series that was running for the longest time in the world. Based on its broadcast ratings, book and DVD sales, and iTunes traffic this has been also marked as the “most successful” TV series of all time. This series is packed with actions, thrilling moments, dramatic, emotional, and yet funny that make you fond of it and can not really hold yourself back from watching it for a longer time. Doctor Who is among the best series ever produced in history.

The fourth season of Doctor Who is declared as the best season ever by the fans. Including The Master’s Return, The Death of Adric, the Eleventh Doctor’s Memory Speech, or Meet of The Second and Third Doctors there are a lot more special scenes that made the fans discuss over and over. The positive nature of this series is one of the reasons why the series is still in the trend globally. Most of the fans of this series say this series is just too perfect, and that you can start from anywhere, still, it will be worth watching it.

Narutards: Naruto

Animation has been marked as our topmost priority and the beginning point of the TV entertainment journey. While many of us have grown out of the animated genre by watching Dragon Ball Z, Naruto is one of the anime that has made the youth crazy in recent times. The fans of Naruto are those who believe that animation can be used as a medium to bring even the deepest into our minds, and much more complex concepts. A very popular anime, Naruto tells the struggle story of Naruto and his friends, and his journey to become a great Hokage or the strongest ninja in the village. One of the best qualities of the Naruto fandom is that the Narutards do not move around the lead protagonist, instead, all the fans gain an understanding of their life lessons. The Narutards relate themselves to different characters like Sasuke, Kakashi, Pain, and many more. Because of the intense motivational themes Naruto has one of the biggest fandom in the world among all the other anime.

The qualities such as life lessons of powerful teamwork and unity and fundamentals. Many fans around the world show great gratitude towards Naruto. Some are addicted to the fictional world of Konohagakure, the hidden leaf village, some like to brag about the great ninja Naruto Uzumaki, while others strive to represent Kakashi Hatake, the coolest among all, Itachi Uchiha, who shows his love for his village, or Shikamaru Nara the genius. Whatever the representation of each fan, the fictional ninja world and the thoughts behind each story bring all of the Naruto fans together, and this is how one of the biggest anime fandoms exceeds the influence of humanity and joins all the anime lovers in to cool, amazing and the most popular world of Naruto fandom.

One Direction

One of the popular musical English-Irish pop bands started in 2010 by Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik. The band has a collection of five musical albums and a movie. Their musical tours all over the world brought them closer to their fans. The fanbase of One Direction calls themselves "Directioners" and is also considered one of the huge fandoms on the internet. The more we listen to the tunes, the more we fall in love with those lyrics. “Night Changes”, “What Makes You Beautiful” and many more have successfully driven into the fans’ hearts.

The music has stolen the hearts of the crows worldwide. The last music album was launched in 2015, and the huge fandom is still looking for some miracle to happen when One Direction launches another beautiful music album for their fans. In honour of the 10th year of the formation of One Direction, 1D launched a separate website to tribute called “10 years Of 1D” which went live on July 23, 2020. It featured their most popular career timeline, perks of their shows, and meeting at The X Factor. The band always shared a special bond with its fans, and the reason why after the closure of the successful band, still the fans are united strong, live with their music, and listen to each masterpiece with the same excitement.

Swifties: Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is a popular American singer and songwriter globally famous for her lyrics creation of the songs, versatility of music sense, artistic nature of renovation, and overall influence in the current music industry. Taylor Swift is one of the biggest Billionaires in the world, as since 2019 she has made a collection of  $400 million from her music releases,  $370 million in tour tickets and merchandise sales, and $120 million from YouTube and Spotify streaming, including $80 million in royalties. '1989 (Taylor's Version)' has set a record for the most-played song in 2023 through Spotify. With her leading single and album, “Cardigan” made her rank and debut at the top of the Billboard 200, and Hot 100 at the same time. She was the first artist to achieve this so far.

The official fandom of Taylor Swift named Swifties, is one of the most regarded and largest fanclubs in the world. Just like the single, her fanbase is equally popular for their high level of creativity, fanaticism, and most importantly their participation. Most of her followers come from the USA, India, the Philippines, Mexico, the UK, Canada, and Indonesia. Very recently, a huge number of Swifties in Bangalore, India came together and started a movement to bring the singer to India and this is how her fans are crazy about her music. 1989 (Swift’s Version), Reputation, Midnight, Lover, and many more are the most popular albums in her creation.

Pokémon 

Pokémon is a very popular Japanese merchandise for media, video games, animated movies, series, and card games. The story is all about an unknown universe where human co-exists with some creatures with special powers, those creatures named Pokémon. A huge crowd of special creatures with special powers is always up to fight against the bad. The cutest and one of the most powerful, Pikachu stole our hearts with its cuteness, Arcus was the greatest and strongest Pokémon of all time, whereas Ash Ketchum, Misty, and Brock gave us an amazing trio. The bond between Ash and Pikachu has shown us the true meaning of loyalty. In one particular scene, Ash died and Pikachu finally used its whole power and destroyed the whole universe. The whole concept of the animated series is the power of unity, teamwork, and friendship. I remember myself being a Pokémon fan who always enacted every scene in front of the mirror. Remembering all the Pokémon names was a true flex. This series was so special for every 90’s kid, and all the fight with Team Rocket was so real and personal giving us many reasons to celebrate the win. The world of Pokémon has another separate universe where all the fans are united. There are endless topics to discuss about Pokémon and that is the success behind growing a huge fanbase. Sometimes the fans may argue about which Pokémon is more powerful and give different opinions, but at the end of the day, all are in one team, united, and strong.

Here are the most popular fandom names based on their size, merchandise sales, and activities. Most of the fandoms are very different from one another but still have one quality in common they have become a part of the fandom with gratitude, affection, stories behind, and the different world they came to know about. Fandoms are the one medium to express passion and the wish to interact with the people around who share the same kind of mentality through fan writings, costumes, or randomly talking about theories. All the fans have to keep one simple thing in mind, you are never walking alone, there are always huge and the biggest fandoms in the world.