20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

10. Alvin And The Chipmunks

The Movies: Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (2009), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), Untitled Fourth Movie With No-Doubt Awful Pun in the Title (2014) Armed with a prime December release date and little direct competition at the box office, Tim Hill's live-action/CGI hybrid was the go-to movie for family audiences at the end of 2007, and ultimately grossed over $360m worldwide against a $60m budget. Despite being little more than harmless entertainment for younger audiences, there was nothing in the movie to recommend for anyone over the age of five. The unforeseen financial success of Alvin and the Chipmunks of course put the inevitable sequel in development, and people across the world recoiled in horror when they heard it would be titled...shudder.....The Squeakuel. The tried-and-tested combination of infuriatingly catchy songs and slapstick humor made this another holiday hit and it ultimately grossed over $440m. Two years later came another sequel with another terrible pun in the title. Chipwrecked actually explains the entire plot, and the end result is the laziest form of family entertainment. Built-in name recognition and a solid release date are no reason to create such an uninspired piece of film-making. I know it's for kids, but family entertainment has the power to enthrall audiences of all ages; Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks have all proven so on multiple occasions. The appeal was obviously beginning to wear off, as it posted the lowest grosses yet for the franchise. Despite these movies being increasingly awful, the three entries in the franchise so far have grossed over $1bn at the box office, making a fourth film a mere formality. Announced for December 11, 2005, the new movie will no doubt have an an awful pun (ideas in the comments, if you dare) and be given a 3D makeover to make parents part with a couple of extra bucks at the theater.