10 Movie Franchises That Set The Bar Too High For Themselves

10. Alien

When Ridley Scott first introduced us to the terrifying alien known as the Xenomorph back in 1979, a lot of critics didn't quite no what to make of this creature and the film it called home.

Roger Ebert noted that the film was 'basically just an intergalactic haunted house thriller set inside a spaceship'.

Yet, it was this meshing of the sci-fi and horror genres (on top of the film's impressive Academy Award winning visual effects) which helped turn Alien into a surprise box office sensation. Raking in a substantial $203 million from a mere $14 million budget, this success eventually paved the way for another huge hit in the form of James Cameron's Aliens in 1986.

Fans clearly couldn't get enough of this world and welcomed the shift from suspense filled horror feature to high octane space action flick.

However, these first two entries proved to be tough acts to follow as Alien III, Alien Resurrection, Prometheus (it counts!) and Alien Covenant all failed to recapture the magic of those earlier classics.

Variety reported in 2019 that another Alien prequel is currently in the 'script phase' with Scott returning to direct.

Will he finally be able to hatch a beautiful little monster again or are we set for even more rotten eggs?