Something that has become increasingly clear in the modern film industry is that franchise potential is more important than it has ever been before. These days, it seems almost mandatory for a film to have the capacity for sequels or spinoffs. This is not inherently a bad thing. There are many examples of good movie franchises such as Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, where each new film gave audiences more of what they wanted.
However, there are some film properties that just didn't need sequels or others that seemed to have the potential for a series but its sequels just were not as good as the original.
10 The Chronicles of Narnia's Forgettable Sequels
One could be forgiven for forgetting that The Chronicles of Narnia ever got sequels. The first film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' best-selling novel series was well received by critics, and was a major commercial success, with its fantastic special effects blowing audiences away.
Unfortunately, when the sequel, Prince Caspian, released three years later, it made about $300 million less than its predecessor. The third film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader had an even weaker showing, with many critics remarking that it had much worse writing than the previous films. Another film titled The Silver Chair was announced but ultimately canceled.
9 Shrek Only Has Two Good Movies
When the first Shrek movie released in 2001, it became a legitimate cultural phenomenon. Both Shrek and its sequel are still fondly regarded by fans to this day. Unfortunately, the later Shrek movies retreaded the same old ground as the first two and their quality took a sharp hit as a result.
Each movie in some way talks about Shrek's struggles to adjust to family life, and it got tiring. The spinoff film, Puss In Boots, was a nice breath of fresh air, but as it is, only the spinoff and the first two Shrek films are fondly remembered.
8 Pirates Of The Caribbean Didn't Know When To Stop
2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl took audiences by surprise. Famously based on a Disney ride, the first film managed to be funny and engaging with an impressive amount of lore. The second and third films were received less positively than the first, but they were still passable as part of the overarching plot.
Once the fourth film, On Stranger Tides, released, the series fell off severely. It tried to tell a new engaging story with new characters connected to Jack Sparrow, but it fell short in a number of ways. Currently, the fifth film, Dead Men Tell No Tales is the worst-reviewed of the entire franchise.
7 The Terminator Fails To Recapture Its Glory
The Terminator franchise is one of the most recognizable film franchises of all time. Its first two films are often considered among the best action films of all time. The franchise took a hit with the much more lukewarm reception of Terminator 3, and the absolute critical thrashing that Terminator: Salvation received.
The franchise has since floundered, desperately trying to recapture its glory. It tried to modernize itself in the form of the pseudo-reboot, Terminator: Genysis but it was regarded as an outright terrible film. Things seem to be turning around with the more positive reception to Terminator: Dark Fate, but it remains to be seen what happens from here.
6 Taken Gets Less Fun
Some would argue that the first Taken film was only good for its action sequences and Liam Neeson's charisma more than its overall composition as a film. Even so, it is much better than the second and third films. Taken 2 seemed to want to get by on its predecessor's merits as opposed to doing anything to set itself apart as a continuation. Even the action sequences were considered less fun than the original.
Taken 3 on the other hand, reviewed even worse than the second with critics frustrated that the film seemed so much more formulaic than the others, despite selling itself on higher stakes.
5 Fast & Furious's Reputation Starts To Catch Up With It
Though no one can deny that the Fast and Furious franchise has become one of the most lucrative and has some of the most anticipated films of the modern era, even its fans admit that the franchise gets by more on its spectacle than anything else, such as plot or emotion.
There's nothing inherently wrong with enjoying a film just for its spectacle, but with the most recent release of Fast and Furious 9, a lot of fan patience has dried up. Many consider it the worst of the franchise, with its story contrivances becoming too much, and its signature car stunts being much less thrilling and much more cartoony.
4 Middle-Earth's Films Aren't Consistent
The original Lord of the Rings trilogy is often referred to as one of the best trilogies of all time. After several years of acclaim, work on a film adaptation of Tolkien's original story that started it all, The Hobbit, was going through a rough development cycle.
Circumstances involved the book being stretched into a whole trilogy, and director Guillermo del Toro stepping away from the project, leaving a reluctant Peter Jackson to direct. The result was a film trilogy that was criticized for its poor pacing, noticeable over-reliance on CGI, and a general drop in quality across the board compared to the originals.
3 Transformers Went Berserk
The Transformers franchise was simultaneously the most lucrative—and most derided—film franchise of its time. While the first movie managed to gain fans by having at least somewhat relatable characters and fun action scenes, the sequels would go on to become larger spectacles, but also downgrade in other ways, such as unfunny jokes and an overarching plot that didn't even try to make sense, or feel satisfying to watch.
Though the 2018 reboot film Bumblebee received good reviews, showing that the series may be back on track, it took a very long time to get there.
2 Ice Age Didn't Really Need Sequels
Many people would argue that the original Ice Age film didn't need a sequel. The original story felt perfectly satisfying as a self-contained narrative and those characters didn't particularly need to come back. Whatever patience that audiences had for the Ice Age franchise evaporated over the course of its four sequels.
Over time, the charm that made the original great—the relationship between the three main cast members over time—was drowned as the sequels added more characters than it really knew what to do with, and its sense of humor had gotten exponentially worse with each new film.
1 Saw Struggles To Achieve Its Vision
The Saw franchise is arguably the most troubled film franchise of all time. Where the first film managed to overcome its minuscule budget and production woes to become a sleeper hit, its sequels would go on to—among other problems—have an overreliance on gore as opposed to any legitimate thrills or scares.
Critics complained how, in a lot of ways, the innumerable sequels never really did anything to add to the Saw formula, focusing instead on rehashing what had already been done and focusing on body horror. Though there are arguably some exceptions, as a whole, the franchise just doesn't seem to be doing well for itself.