10 Movie Franchises That Died In 2021
1. Infinite
The recent Mark Wahlberg-starring actioner Infinite is an especially interesting case because, unlike every other movie on this list, it was actually the first entry into a prospective franchise that Paramount was clearly hoping would be their next big IP.
The big-budget sci-fi blockbuster was mounted as a cynical hybrid of modern superhero movies, The Matrix, and the Jason Bourne thriller movies, while unsurprisingly proving not nearly as entertaining as any of them.
Paramount gave the film a pretty definitive vote of no confidence, however, when they cancelled its original theatrical release - allegedly due to the pandemic - and dumped it on Paramount+ a mere month later.
Worse still, the first trailer dropped less than two weeks before release, and it largely wasn't screened for critics, who unsurprisingly panned it into the ground when they had to watch it on their own dime on Paramount+.
It's painfully clear watching the film that this was intended to be the first in a new series of hit sci-fi action flicks, but between Paramount sending it out to die and the subsequent lack of reported viewing figures, it's ultimately just another planned movie franchise that stalled before it even got going.