One bad movie can have a lot of negative impact! 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.
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00:00 "Traditionally speaking, isn't it true that the captain goes down with the ship?"
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for movies that failed so spectacularly
00:08 at the box office that they either killed the franchise entirely or left it on life
00:12 support for an extended period.
00:13 "For the first time in 100 years, when I look ahead, I see nothing."
00:22 Number 20.
00:23 Jaws The Revenge
00:24 The original Jaws gave birth to the summer movie season.
00:27 Audiences would soon find, however, that it wouldn't be summer without a lazy sequel,
00:31 threequel, or fourthquel.
00:32 Enter Jaws The Revenge, showing the franchise's age everything was downgraded from the effects
00:37 to the performances to the inexplicable story.
00:40 This extended to the box office.
00:42 While the film about doubled its $23 million budget, it barely crossed that threshold.
00:47 "I tried to kill you.
00:50 I tried."
00:51 At this point, the original Jaws has grossed over five times more than this shipwreck.
00:56 The Revenge was so underwhelming that Universal hasn't produced a Jaws film in over 35 years.
01:01 "I don't know why he wants me."
01:03 "Maybe he's got good taste."
01:05 And in an era where everything's being rebooted, that's saying something.
01:09 The one redeeming factor?
01:10 It did give us the tagline, "This time it's personal."
01:13 Number 19.
01:18 Sin City A Dame to Kill For
01:19 For years, fans asked when they were going to see a sequel to the cult favorite Sin City.
01:23 "At least I know they're bad guys.
01:26 Nothing wrong with killing a bunch of them.
01:29 Hell, it's practically my civic duty."
01:31 After nine years, fewer were pondering this question.
01:34 Even if your anticipation never dwindled, mixed reviews lowered expectations.
01:38 While Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller once again captured the source material's gritty
01:42 look and pulpy tone, the stories weren't as involving.
01:45 "If I kissed you now, Dwight, would you still believe it was love?"
01:51 Despite being a semi-prequel, the characters were also distractingly older or recast.
01:55 Only opening eighth at the box office, the sequel fell faster than a cop with one day
01:59 left until retirement.
02:01 Although there were plans for Sin City 3, this film killed any hope of seeing this franchise
02:05 on the silver screen again.
02:06 "Crazy's sounding pretty good right now."
02:08 "I love you, too."
02:10 A TV series isn't out of the question, however.
02:13 Number 18.
02:14 Superman IV The Quest for Peace
02:16 Released a week after Jaws The Revenge, The Quest for Peace once again demonstrated why
02:20 most franchises should probably call it quits before they hit movie number four.
02:30 Hollywood still hasn't learned this lesson, but Superman IV left DC's most iconic hero
02:35 in cinematic limbo for almost two decades.
02:37 "I'm incredible."
02:38 "You are nothing."
02:41 The studio knew they were in trouble from the opening weekend when the Man of Steel
02:45 lost to reigning champ Robocop, a reissue of Snow White, and the newly released Summer
02:49 School.
02:50 It's never a good sign when Summer School sounds more fun than Superman.
02:54 Hardly doubling its $17 million budget, the studio abandoned plans for a fifth film.
02:58 While Supes would fly again, it was an unceremonious final bow for Christopher Reeve, who disowned
03:03 the film.
03:04 "There are galaxies out there, other civilizations for us to meet, to learn from."
03:10 Number 17.
03:11 Police Academy Mission to Moscow
03:13 The Police Academy movies were never considered high art, or high comedy.
03:24 Yet the franchise was highly profitable, spawning multiple sequels and an animated series by
03:28 the end of the '80s.
03:30 After Police Academy 6 underperformed, audiences made it clear that this was getting old.
03:34 Hollywood didn't receive the memo, but they would with Mission to Moscow five years later.
03:38 "Now we attack on three.
03:41 One, two."
03:43 Warner Bros. had so little faith in the seventh film that it was given the most limited of
03:46 releases, grossing just over $100,000 on a $10 million budget.
03:50 "I use my head."
03:52 "Yeah, right."
03:53 Since then, the franchise has inspired a short-lived sitcom with talks of an eighth film circulating
03:58 since 2003.
04:00 Although Steve Guttenberg claimed another movie was coming in 2018, there have been
04:03 no developments for five years now.
04:06 "Ahh!"
04:07 "Face!"
04:08 Number 16.
04:10 The Matrix Resurrections
04:11 With the original trilogy leaving something to be desired and the Keanu sides in full
04:15 swing, February 2020 seemed as good a time as any to start filming a fourth Matrix movie.
04:20 "I've spoken to marketing."
04:24 The filmmakers didn't count on the COVID-19 pandemic being just around the corner, however.
04:29 The Matrix Resurrections nonetheless arrived in December 2021, but many were still apprehensive
04:34 about going to theaters and the ones willing to take that risk were probably seeing no
04:37 way home.
04:38 "What the…?"
04:39 Warner Bros.' commitment to simultaneously releasing films on HBO Max didn't help.
04:51 Resurrections became the lowest-grossing Matrix movie in addition to being the most expensive.
04:55 While the film left room for another sequel, a franchise can only be resurrected so many
04:59 times before the studio takes the blue pill.
05:01 "The only world that matters is the one in here.
05:06 And you people believe the craziest shit."
05:08 #15.
05:09 The Next Karate Kid
05:10 When a sequel has the word "next" in the title, it's almost guaranteed to suck.
05:14 "I thought maybe you could give me a few lessons."
05:16 The Next Karate Kid was no exception.
05:18 In fact, it's arguably the go-to example.
05:21 Released five years after the third film, Pat Morita returned as Mr. Miyagi.
05:25 Instead of Ralph Macchio's Daniel, though, the spotlight shifted to a young Hilary Swank.
05:29 You wouldn't guess, based on this movie, that Swank would later win two Oscars.
05:33 The Next Karate Kid did little to shake up or improve upon its hired formula nearly a
05:37 decade after the original.
05:41 Even with a modest $12 million investment, the movie's gross couldn't duplicate its
05:45 budget.
05:46 It'd be another 16 years until the brand saw a remake while Cobra Kai restored honor
05:50 to the original series.
05:51 "You're free.
05:52 Go on, fly away."
05:54 #14.
05:55 Looney Tunes - Back in Action
05:56 After multiple failed attempts to produce a Space Jam sequel, Warner Bros. settled on
06:00 a standalone Looney Tunes movie.
06:02 "That's showbiz for ya."
06:03 Although Back in Action had slick animation and some inspired gags, director Joe Dante's
06:08 lack of creative freedom shined through in the final product.
06:11 With divisive reviews and little audience enthusiasm, the film fell $11.5 million short
06:17 of matching its $80 million budget.
06:19 Warner Bros. thus abandoned plans to produce theatrical Looney Tunes shorts.
06:23 The film's failure went beyond the big screen as Cartoon Network stopped airing the classic
06:27 Looney Tunes within the next year.
06:29 The gang eventually returned to features with Space Jam A New Legacy, while the new Looney
06:32 Tunes content is still being produced for TV, but the franchise has never entirely recovered.
06:38 "Remind me to get a new agent, will ya?"
06:41 #13.
06:42 Speed 2 - Cruise Control
06:43 Just because a movie makes money doesn't mean that it needs a sequel, especially when
06:46 one of the stars declines to return.
06:48 "Isn't it true that the captain goes down with the ship?"
06:54 Regardless, Fox refused to pump the brakes on Speed 2.
06:57 If you're going to produce a sequel that nobody asked for without an integral player,
07:00 it'd be wise to at least slash the budget.
07:03 Where Speed costs somewhere in the $30 million ballpark, Cruise Control costs more than three
07:07 times its predecessor.
07:09 Some reports suggest that the budget was as large as $160 million.
07:12 "Because I'm not wearing any underwear, Harvey."
07:17 Sandra Bullock's salary was $11 to $13 million, Jason Patrick got $4.5 to $8 million, and
07:22 $25 million went into the five-minute finale alone.
07:25 If the ballooning budget didn't spell the franchise's doom, the reception did, losing
07:29 Fox $40 to $70 million.
07:32 #12.
07:33 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
07:38 Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters of all time.
07:41 "For over a decade now, our colleague, Dr. Jones, has been a loyal servant of Hunter."
07:47 When Dial of Destiny hit theaters in 2023, though, it had been 15 years since Indy's
07:51 last adventure, and 34 years since his last good movie.
07:54 "You haven't been forced to drink the blood of Kali."
07:57 "No."
07:58 "Fair enough."
07:59 "I've been tortured with voodoo."
08:01 This fifth film was going to win back fans and attract newcomers it needed to be exceptional.
08:05 Alas, for a film that cost around $300 million to produce, Dial of Destiny took few risks
08:11 with its plot or characters.
08:12 "I've come to believe it's not so much what you believe, it's how hard you believe
08:18 it."
08:19 While this was always going to be Harrison Ford's last time cracking the whip, the
08:22 film served as a trial to see if the franchise could still bring fortune and glory.
08:26 Having lost $100 million, Disney likely won't be jumpstarting a cinematic universe in the
08:31 foreseeable future.
08:32 "Do you really want to lose your God child?"
08:33 "For what?
08:34 The world no longer cares about men like us?"
08:41 11.
08:42 Various DCEU movies
08:43 With COVID affecting Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad, Black Adam
08:48 was a make-or-break moment for the DCEU.
08:50 "Now you are the only one who can defeat the demon champion."
08:55 Star Dwayne Johnson seemed optimistic that it would be a major turning point.
08:59 Despite a lack of competition and ranking number one three weeks in a row, Black Adam
09:03 couldn't break even with a colossal budget as high as $260 million.
09:08 It wasn't long until Warner Bros. confirmed that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be
09:11 starting a new DC universe.
09:16 Audiences thus lost interest in the remaining DCEU movies, pretty much guaranteeing that
09:21 next to nobody would show up to see Shazam!
09:23 Fury of the Gods, The Flash, or Blue Beetle.
09:26 Black Adam won't be fighting Superman in a sequel either.
09:29 "Black Adam, we should talk."
09:33 10.
09:34 Fantastic Beasts - The Secrets of Dumbledore
09:36 The only secret worth uncovering here is how things went so wrong.
09:39 Despite its loads of potential, this spin-off series never enchanted audiences the way the
09:43 mainline Harry Potter films did.
09:48 Being plagued by waning quality and behind-the-scenes controversies, The Secrets of Dumbledore
09:52 became the lowest-grossing Wizarding World film to date.
10:03 Even worse, it took the crown from the previous Fantastic Beasts film.
10:06 There's no spell in all of Hogwarts to make that trend look good.
10:10 After this disastrous theatrical run, Warner Bros. Discovery quietly announced that they
10:14 weren't in the process of developing any more Wizarding World films.
10:18 In layman's terms, that means this proposed five-part saga will end as a disappointing
10:22 trilogy.
10:23 "What's on your mind, baker boy?"
10:24 "Oh, jeez.
10:25 You should be ashamed of yourselves."
10:27 9.
10:28 Vegas Vacation
10:29 The Griswold family's fourth trip marked a lot of firsts for the franchise.
10:39 It was the first to drop the National Lampoon subtitle, the first made without any credit
10:43 given to John Hughes, and the first to be outright rejected by both fans and critics.
10:47 While Vegas Vacation is far from the series' only disappointing sequel, it has the honor
10:51 of being both the lowest-grossing and the worst-reviewed of the bunch.
11:05 The clear lack of audience interest slammed the brakes on any more Griswold family vacations
11:09 for almost 20 years.
11:10 And even then, Chevy Chase's Clark has still yet to get back behind the wheel.
11:14 "That's it, Clark.
11:15 Show 'em who's boss.
11:16 It's people like you who come here and blow the family nest egg that built this town,
11:21 not this pretty boy."
11:23 8.
11:24 Dark Phoenix
11:25 There are a lot of glaring, fundamental issues with this film.
11:37 But the biggest one is that it failed to make a profit at the box office.
11:40 Reportedly, Dark Phoenix lost around $130 million, going down as one of the biggest
11:45 flops in cinematic history.
11:47 It's even more embarrassing because the studio formerly known as 20th Century Fox
11:51 had hoped Dark Phoenix would launch a whole new series of X-Men films.
11:56 Unfortunately, all those plans crashed and burned right alongside the movie's financial
12:03 reports.
12:04 Now that Disney's acquired the rights to the X-Men, odds are that this Phoenix will
12:07 never rise from the ashes again.
12:09 And that's probably for the best.
12:17 7.
12:22 Star Trek Nemesis
12:23 For decades, the Star Trek films lived long and prospered.
12:30 But in 2002, the franchise found itself in an asteroid field of bad reviews.
12:35 You can find any number of reasons for Nemesis' failure.
12:37 From its poor release window to general Star Trek fatigue.
12:40 But either way, the fact of the matter is that the next generation went out with a whimper.
12:51 Paramount Pictures nixed any more films with this cast and instead opted for a hard reboot
12:56 in 2009.
12:57 The only solace is that Patrick Stewart later returned to Picard as the star of his very
13:01 own show.
13:02 But something tells us he won't be steering the Enterprise to the big screen any time
13:05 soon.
13:06 6.
13:07 Fantastic Four
13:08 It's kind of impressive to kill a franchise before it even gets started.
13:15 In fact, it could be argued that this movie was DOA even earlier than that.
13:26 Prior to release, Fantastic Four suffered a never-ending media storm of scandals, controversies,
13:31 and rumors, each one pointing to an incredibly rough work environment.
13:35 Things were so bad that allegedly star Miles Teller almost got into a fist fight with director
13:40 Josh Trank.
13:46 Given all that, it's no surprise the film is a complete mess in every sense of the word.
13:50 And it has the bad box office to prove it.
13:52 The only mercy is that Fantastic Four's already-dated sequel was quickly yanked off
13:57 the schedule.
13:58 5.
13:59 Son of the Mask
14:00 This ill-advised sequel is the textbook example of how not to continue a franchise.
14:09 The success of the original The Mask wasn't the green face covering.
14:12 It was Jim Carrey's unparalleled comedic timing.
14:19 Without him, this soulless follow-up lost all of its charm and most of its audience,
14:23 too.
14:24 Not only did Son of the Mask fail to outgross its predecessor, it couldn't even make back
14:27 its own budget.
14:32 Although that's to be expected from a film that's widely considered one of the worst
14:36 of the 2000s.
14:37 Unless Jim Carrey decides to put on the mask again, odds are this film series will tap
14:41 out at two.
14:42 4.
14:43 Terminator Dark Fate
14:49 On paper, the cinematic return of Sarah Connor in T-800 should have been a slam dunk.
14:54 While a string of poorly-received sequels had seriously hurt the brand's reputation,
15:00 Dark Fate promised to be a return to form for Terminator.
15:03 And surprisingly, it actually was.
15:05 Kind of.
15:06 The reviews weren't glowing by any means, but they were a marked improvement over the
15:09 other modern entries.
15:11 Unfortunately, Terminator fans had been burned one too many times.
15:21 They failed to show up to the theaters.
15:23 And Dark Fate wrote off losses north of $120 million.
15:26 In the end, all this reboot did was say "hasta la vista, baby" to any chance of more Terminator
15:32 films.
15:33 Until Hollywood runs out of ideas again.
15:37 3.
15:40 The Divergent Series - Allegiant
15:42 For anyone keeping track, there are three Divergent films, each named after one of the
15:46 three books.
15:52 But that's not actually the full story.
15:54 Despite the series diminishing returns domestically, the film's producers decided to split the
15:58 adaptation of the final novel into two parts.
16:01 It resulted in a deeply unsatisfying third entry that no one was happy with, least of
16:05 all the studio's wallets.
16:09 Afterward, the fourth film was reimagined as a TV special, and then later scrapped entirely.
16:18 It's a fate so embarrassing, it's almost laughable.
16:20 No one knows if a fully adapted Allegiant film would have done better, but at least
16:24 the series would have gotten an ending.
16:28 2.
16:32 The Mummy - Tom Cruise
16:33 Tom Cruise is one of the few bankable stars left in Hollywood, and even he couldn't sell
16:37 these racks.
16:45 His version of The Mummy was immediately buried beneath criticisms for its plot, tone, and
16:49 acting.
16:50 But his feedback and disappointing box office returns ruined any chance of this monster
16:54 coming out of his tomb for a sequel.
17:01 And yet that's not even the end of The Mummy's failures.
17:04 It was heavily promoted as the starting point of a whole cinematic universe of classic monster
17:08 flicks.
17:09 So when The Mummy bombed, it didn't just ruin its own series' prospects, it took
17:13 down an entire potential franchise with it.
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17:39 1.
17:41 Batman & Robin It's no exaggeration to say that this take
17:44 on the Dark Knight was designed specifically to build a film series.
17:55 With more characters, more gadgets, and more merchandising potential, distributor Warner
17:59 Brothers did everything they could to turn Batman & Robin into a smash hit.
18:03 Well, everything except make a good movie.
18:11 It all proved to be a grave error, and to this day, Batman & Robin is infamously regarded
18:15 as one of the very worst films ever made.
18:17 The downright toxic critical reception immediately silenced any talks for a follow-up, let alone
18:22 the in-development Robin spin-off.
18:24 It took several years and a reboot for Batman's legacy to recover.
18:28 But forgetting the bat-nipples is a different story.
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