20 Movies That Bombed So Hard They DESTROYED a Franchise

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for movies that failed so spectacularly at the box office that they either killed the franchise entirely or left it on life support for an extended period. Which franchise would you like to resurrect? Let us know in the comments!

#20: “Jaws: The Revenge” (1987)

The original “Jaws” gave birth to the summer movie season. Audiences would soon find, however, that it wouldn’t be summer without a lazy sequel, three-quel, or fourth-quel. Enter “Jaws: The Revenge.” Showing the franchise’s age, everything was downgraded, from the effects, to the performances, to the inexplicable story. This extended to the box office. While the film about doubled its $23 million budget, it barely crossed that threshold. At this point, the original “Jaws” had grossed over five times more than this shipwreck. “The Revenge” was so underwhelming that Universal hasn’t produced a “Jaws” film in over 35 years. And in an era where everything is being rebooted, that’s saying something. The one redeeming factor? It did give us the tagline, “This time, it’s personal.”

#19: “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” (2014)

For years, fans asked when they were going to see a sequel to the cult favorite “Sin City.” After nine years, fewer were pondering this question. Even if your anticipation never dwindled, mixed reviews lowered expectations. While Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller once again captured the source material’s gritty look and pulpy tone, the stories weren’t as involving. Despite being a semi-prequel, the characters were also distractingly older or recast. Only opening 8th at the box office, the sequel fell faster than a cop with one day left until retirement. Although there were plans for “Sin City 3,” this film killed any hope of seeing this franchise on the silver screen again. A TV series isn’t out of the question, however.

#18: “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987)

Released a week after “Jaws: The Revenge,” “The Quest for Peace” once again demonstrated why most franchises should probably call it quits before they hit movie #4. Hollywood still hasn’t learned this lesson, but “Superman IV” left DC’s most iconic hero in cinematic limbo for almost two decades. The studio knew they were in trouble from the opening weekend when the Man of Steel lost to reigning champ “RoboCop,” a reissue of “Snow White,” and the newly released “Summer School.” It’s never a good sign when summer school sounds more fun than Superman. Hardly doubling its $17 million budget, the studio abandoned plans for a fifth film. While Supes would fly again, it was an unceremonious final bow for Christopher Reeve, who disowned the film.

#17: “Police Academy: Mission to Moscow” (1994)

The “Police Academy” movies were never considered high art… or high comedy. Yet, the franchise was highly profitable, spawning multiple sequels and an animated series by the end of the 80s. After “Police Academy 6” underperformed, audiences made it clear that this was getting old. Hollywood didn’t receive the memo, but they would with “Mission to Moscow” five years later. Warner Bros. had so little faith in the seventh film that it was given the most limited of releases, grossing just over $100,000 on a $10 million budget. Since then, the franchise has inspired a short-lived sitcom with talks of an eighth film circulating since 2003. Although Steve Guttenberg claimed another movie was coming in 2018, there’ve been no developments for five years now.

#16: “The Matrix Resurrections” (2021)

With the original trilogy leaving something to be desired and the Keanusance in full swing, February 2020 seemed as good a time as any to start filming a fourth “Matrix” movie. The filmmakers didn’t count on the COVID-19 pandemic being just around the corner, however. “The Matrix Resurrections” nonetheless arrived in December 2021, but many were still apprehensive about going to theaters and the ones willing to take that risk were probably seeing “No Way Home.” Warner Bros.’ commitment to simultaneously releasing films on HBO Max didn’t help. “Resurrections” became the lowest-grossing “Matrix” movie in addition to being the most expensive. While the film left room for another sequel, a franchise can only be resurrected so many times before the studio takes the blue pill.

#15: “The Next Karate Kid” (1994)

When a sequel has the word “next” in the title, it’s almost guaranteed to suck. “The Next Karate Kid” was no exception. In fact, it’s arguably the go-to example. Released five years after the third film, Pat Morita returned as Mr. Miyagi. Instead of Ralph Macchio’s Daniel, though, the spotlight shifted to a young Hilary Swank. You wouldn’t guess based on this movie that Swank would later win two Oscars. “The Next Karate Kid” did little to shake up or improve upon a tired formula nearly a decade after the original. Even with a modest $12 million investment, the movie’s gross couldn’t duplicate its budget. It’d be another sixteen years until the brand saw a remake while “Cobra Kai” restored honor to the original series.

#14: “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” (2003)

After multiple failed attempts to produce a “Space Jam” sequel, Warner Bros. settled on a standalone “Looney Tunes” movie. Although “Back in Action” had slick animation and some inspired gags, director Joe Dante’s lack of creative freedom shined through in the final product. With divisive reviews and little audience enthusiasm, the film fell $11.5 million short of matching its $80 million budget. Warner Bros. thus abandoned plans to produce theatrical “Looney Tunes” shorts. The film’s failure went beyond the big screen, as Cartoon Network stopped airing the classic “Looney Tunes” within the next year. The gang eventually returned to features with “Space Jam: A New Legacy” while new “Looney Tunes” content is still being produced for TV, but the franchise has never entirely recovered.

#13: “Speed 2: Cruise Control” (1997)

Just because a movie makes money doesn’t mean that it needs a sequel, especially when one of the stars declines to return. Regardless, Fox refused to pump the breaks on “Speed 2.” If you’re going to produce a sequel that nobody asked for without an integral player, it’d be wise to at least slash the budget. Where “Speed” cost somewhere in the $30 million ballpark, “Cruise Control” cost more than three times its predecessor. Some reports suggest that the budget was as large as $160 million. Sandra Bullock’s salary was $11–$13 million, Jason Patric got $4.5–$8 million, and $25 million went into the five-minute finale alone. If the ballooning budget didn’t spell the franchise’s doom, the reception did, losing Fox $40–70 million.

#12: “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023)

Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters of all time. When “Dial of Destiny” hit theaters in 2023, though, it had been 15 years since Indy’s last adventure… and 34 years since his last good movie. If this fifth film was going to win back fans and attract newcomers, it needed to be exceptional. Alas, for a film that cost around $300 million to produce, “Dial of Destiny” took few risks with its plot or characters. While this was always going to be Harrison Ford’s last time cracking the whip, the film served as a trial to see if the franchise could still bring fortune and glory. Having lost $100 million, Disney likely won’t be jumpstarting a cinematic universe in the foreseeable future.

#11: Various DCEU Movies

With COVID affecting “Birds of Prey,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” and “The Suicide Squad,” “Black Adam” was a make-or-break moment for the DCEU. Star Dwayne Johnson seemed optimistic that it would be a major turning point. Despite a lack of competition and ranking #1 three weeks in a row, “Black Adam” couldn’t break even with a colossal budget as high as $260 million. It wasn’t long until Warner Bros. confirmed that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be starting a new DC Universe. Audiences thus lost interest in the remaining DCEU movies, pretty much guaranteeing that next to nobody would show up to see “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash,” or “Blue Beetle.” Black Adam won’t be fighting Superman in a sequel either.

#10: “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” (2022)

The only secret worth uncovering here is how things went so wrong. Despite its loads of potential, this spinoff series never enchanted audiences the way the mainline “Harry Potter” films did. Then, plagued by waning quality and behind-the-scenes controversies, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” became the lowest-grossing Wizarding World film to date. Even worse, it took the crown from the previous “Fantastic Beasts” film. There’s no spell in all of Hogwarts to make that trend look good. After this disastrous theatrical run, Warner Bros. Discovery quietly announced that they weren’t in the process of developing any more Wizarding World films. In layman’s terms, that means this proposed five-part saga will end as a disappointing trilogy.

#9: “Vegas Vacation” (1997)

The Griswold family’s fourth trip marked a lot of firsts for the franchise. It was the first to drop the “National Lampoon” subtitle, the first made without any credit given to John Hughes, and the first to be outright rejected by both fans and critics. While “Vegas Vacation” is far from the series’ only disappointing sequel, it has the honor of being both the lowest-grossing and the worst-reviewed of the bunch. The clear lack of audience interest slammed the brakes on any more Griswold family vacations for almost twenty years. And, even then, Chevy Chase’s Clark has still yet to get back behind the wheel.

#8: “Dark Phoenix” (2019)

There are a lot of glaring, fundamental issues with this film. But, the biggest one is that it failed to make a profit at the box office. Reportedly, “Dark Phoenix” lost around $130 million, going down as one of the biggest flops in cinematic history. It’s even more embarrassing because the studio formerly known as 20th Century Fox had hoped “Dark Phoenix” would launch a whole new series of “X-Men” films. Unfortunately, all those plans crashed and burned right alongside the movie’s financial reports. Now that Disney’s acquired the rights to the “X-Men,” odds are this Phoenix will never rise from the ashes again. And that’s probably for the best.

#7: “Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002)

For decades, the “Star Trek” films lived long and prospered. But, in 2002, the franchise found itself in an asteroid field of bad reviews. You can find any number of reasons for “Nemesis’” failure, from its poor release window to general “Star Trek” fatigue. But, either way, the fact of the matter is that The Next Generation went out with a whimper. Paramount Pictures nixed any more films with this cast and instead opted for a hard reboot in 2009. The only solace is that Patrick Stewart later returned to Picard as the star of his very own show. But, something tells us he won’t be steering the Enterprise to the big screen any time soon.

#6: “Fantastic Four” (2015)

It’s kind of impressive to kill a franchise before it even gets started. In fact, it could be argued this movie was DOA even earlier than that. Prior to release, “Fantastic Four” suffered a never-ending media storm of scandals, controversies, and rumors, each one pointing to an incredibly rough work environment. Things were so bad that, allegedly, star Miles Teller almost got into a fistfight with director Josh Trank. Given all that, it’s no surprise the film is a complete mess in every sense of the word. And it has the bad box office to prove it. The only mercy is that “Fantastic Four’s” already-dated sequel was quickly yanked off the schedule.

#5: “Son of the Mask” (2005)

This ill-advised sequel is the textbook example of how not to continue a franchise. The success of the original “The Mask” wasn’t the green face covering, it was Jim Carrey’s unparalleled comedic timing. Without him, this soulless follow-up lost all of its charm and most of its audience, too. Not only did “Son of the Mask” fail to outgross its predecessor, it couldn’t even make back its own budget. Although, that’s to be expected from a film that’s widely considered one of the worst of the 2000s. Unless Jim Carrey decides to put on the Mask again, odds are this film series will tap out at two.

#4: “Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019)

On paper, the cinematic return of Sarah Connor and T-800 should have been a slam dunk. While a string of poorly-received sequels had seriously hurt the brand’s reputation, “Dark Fate” promised to be a return to form for “Terminator.” And, surprisingly, it actually was (kind of). The reviews weren’t glowing by any means, but they were a marked improvement over the other modern entries. Unfortunately, “Terminator” fans had been burned one too many times. They failed to show up to theaters, and “Dark Fate” wrote off losses north of $120 million. In the end, all this reboot did was say, “Hasta la vista, baby,” to any chance of more “Terminator” films… until Hollywood runs out of ideas again.

#3: “The Divergent Series: Allegiant” (2016)

For anyone keeping track, there are three “Divergent” films, each named after one of the three books. But, that’s not actually the full story. Despite the series’ diminishing returns domestically, the film’s producers decided to split the adaptation of the final novel into two parts. It resulted in a deeply unsatisfying third entry that no one was happy with, least of all the studio’s wallets. Afterward, the fourth film was reimagined as a TV special, and then later scrapped entirely. It’s a fate so embarrassing, it’s almost laughable. No one knows if a fully adapted “Allegiant” film would have done better, but at least the series would have gotten an ending.

#2: “The Mummy” (2017)

Tom Cruise is one of the few bankable stars left in Hollywood, and even he couldn’t sell these rags. His version of “The Mummy” was immediately buried beneath criticisms for its plot, tone, and acting. The poor audience feedback and disappointing box office returns ruined any chance of this monster coming out of his tomb for a sequel. And yet, that’s not even the end of “The Mummy’s” failures. It was heavily promoted as the starting point of a whole cinematic universe of classic monster flicks. So, when “The Mummy” bombed, it didn’t just ruin its own series’ prospects, it took down an entire potential franchise with it.

#1: “Batman & Robin” (1997)

It’s no exaggeration to say that this take on the Dark Knight was designed specifically to build a film series. With more characters, more gadgets, and more merchandising potential, distributor Warner Bros. did everything they could to turn “Batman and Robin” into a smash hit. Well, everything except make a good movie. That proved to be a grave error, and to this day, “Batman and Robin” is infamously regarded as one of the very worst films ever made. The downright toxic critical reception immediately silenced any talks for a follow-up, let alone the in-development Robin spinoff. It took several years and a reboot for Batman’s legacy to recover, but forgetting the Bat-nipples is a different story.