12 Films So Bad That They Killed Off Their Franchise
A brief in memoriam for our fallen comrades...
Hollywood loves franchises. Sometimes, frankly, they love them a bit too much.
Cinematic history is ripe with tales of movie franchises that were soaring on the wings of success, right up until the point where they pushed things one film too far. No matter how many great films a series may have under its belt, all it takes is one colossal misstep for the entire thing to go up in smoke.
You know these franchises: they, more often than not, begin with a true cinematic classic that captures the hearts of millions. And while that may be great initially, as the creators bask in the warm glow fandom, it can become a curse. While the first film may have somehow pulled off the incredible feat of acquiring fans, the sequels have the really hard part; keeping them satisfied.
Just as fans may love a franchise dearly, they will also hate a franchise even more deeply. Thus, if fans feel a sequel is not up-to-snuff, they will surely be vocal about it and if the creators aren't careful, they could very quickly be looking at an expired property.
These are the film franchises that tried desperately to keep their film series alive, by pushing one (or several) film(s) too far. Sometimes they lose their creative mojo, sometimes the producers are just trying to squeeze out every cent they can.
12. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
While this instalment may often get all the credit for killing Sony's rebooted Spidey franchise, it was no steely doomed from the get-go.
Following Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, Sony was eager to pump out another film, regardless of the public's reception. As Raimi worked on a script for Spider-Man 4, Sony pulled the rug out from under him, having other writers turn in drafts for a reboot. This way they could pay everyone less money. A new cast and director meant smaller salaries all around, resulting in more money for Sony.
So of course they did it.
The Amazing Spider-Man was pitched as a look at the true origins of Spider-Man, and specifically his parents, that we had never seen before. But when it arrived, the film was little more than a half-baked retread of the exact same story beats from Raimi's original film.
Combine this with the fact that its follow-up was an overstuffed, premature, cinematic universe-baiting attempt at a film, and you have a clear recipe for how to kill everyone's favorite superhero franchise.