10 Movie Franchises That Surprisingly Got Better

Conventional Hollywood wisdom says that movie franchises don't get better - instead, they take a creative first movie and run it into the ground with lazy sequels until the box office gravy dries up.

But of course, that's not always the case, with many series capable of at least maintaining a fairly consistent level of quality, while more rarely, a franchise might even pull off a surprising uptick.

Now, it didn't shock anyone that the Harry Potter series got better as the actors grew up and became better actors, nor that Revenge of the Sith was a better Star Wars movie than The Phantom Menace, because the only way was up, right?

And so, those movies do not make this list. These 10 franchises, meanwhile, all enjoyed a noticeable rise in quality that came most unexpected, either due to the tawdry quality of the early entries, or more rarely, that the original movies were so damn good it didn't seem possible to top them.

It takes a ton of care and a healthy dash of good luck to reinvigorate a movie series mid-stride, but these all pulled it off, serving as a reminder that any franchise, no matter how desperate, has the potential to save itself one day.

Except Hellraiser. That thing's screwed, like, permanently...