12 Films So Bad That They Killed Off Their Franchise

The first Blair Witch was a genuine phenomenon.

It was able to capitalize on a viral marketing campaign just as internet marketing was becoming a thing. It utilized a rarely used form of filmmaking to convey a sense of realism that audiences had seen so little of before that it fooled half the nation. It was filled with the youthful energy of some film school kids finally sinking their teeth into some work. In being all of these things and more, Blair Witch was a gargantuan hit, going on to become one of the most profitable films ever made.

A sequel was always going to have an uphill battle in attempting to recreate this lightning-in-a-bottle kind of magic, but what we actually got was about as pathetic of an attempt as you can get.

Book of Shadows was cranked out as fast as humanly possible, hitting theaters mere months after the original film. This not only impacted the quality of the film in a big way, it also affected the content. The film has little-to-nothing to do with the first film, simply feeling like a separate story that has been stitched together and had the Blair Witch name slapped onto it.

It tanked so hard upon release that the still-fresh first film also saw a steep decline in sales. Woof.