6 Movie Franchises That Were Saved By A Reboot (And 6 That Were Doomed)

Universal have never really had a marquee superhero franchise of their own, so they did the next best thing back in 2011: took one of their long-running existing properties and turned it into a crowd-pleasing, gravity-defying, ridiculously OTT series of blockbusters that rejuvenated the Fast and Furious from a Hollywood also-ran into one of the most bankable brands in the industry.

After Tokyo Drift almost killed the franchise altogether, the original stars were brought back for the fourth instalment, which more than doubled the box office earnings of its predecessor. Taking things one step further, Fast Five brought self-proclaimed 'Franchise Viagra' Dwayne Johnson into the fold, where he more than lived up to his billing.

Reinventing the street-racing series as globe-trotting mega-budget action extravaganzas suddenly propelled Fast and Furious into the upper echelons of franchise filmmaking, and the release of a new entry is now one of the most hotly-anticipated events in the cinematic calendar.

The people who name these movies have clearly lost their minds, but whoever came up with the idea to turn Dominic Toretto and his extended 'family' into a super-team to rival The Avengers certainly understands what audiences want from the nearly 20 year-old series.