10 Movie Franchises That Died In 2017

3. Harry Hole

The Franchise: Harry Hole is the steely protagonist of almost a dozen crime novels written by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø, and the Michael Fassbender-starring adaptation of Nesbø's 2007 novel The Snowman was supposed to be the start of a Harry Hole movie franchise.

With a sensible $35 million budget, acclaimed director (Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's Tomas Alfredson), all-star cast and best-selling source material, this was a slam dunk on paper.

What Happened?: The Snowman was only screened for critics last-minute and scored an hilariously low 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, which no doubt had a colossal effect on its box office.

The film only grossed $3.2 million in its opening U.S. weekend, less than one-third of initial projections, causing it to only barely make its budget back overall.

The critical and commercial failure makes this property radioactive for the near-future. Another Harry Hole novel could be adapted in the future, but Fassbender would be silly to go anywhere near it.