10 Movie Franchises That Died In 2021
7. G.I. Joe
Well, Paramount has certainly tried to make G.I. Joe movies a thing, but three tepidly-received films over the last 12 years have seemingly confirmed that audiences just aren't much interested.
The series began with 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which grossed barely $300 million against a stonking $175 million budget amid mixed-to-negative reviews.
The franchise then went dormant for a few years until it was given a glorified soft reboot in 2013 with G.I. Joe: Retaliation, shifting the focus to Dwayne Johnson's Roadblock.
Though it was more sensibly budgeted and proved more successful - making $375.7 million against a $130-150 million budget - that still wasn't anywhere near the gangbusters numbers Paramount was clearly hoping for with Johnson's involvement.
In 2018, they made one more go of it by announcing an origin story reboot, Snake Eyes, which hit cinemas this past summer following an extremely lukewarm marketing campaign.
Despite a solid lead performance from Henry Golding, Snake Eyes was largely dismissed by critics as a generic, sloppy action vehicle, and audiences summarily voted with their wallets.
With an estimated budget of $110 million, it grossed a risible $40.1 million worldwide, ensuring the planned follow-up film has evidently been quietly cancelled.
Though a spin-off series for Amazon Prime is reportedly in development, given that prior plans for a crossover with Michael Bay's Transformers franchise fell through, it's tough to believe anything meaningful will be done with the IP anytime soon.
Movie-wise, at least, it's as dead as a dodo.