We would have been okay with just the one movie... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the least-effective film series ever.
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00:00 "Prom's an important rite of passage. I don't want you missing anything."
00:03 "Oh."
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the least effective film series ever.
00:11 "All the people working here are dead."
00:13 "Well, that isn't stopping them from walking around."
00:16 Number 10, Fantastic Beasts franchise.
00:18 "Newt, I don't think I'm dreaming."
00:20 "I'll give it away."
00:22 "I ain't got the brains to make this up."
00:25 What started as a guidebook linked to the Harry Potter series became its own spin-off.
00:28 Results felt largely unnecessary, never rising to the magic of the original movies.
00:33 Newt Scamander's initial adventures offer up some fantastic thrills, but the sequels deliver diminishing returns.
00:39 The controversies surrounding the casting of Grindelwald are just a fraction of the problems with The Secrets of Dumbledore and The Crimes of Grindelwald.
00:46 "I wish you were working with me now, towards a world where we wizards were free to live openly."
00:53 Each sequel gets too bogged down by the story details, and the finale in particular doesn't offer anything new to excite fans.
00:59 Wanting to chase Potter's success and try something different? The filmmakers spread the idea too thin.
01:04 Ultimately, we wish they'd left this property alone.
01:07 "This is the man who tried to take my life. This man, who has no magic."
01:15 Number 9, Fifty Shades franchise.
01:17 "Do you want anything else?"
01:19 "Yes. Rope."
01:22 From fan fiction to a cultural phenomenon, E.L. James' series was never considered high art.
01:28 The film adaptations don't expand on the books either, failing to elevate the material or even be entertaining.
01:33 It ultimately comes down to a melodramatic relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.
01:38 "No, I'm- I'm- I can go, it's fine."
01:41 "I would like to know more about you."
01:42 "There's really not much to know about me."
01:48 Even if you're just looking for a good time, you'll probably be let down by the poorly written romance.
01:52 The businessman's many red flags will have viewers questioning how the main heroine sticks around for two sequels in the first place.
01:59 On top of that, the twists of Darker and Freed feel more like a soap opera than an attempt to save the franchise.
02:05 Even with talented actors in the cast, nobody can quite make it worthwhile.
02:09 "You insist on defying me, Mrs. Grey. What should I do about that?"
02:16 "Learn to live with it."
02:18 Number 8 - Baby Geniuses Franchise
02:21 "You call those jumping jacks? We're like jumping jerks."
02:25 "Stop, stop, stop, stop!"
02:28 When scientists discover that babies are secretly smart, they hold them prisoner and prompt one of the most absurd plots in film history.
02:35 Baby Geniuses involves a case of mistaken identity mixed with absurd action sequences.
02:40 Along with an inane premise, the technology that makes the infant's mouth move is nightmare fuel.
02:44 "Have you said 'Dada' or 'Mama' yet?"
02:47 "Nah, that's so stupid. I've decided the first time I speak, I'm just gonna quote the Gettysburg Address."
02:54 Don't even get us started on the disturbing baby robot either.
02:58 "Oof."
02:59 Without learning their lesson, the producers took a modest profit and doubled down with a sequel.
03:03 Super Babies - Baby Geniuses 2 tries to mix a kidnapping plot with some spy and superhero cliches.
03:09 It was the opposite of a success, failing to earn sympathy from almost anyone.
03:14 Unsurprisingly, people didn't want to deal with the direct-to-video sequels either.
03:18 "Honey, it's all about marketing. 'Mama's World' will be the McDonald's of daycare."
03:22 "Great, we'll be known as McBaby."
03:24 Number 7 - After Franchise
03:26 "She took my hand and led me out of the darkness and showed me that whatever our souls are made of...
03:32 ...hers and mine are the same."
03:38 From the books by Anna Todd, the After Franchise follows the relationship of Tessa Young and Hardin Scott.
03:43 The first film captures the two meeting in college for a romance you can see coming a mile away.
03:48 Unashamed of meet-cute and on-the-nose dialogue,
03:50 this series takes an extended look at a couple falling in love and drifting apart.
03:55 "What?"
03:56 "I like it better on you."
04:00 It's the stuff that romance novels are made of, with scandals, alcohol use disorder,
04:04 and neglectful parents thrown in for good measure.
04:06 Defying critics, the filmmakers decided to push this story into five installments so far,
04:11 with predictable surprises along the way.
04:13 You'd be better off watching any other rom-com instead of seeing this one-note plot to the end.
04:18 Or better yet, just watch a Hallmark movie.
04:20 "They're not together."
04:21 "But London said they're inseparable."
04:25 "Yeah, like brother and sister."
04:27 Number 6 - Jaws Franchise
04:29 "You're gonna need a bigger box."
04:31 Without a doubt, the first Jaws is an American classic and one of Steven Spielberg's greatest achievements.
04:37 The sequels all pale in comparison to the first film's tension and sense of storytelling.
04:42 Not for nothing, Spielberg's lack of involvement in the follow-up should be enough reason to give one pause.
04:47 Jaws 2 has Roy Scheider return in a mediocre cash-in, setting up the exact same shark problem.
04:52 "But I'm telling you and I'm telling everybody at this table that that's a shark.
04:55 And I know what a shark looks like because I've seen one up close."
04:58 By the time the brand hit Jaws 3D, it had completely lost the plot and only focused on mindless spectacle.
05:03 Any semblance of character development drops out in favor of forgettable action,
05:07 leading to the even worse adventure, Jaws The Revenge, which shockingly stars the great Michael Caine.
05:13 "I have an irresistible urge to kiss you, Alan Brody."
05:17 Number 5 - Divergent Franchise
05:19 "I wanna be brave and I wanna be selfless, intelligent and honest and kind.
05:26 Well, I'm still working on kind."
05:30 Riding the wave of young adult adaptations, Divergent always felt like a series that was too little and too late.
05:36 Veronica Roth's books were popular enough to get the film treatment, but the reviews weren't all kind.
05:41 Tristan Ford's romance couldn't quite carry multiple movies worth of complicated sci-fi stories.
05:46 "Think he was gonna let you off without a scratch?
05:49 I'd still be standing there if I hadn't hit you."
05:53 "So am I supposed to thank you?"
05:54 The rebellious journey to avoid betrayals and climb over the wall
05:57 doesn't feel fresh or engaging enough to justify itself.
06:00 In later entries, acclaimed actresses such as Kate Winslet and Naomi Watts
06:04 feel stifled by the less than impressive material.
06:07 The plot ultimately doesn't have the exciting premise of something like The Hunger Games,
06:11 with the fourth installment being cancelled due to bad box office.
06:14 "You want change with no sacrifice. You want peace with no struggle.
06:17 The world doesn't work like that."
06:20 Number 4 - Resident Evil Franchise
06:23 "You're all going to die down here."
06:25 Gamers and film fans alike can find something to be disappointed by in Resident Evil.
06:30 The series doesn't even have the same feel as the video games,
06:33 infuriating anyone looking for the franchise's survival horror gameplay.
06:36 Instead of paying tribute to the source,
06:38 the movies feel like they're using the brand name to draw in viewership.
06:41 "There is something down there."
06:44 Paul W.S. Anderson sets the tone with a gory first entry,
06:47 but never quite explores the depths of any one character.
06:50 His sequels seem like Matrix rip-offs that care more about bullets flying than anything else.
06:54 The Underworld films also try to combine action and horror,
06:58 similarly failing to do much else other than finding new ways to kill enemies.
07:01 "Soon this house will lie in ruins."
07:04 "Not before you."
07:07 Number 3 - The Twilight Saga
07:09 "Can't bring myself to regret the decisions that brought me face to face with death.
07:12 They also brought me to Edward."
07:15 This vampire series was undeniably a blockbuster event
07:18 that captivated young fans in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
07:21 Based on Stephenie Meyer's books, Twilight features the melodramatic relationships
07:25 between Bella and her two potential suitors.
07:28 Great actors are in this franchise, but few of them are actually good in these movies.
07:32 "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore."
07:38 "Then don't."
07:42 It takes itself so seriously at some points
07:44 that you can't help but laugh at the depiction of vampire and werewolf fights.
07:48 Not without its fans, the series was an inescapable force of pop culture
07:52 that was never destined to win any major awards.
07:54 No matter what side you were on, you have to admit that the mediocre action,
07:57 cliched story and questionable writing weren't worth much.
08:00 "You show me again?"
08:02 "We've got a lot of time."
08:05 "Rather."
08:08 Number 2 - 365 Days Franchise
08:17 Trying to be a new Fifty Shades, this franchise doubles down on the idea of the erotic thriller
08:22 in the worst way possible.
08:23 The first movie finds the gangster Massimo kidnapping a young woman
08:27 and giving her a year to fall in love with him.
08:29 If that doesn't have you grossed out,
08:30 stick around for more toxic behavior and troubling relationship goals.
08:34 Some moments are a mix between being a cringey romance and an X-rated perfume commercial.
08:46 By the time that the couple gets married,
08:48 you'll probably be laughing at the series' lackluster attempts at sentimentality.
08:51 Oh, did we forget to mention that there's also a plot about the Sicilian Mafia?
08:55 With a cliffhanger ending, these movies come to an abrupt and pointless conclusion.
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09:24 Number 1 - Atlas Shrugged
09:28 Adapted from Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged takes place in an alternate timeline
09:40 where a financially unstable America relies on dilapidated railroads for travel.
09:45 It then slowly descends into a story about economics, business deals, and steel.
09:50 Anything but riveting, you might be asleep by the end of the first film.
09:53 Both sequels plainly reveal the mistake of turning one book into a trilogy of boring plots,
10:09 bland acting, and writing that feels too preachy. While Rand's original material might draw its
10:14 fair share of fans and detractors, this movie series has little appeal even for hardcore fans.
10:19 Did we forget another forgettable franchise? Let us know in the comments below.
10:30 Consider knowledge to be superfluous.
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