20 Movie Franchises That Carried On For Way Too Long

18. Friday The 13th

The Movies: Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), Friday the 13th Part III (1982), The Final Chapter (1984), A New Beginning (1986), Jason Lives (1986), The New Blood (1988), Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), Jason X (2001), Freddy vs Jason (2003), Friday the 13th (2009), Yet Another Reboot (2014 TBC) Initially developed to cash in on the success of 1978's Halloween, the Friday the 13th series became one of the heavy-hitters of the slasher genre in its own right, despite the quality of the movies greatly declining with each inexplicable resurrection of Jason Voorhees. After the first entry became a surprise box-office hit by recouping almost $60m on a $500,000 budget, the sequel arrived a year later with Jason now the central character. Another box-office success, the movie was nonetheless panned by critics. A third movie in as many years followed, with Jason donning hockey mask in what was intended to be the final entry in the franchise. It wasn't of course, and Jason returned to life 1984's The Final Chapter. 1986's A New Beginning which was the lowest point for the series yet, and didn't feature Jason at all. Resurrected as a supernatural being for Jason Lives, the movie reversed franchise's fortunes to become the best-reviewed movie yet, despite poor box-office returns. Jason once again embarked on a forgettable killing spree around Crystal Lake in The New Blood, and was again resurrected (by a houseboat, no less) in the misleadingly-titled Jason Takes Manhattan, where he only arrives in New York for the third act. The Final Friday is notable only for the final shot of Freddy Krueger's glove bursting out from the ground, which was the last we'd see of Jason for 8 years. Set in the future for absolutely no reason at all, Jason X is identical to every other entry in the franchise apart from the fact that it takes place in space. Resurrected once again for disappointing monster mash-up Freddy vs Jason just two years later, the hockey mask-wearing killer was given the obligatory remake treatment in 2009's Friday the 13th. Retconning the first four movies into 90 minutes of tedium, the remake still grossed over $90m at the box office. Somehow the Friday the 13th franchise has endured for over 30 years and a dozen movies, although I think we could all do with a break from the adventures of Jason Voorhees. However, with the rights recently changing hands another reboot is said to be in 'active development' (rumored to have a found-footage angle), the hockey mask may be back on screen sooner rather than later.