Franchise Bombs
Hollywood has proven that franchises can make a lot of money. Year after year, lots of renowned and profitable franchises come out, most of which are sequels.
There are a few exceptions where franchises never take off or undersell at the box-office. This causes a domino effect where any subsequent films that could have been made are canceled.
Divergent
When Divergent was announced it was thought to become the next big franchise -- up there with the Hunger Games. These thoughts were probably because both novels the books are based on share many qualities. Despite this, the company didn't make much of a profit off the movie.
The movie is shot from the perspective of a teenage girl named Tris. Tris lives in an apocalyptic future with society being broken up into classes, but she doesn't seem to relate to any of them. There were three movies in total but only the first had good reception. This caused the fourth movie to be canceled.
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four comics have always been hard to recreate on the cinema screen. The most acceptable movie was released in 2005. Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, and Jessica Alba starred in it. After 10 years passed a reboot came out. This resulted in a harsh reception.
The reboot was criticized for it's complicated plot and unexciting scenes. A theatrical release was released just a year later but it did just as poorly as the first time. Plans for any future Fantastic Four movies are on hold.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Spiderwick Chronicles is the most peculiar case in this list. The movie is about three children who explore the mystical side of the world, where countless fantasy animals and creatures can be found. The movie did quite well. So where did it go?
There is much speculation as to why only one film was made with no sequels. The plot of the first film adapted the entire book series of 5 novels into one script. This would make it difficult to come up with a good story for a second installment.
The Last Airbender
In most cases, film adaptations of TV series are worse than the original series. We have The Last Airbender, a movie based on a successful series that aired from 2005 to 2008. The film had fans disappointed.
The original series revolved around an adolescent who had powers and was prophecied to protect humanity. The film adaptation tried to fit an entire season of the series into its script. The reception was poor and the planned sequels were canceled.
Eragon
People love it when one of their beloved books gets recreated on screen. There have been many films to successfully pay homage to their book origins, but Eragon certainly wasn't one of them.
The film starred Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, and Sienna Guillory. It was released in 2006 and while the producers had planned to do sequels, the response at the box-office crushed their future hopes for a franchise.
Ender’s Game
Ender's Game tried to ride the hype around adolescents being put into roles where they save humanity. If it's counterparts like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games became well-beloved franchises, why couldn't it?
The film revolves around Ender, who is given responsibility for the earth's fate when aliens invade. Celebrities like Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, and Hailee Steinfeld were among the cast but even that wasn't enough to carry the film. Reviews mentioned how the story was needlessly complicated and hard to follow in just one movie.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians
Most kids dreamt of getting out of bed one day and having superpowers. Percy Jackson & The Olympians followed this way of thinking and revolves around a teenage boy who figures out he's related to a Greek God.
The movie's first two installments were received well, but the production office declared that any more films would be taking a chance they weren't willing to do. They believed that since the actors had grown up a bit, they no longer suited their roles. Fan's also forgot about the franchise.
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Lovers of history would love Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World and they wouldn't have to open a book. The film creates an enjoyable way to learn about historic events. The movie was based on Aubrey Maturin's book of the same name.
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World won multiple awards and even more nominations. Kurt Russel was well-liked on the big screen as the daring captain.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events had many amazing aspects. One of which is Jim Carrey's acting, playing a hilarious antagonist. The film is about 3 orphans left in the care of their uncle. What they don't realize is he is after their inheritance.
The movie was adapted from Lemony Snicket's book series. With there still being plenty of books to adapt, it was likely they'd make a sequel. Despite this, all future sequels were canceled due to the actors that play the kids growing up. With a well-received TV series adapted it's not worth the risk.
The Golden Compass
The fantasy movie was based on Philip Pulman’s book series His Dark Materials and was released in 2007, starring A-list celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Dakota Blue Richards. Even though the film earned millions of dollars, its reviews were far from good.
While the original novel has a strong anti-religion stance, the film script was way more trivial, and that’s why fans were very disappointed. Besides, the movie didn’t gross as much as the producers expected, so we doubt a sequel will ever be made.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
The first film of the Chronicles of Narnia franchise was a massive hit and fans loved it. It was so true to the original novel that watching the film almost felt like reading the book! However, while the franchise comprises 7 books, only 3 movies were released. Why do you think that is?
Even though all the 7 books were bestsellers and everyone went crazy with the first movie, it seems that fans lost interest in the Narnia universe as the years went by. The craziest part is that a fourth Narnia movie supposedly started being made in 2018, but it hasn't been released yet! Producers changed their minds, maybe?
John Carter
This epic fantasy movie is based on the popular novel John Carter, which tells the story of a Civil War veteran who is held prisoner in Mars by a group of barbarians and must set himself free. At the same time, however, he must rescue a princess.
The plot is kind of like a blend between Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings, and that’s the reason why everyone expected the film to be a major hit. But to everyone’s surprise, the film received terrible reviews both by critics and fans, thus ruling out the possibility of future sequels.
The Mortal Instruments
During the YA boom (a term that refers to the popularity of movies about young adults and teenagers with special powers), many movies with similar plots came out with the hopes of enticing the teenage audience. This was not the case of The Mortal Instruments, a fantasy film released in 2013. The film goes around the life of Clary Fray, whose life changes when she discovers she descends from a line of warriors that are meant to protect the world.
The film tanked the box office and one of the reasons behind this is that many teens and young adults found the film way too fantastical and even childish. Luckily, producers came out with a better idea: to adapt the novels to a TV series. The final result, Shadowhunters, had moderate success and had its final season aired in 2019.
Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
Did you know that some of the most famous film franchises are based on videogames? Such is the case of the famous blockbuster Tomb Raider, in which Angelina Jolie brought Lara Croft to life. However, not all videogame films were equally successful. Let’s take a look at the case of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Gyllenhaal took on the role of the Prince of Persia, the character from one of the most famous retro videogames ever. Although many fans praised Gyllenhall’s performance, the script was quite poor and the movie was a box office bomb. Therefore, don’t keep your hopes up, cause it seems there won’t be any sequels in the near future.
Hellboy
The Hellboy franchise, released in the early 2000s, became one of the greatest classics in film history. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the two Hellboy movies were a complete success. What is more, the performances of Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, and Selma Blair were unforgettable.
The director wanted to shoot a third film, but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Although the real reasons have never been confirmed, it appears to be that del Toro didn’t come to terms with the writers and they disagreed about the script. Just recently, a reboot of Hellboy was released, yet with a different cast and with terrible results.
28 Days Later
We can’t imagine a better role for Irish actor Cillian Murphy than that of Jim in the 28 Days Later franchise. The first movie of the franchise was a complete hit. It’s a classic zombie story with a thrilling plot and a great amount of suspense. However, his character was replaced in the film's sequel, 28 Weeks Later.
The first two films were so successful that a third installment was announced: 28 Months Later. However, personal problems apparently arose between the producers, so the movie is currently on hold.
Justice League
DC and Marvel have been competing head-to-head with each other over the past few years, and in 2017, DC released the first Justice League film with the hopes of becoming the highest-grossing hit of the year.
Despite counting with A-list stars such as Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Jason Momoa, not may people went to see it and it tanked the box office. While they had hight hopes it would work, they called off any short-term plans for future sequels. It wasn't until 2020 that they considered giving it another shot and making a sequel, but we're still waiting
Tron
Did you know that the Tron franchise is actually based on an ’80s cult classic film of the same name? That’s the reason why many of the older fans were super excited when the release of Tron: Legacy was announced for 2010. Sadly, things didn’t exactly turn out as everyone expected.
On the one side, critics praised the movie’s art-visual effects. On the other hand, most of the audience claimed that the plot was too simple, and that's probably one of the reasons why the film didn’t do too well at the box office. Even though the director wanted to film the final part of the trilogy, the production crew decided to put an end to the franchise.
National Treasure
When the mystery-action film National Treasure was released in 2004, Nicholas Cage was all people talked about. The audience was captivated by the thrilling plot and it was one of the highest-grossing films of the year. Three years later, the sequel National Treasure: Book Of Secrets was released. But what about the third part?
According to Nicolas Cage and the production crew, the script of the third film is almost finished but they still haven’t settled on when to film it. Why won’t they hurry, we’re all dying to find out what was written on page 47!
Kick-Ass
Released in 2010, Kick-Ass was surprisingly one of the highest-grossing Marvel films of the last decade. It goes around Dave Lizewski, an unnoticed high school student who decides to become a superhero despite lacking any real superpowers.
Besides, the film stars A-list celebrities like Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, and Chloe Grace Moretz. It was such a success, that everyone figured that the sequel would also become a hit. But on the contrary, the second installment deceived the audience, causing the producers to call off the series.
Clash Of The Titans
Even though the 2010 action film Clash Of The Titans was slammed by critics, it was a surprising box-office hit. While the plot left much to be desired, the film counted with an amazing cast, including acting legends such as Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes.
The 2012 sequel Wrath Of The Titans was slammed by critics once again, except that this time, the film didn’t win over the audience. As a result, the third and final part of the trilogy was canceled since the producers weren’t willing to take the risk.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Stieg Larsson’s book trilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was such a success, that it was given that it would be adapted to film at any moment. First, the Swedish version came out in 2009, and two years later, a Hollywood remake was made.
Starring actor Daniel Craig and actress Rooney Mara, the Hollywood version was critically acclaimed and Larsson’s fans were waiting to see the sequels. Rumor has it that conflicts between scriptwriters and producers kept the sequel on hold, and in 2015, producers announced that the second installment would be rebooted with new actors. It wasn't released until 2018, but it was destroyed by critics.
Inkheart
Released in 2008, Inkheart is based on a mystery-fantasy novel about a man who can “read” characters out of their books and bring them to life. But this doesn’t end here! Each time a fictional character is brought to life, a real-life person is read into the same book. Yikes!
Even though producers never planned on making the movie into a franchise, they bought the rights to all the three books of the Inkheart series. Nobody knows whether there are any plans to complete the franchise. All we know is that the only film released so far has been a major box-office bomb. Therefore, it’s touch and go whether a sequel will be made.
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker
What is it with Hollywood that they just love to make films about young teenagers saving the world? While these sorts of movies generally captivate the audience, this is not always the case. When the YA film Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker was released, most fans were completely deceived.
The film tells the story of Alex Rider, a 14-year-old schoolboy who is recruited by the M16 – the British equivalent to the CIA – and trained for a world mission. According to fans and critics alike, the plot was unbelievable and far from original. Ouch!
I Am Number Four
Alex Pettyfer’s big break came with the action film Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, which we’ve just mentioned. Unfortunately, luck is not on his side, as the second movie he starred in also tanked the box office. In 2011, he took on the lead role in the I Am Number Four franchise, but the movie received harsh criticism.
The critics claimed that the dialogues and the script were “forgettable”. And, surprisingly, the audience didn’t seem to buy the plot either! This came as a shock to the production crew, as the Lorien Legacies novels which the film was based on were major bestsellers.
Vampire Academy
The 21st century witnessed a sort of vampire and werewolf fever, and we have Stephanie Meyer to thank. This successful writer was the author of the Twilight book series, and the film adaptations were such a hit that suddenly, many producers decided to invest their money in movies related to vampires and humans falling in love with dark creatures.
In 2014, Vampire Academy was released, but although the plot is quite similar to that of Twilight, the film was a total failure. It was destroyed by critics and Rolling Stone gave it 0 out of 4 stars. That can’t be good.
Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures is yet another film franchise that failed to stand out, even though nobody understands why. The film is based on the Caster Chronicles book series, which comprises of 4 novels. The books were major bestsellers, but in spite of this, the film starring Alden Ehrenreich and Australian actress Alice Englert became one of the biggest box office failures of 2013.
Apparently, the love story between Ethan and Lena was not at the same level as the one between Bella and Edward Cullen. However, it wasn’t all bad: the film had mixed reviews and some critics said it wasn’t the worst movie of the genre. However, producers decided to keep it safe, so a sequel was never made.