<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $574.8 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Godfather is an American film series that consists of three crime drama films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo . The series follows the trials of the Corleone family, Italian Americans whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime . His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor . The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974 and 1990 . The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning over $550 million worldwide . The Godfather, is seen by many as one of the greatest films of all time . The sequel, The Godfather Part II, is viewed by many as the best sequel in cinematic history . The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 29 total Academy Award nominations . </P> <P> The Godfather was released on March 15, 1972 . The feature - length film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based upon Mario Puzo's novel of the same name . The plot begins with Don Vito Corleone declining an offer to join in the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Virgil Sollozzo, which leads to an assassination attempt . Meanwhile, Vito's oldest son Sonny takes over the family and Michael strikes back for the assassination attempt by killing Sollozzo and a corrupted police captain, forcing Michael to go to Sicily in hiding . While in Sicily, Michael travels around the country and meets a woman he marries but who is killed in a car bombing . Michael returns to America after the news of his brother Sonny's murder . After returning, Vito turns over the reins of the family to Michael . Michael plans to move the family business to Las Vegas; but before the move, he plots the killing of the heads of the five families on the day of his nephew's baptism . Other subplots include Vito's daughter's abusive marriage, Johnny Fontaine's success in Hollywood and Vito's second son Fredo's role in the family business in Las Vegas . </P> <P> The Godfather Part II was released on December 20, 1974 . The feature - length film was again directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based upon Mario Puzo's novel of the same name . The film is in part both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, presenting two parallel dramas . The main storyline, following the first film's events, centers on Michael Corleone, the new Don of the Corleone crime family, trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to his founding of the Corleone family in New York City . </P>

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