12 Movie Franchises That Need To Take A Break
Franchise fatigue is real.
Though franchises such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Mission: Impossible are thriving beyond anyone's expectations, franchise fatigue is most definitely real, and sooner or later it afflicts the vast majority of hit movie properties.
These 12 franchises, though enormously successful at the box office, have been showing signs of creative stagnation for a while now, and if their current rate of output continues, that could lead to a cataclysmic crash as audiences start to lose interest.
Sure, it's pretty much the Hollywood formula for studios to run a lucrative property into the ground, but if they want to keep the consistent returns coming in, it'd be sensible to slow things down a bit and give these franchises a few years on the back burner.
It's highly unlikely it'll actually happen in most if not all cases, but if they're not careful, each is heading towards both creative and potentially financial oblivion. It's just a matter of time, really...
12. The Fast & The Furious
There's no denying the insane success of the Fast and the Furious franchise, which since 2001 has released eight movies to a combined box office gross of over $5 billion.
Especially impressive is the tonal and creative gear-shift which came with 2011's Fast Five, re-imagining the franchise as a broader series of heist movies rather than films aimed primarily at petrolheads.
The novelty is definitely starting to wear off, though, with last year's The Fate of the Furious proving fun, yet squarely indicating that the law of diminishing returns is starting to kick in.
The cast remains charming, sure, but the thrills have reached peak absurdity, and with the Hobbs and Shaw spin-off also releasing next year ahead of Fast 9 and Furious 10 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, three movies releasing in consecutive years runs the risk of over-saturating audiences.
After Hobbs and Shaw, a few years off would probably do the franchise some good, because this rate of production could be a quick route to killing the franchise before its time should be over. Yes, Vin Diesel insists Furious 10 will be the last one, but does anyone really believe that?