5 Movie Franchises That Got Better Over Time (And 5 That Got A Whole Lot Worse)
8. Better: Harry Potter
Most fans are wholeheartedly in agreement that the first two Harry Potter movies are the weakest of the bunch, with Chris Columbus' slavish adaptations of the source material doing a great job of establishing the mythology and building the world, but failing to generate much in the way of genuine excitement for those more unfamiliar with the books.
It wasn't until Alfonso Cuaron shook things up with The Prisoner of Azkaban that the franchise settled on a consistent tone, and that darker and more mature approach to the series continued right up until The Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the epic conclusion to the saga that also happened to bring the most enthusiastic critical acclaim.
It helped that the core trio grew much more comfortable as both actors and their characters as the series progressed, while the emotional connection between fans and franchise was only strengthened by the audience's decade-long association and affinity with the adventures of Harry and the gang, leading to each new installment gradually building to a crescendo that the eighth chapter delivered in a near-perfect storm of blockbuster filmmaking.