10 Movie Franchises That Probably Just Died

Even as the theatrical side of the movie business continues its slow recovery, it's still a treacherous time in Hollywood as studios scramble to figure out which of their franchises remain relevant, and which are best put out to pasture.

Franchises and IP are of course the lifeblood of any movie studio, because why take a risk on a new property when you can just rely on faithful, familiar brands to prop up your bottom line?

Yet there comes a point when even money-grubbing executives know that a series' time in the sun is over, and that certainly seems to be the case with these 10 movie franchises.

Each of them just crashed out spectacularly, whether underwhelming at the box office or failing to stir up substantial interest on streaming, suggesting that audiences en masse simply don't have much interest in them anymore.

While it's definitely possible that studios will take another swing at making these IP work, it's also not outside the realm of possibility that they're going to be put on an "indefinite hiatus," if not straight-up put out to pasture. We can only hope...

Oh, Resident Evil. It's fascinating that such a beloved video game franchise has had so much trouble manifesting a quality live-action adaptation, though at least Paul W.S. Anderson's original six-movie series proved commercially successful.

After that franchise wrapped up with 2016's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, it was only inevitable that it would get the reboot treatment soon enough, and late last year, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was released.

The reboot largely landed with a thud, though, receiving primarily negative reviews and failing to turn a profit at the box office. Despite performing relatively well on VOD, that likely isn't enough to move the needle for a sequel.

For context, Welcome to Raccoon City grossed less than half of the lowest-grossing Anderson movie, 2002's original Resident Evil.

Though Netflix's recently released Resident Evil spin-off series posted solid viewership figures out of the gate, between the mixed critical reviews and overwhelmingly negative fan response, it too seems unlikely to score any sort of follow-up - especially with its evidently large budget.

While it's a given that Hollywood won't stop trying to make Resident Evil a thing, with two major adaptations both falling flat within a barely six-month period, it's likely that we won't get another live-action Resident Evil project for a good while.