15 Great Film Franchises Ruined By Too Many Sequels And Remakes
Sometimes bulk isn't great value.
Every director, actor or studio dreams of creating a film so outstanding and memorable that it deserves - nay, demands - a sequel.
Some movies are made for the sole purpose of launching into sequels, existing only to feed a franchise machine before it's next meal. Other films have follow-ups thrust upon them through shear force of will of a fanbase or the box office dollar.
However the passage of berth, movie franchises are a special thing. A unique universe of creative imagination, built from scratch for the sole purpose of our entertainment. They can take years or decades to perfect.
A successful movie franchise is incredibly difficult to construct for so many reasons. Even when done right initially, it's so easy to have them crumble in front of you if your ambition outweighs the reality, or storyline fatigue sets in.
The ending of a franchise is just as important as the beginning, it's the legacy that leaves the final taste in a viewer's mouth. A key feature of this list is, unfortunately, the result of not knowing when exactly that ought to be.
Sometimes a series will go too long. One, two or three films too many. Sometimes a remake is too tantalising for a director to pass up despite the obvious flaws and drawbacks of even attempting it.
Sometimes movies just shouldn't happen.
15. Star Trek
Film Count: 13
Bringing a franchise of Star Trek's magnitude into the equation is risky business, but it certainly won't be the last time on this list. So if I'm upsetting your fanbase, rest easy knowing that I'm going to be pissing off a lot of others as well.
Star Trek is one of the largest, longest-running and most recognisable pop-culture icons in cinematic and TV history. Even if you've never seen a single second of a single movie or episode, you still know what it is.
Something doesn't get that well-known without being successful. But should they have made 13 movies across three series and 37 years?
Don't get me wrong, there are some classics in there and some very good films, but when you have 13 of them you're always going to miss the mark somewhere. Unfortunately for Star Trek, they missed the mark more than they hit it, struggling to maintain the reputation the famed TV series had built.
For every Wrath Of Khan, First Contact or the surprisingly wholesome closing chapter of the original series, The Undiscovered Country, there are disasters like The Final Frontier, Nemesis and Generations.
Even the latest instalment, Beyond, was just the second film of the entire franchise that failed to make its budget back in the North American box office.
Half of the films received positive enough reviews to count as a success, but there's just far too many duds and average iterations across the board to justify the shear volume of films created.