12 Films So Bad That They Killed Off Their Franchise

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.