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From broken dreams to box office disasters! Join us as we count down the most epic franchise failures in movie history. These blockbusters had grand plans for sequels and shared universes, but crashed and burned instead. From ill-conceived adaptations to studio hubris, these films show how even Hollywood's biggest bets can spectacularly misfire.
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00:00She's got plans for you, Nick.
00:02Plans?
00:03You can't run.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo! And today, we're counting down our picks for the blockbusters
00:10that epically failed to launch or continue a film series.
00:13I don't think it works exactly like that.
00:18Number 30. Beautiful Creatures
00:21In the middle of the great paranormal YA craze of the 2010s, Warner Bros. scrounged up a soapy
00:27book about witches in the hopes of finding the next Twilight. Only this coven was the
00:33opposite of spellbinding.
00:34I don't understand what's happened.
00:37I know you don't. I'm sorry.
00:40A solid cast couldn't save Beautiful Creatures from its cliché, trope-ridden narrative,
00:45and the movie failed to enchant either audiences or critics. It's even worse when you realize
00:51Warner Bros. was banking hard on this becoming a franchise. They'd purchased the film rights.
00:57to all four books in the series before the first film even hit theaters.
01:01You have no right to tell us what to do, no matter how much money you have.
01:06But after Beautiful Creatures completely bombed at the box office,
01:10those plans were shelved just like an unfinished book.
01:14Number 29. Speed 2
01:16Cruise Control
01:171994's Speed is a brilliant thriller centered around a simple yet effective gimmick. If the bus
01:23falls below 50 miles per hour, it goes boom.
01:42It's not the kind of concept that lends itself to follow-ups, but that sure didn't stop 20th-century
01:48Fox, whose hubris demanded a sequel. That's how we got Cruise Control. A snoozefest that's as
01:56uninspired as its name. It doesn't even have Keanu Reeves. There's just no world where trading a
02:02high-speed bus for a plodding boat is a good idea. But then again, there's also no world where a sequel
02:14to Speed works anyways. This is one film that should've just stayed a standalone.
02:20Number 28. Tomb Raider
02:22Forget a sequel. This movie effectively ended a whole potential universe. That's not to say 2018's Tomb Raider is awful, though.
02:30I'm gonna go there and find out what happened to them.
02:34Good luck. There's at least 6,000 islands off the coast of Japan.
02:39Despite the tired origin story, Alicia Vikander legitimized the gritty tone, and the movie
02:45did just well enough for the studio to consider a whole shared universe of video game characters.
02:51Unfortunately, Consider is as far as they got. The Tomb Raider sequel was hit by delay after delay,
02:57until eventually, the rights to the franchise expired altogether, effectively ending the grand
03:03cinematic crossover. It's a shame the planned follow-up never materialized since, more than a lot of other
03:18one-offs. This franchise had real potential.
03:21Number 27. Planet of the Apes
03:24Tim Burton needs no introduction. His style is so recognizable. A Planet of the Apes film directed by
03:30him practically writes itself. Take your stinking hands off me, you damn dirty human!
03:37For better or for worse. While full of Burton's wit and some cutting-edge prosthetics,
03:43this 2001 reboot suffered from a muddled story and a lot of questionable plot beats. Like,
03:48Ape Braham Lincoln? Really? The movie did fine enough at the box office,
03:53but audiences weren't exactly bananas for it. One day they'll tell a story about a human who came
04:01from the stars and changed our world. Some will say it was just a fairy tale, but it was never real.
04:16The mixed reception didn't inspire much confidence in a direct sequel, so Fox took their money, waited a
04:22decade, and rebooted it with a much more mainstream rise of the Planet of the Apes. Sorry Tim.
04:28Number 26. The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Say what you will, but this sequel did not lack ambition. In fact,
04:36Sony had grand plans of springboarding this movie into not just more Spidey films, but a whole slew of
04:42spin-offs too. However, in trying to establish half a dozen new characters and storylines, The Amazing
04:51Spider-Man 2 became a complicated web of unfinished ideas. You had Harry Osborn's descent into villainy,
04:57Electro's origin story, Rhino running amok, Gwen's fate, and the mystery of Peter's parents all crammed
05:04into one scattered two-hour film. It was too much, and Spidey's webs buckled under the pressure. In an
05:17ironic twist of fate, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't start the franchise. It ended it.
05:24Number 25. The Mortal Instruments. City of Bones. Another day, another YA franchise thrown to the
05:32werewolves. This one could've been big too. The Mortal Instruments series practically flew off bookshelves in
05:38the early 2010s, but hardly any of those readers paid to see the feature film in theaters. You can't
05:51really blame them, though. The film is a lousy mess that reduces the source material into a lame,
05:57melodramatic copycat, like every other young adult romance. The Mortal Instruments had a long line of
06:03books to adapt into future movies, but following the poor returns of the first installment, none of
06:11them ever made it to the big screen. Number 24. The Fantastic Beasts series.
06:17Harry Potter's magical films are a staple in the hearts of many. Fantastic Beasts? Not so much.
06:24Based on a supplementary field manual, the proposed five-part franchise felt like a cash grab from day
06:30one. To make matters worse, the first Fantastic Beasts film debuted as one of the lowest grossing
06:50Wizard World films ever. The actual record was later stolen by its sequel, which was then overtaken
06:56yet again by the third installment. Seeing the writing on the wall, Warner Bros. embarrassingly
07:01canceled the Fantastic Beasts series after just three of its planned five parts were released.
07:09There's no spell in all of Hogwarts to save face after something like that.
07:14Number 23. Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson, Sea of Monsters.
07:21The whole point of adapting a popular novel is you have a built-in audience,
07:25and a proven story to pull from.
07:28Did that really just happen?
07:31Percy's big screen adventures bafflingly ignored both. Fans of the books have ridiculed
07:36the Lightning Thief movie for years over the fact that it plays more like a Cliff Notes version
07:41than an actual adaptation. The sequel, Sea of Monsters, falls into the exact same pitfalls.
07:47The reputation was so bad, a good chunk of the fanbase practically cheered when the rest of the film's
07:53series was canned. Thankfully, there's a happy ending to this story, with Percy fans getting
08:01the adaptation they deserved with the live-action Disney Plus series.
08:06Number 22. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
08:10Good special effects can only get you so far, a lesson Valerian had to learn the hard way.
08:16The beloved source material felt dated and cliché by the time it hit screens in 2017.
08:25As a result, audiences stayed far away, eventually forcing the film into the sad
08:30category of massive box office bomb. The French comics had a whole slew of storylines
08:36future installments could pull from. And considering the quasi-cliffhanger of the first film, that was
08:42clearly the intent. But if the poor audience reception didn't squash hopes of a sequel,
08:52the truly awful box office definitely did.
08:55Number 21. The Divergent series, Allegiant.
08:59No, you aren't counting wrong. There's three divergent novels and three live-action films.
09:05The issue is the movies don't actually adapt the full books.
09:09I know it's a lot. It's impossible. So? So I'll make it happen.
09:14Very obviously following in the footsteps of Harry Potter and Twilight, the overconfident
09:19Lionsgate decided to split the final divergent book into two films. Except they only made one.
09:26Allegiant royally flopped with audiences, critics, and at the box office, leaving no choice but to
09:32cancel the fourth and final film. It's not every day you see such an obvious example of Hollywood's
09:38succumbing to its own hubris. But hopefully, the suits took that as a lesson to never,
09:44ever expect a sequel.
09:45They tried to make us forget who we are and where we're from, but they did not succeed.
09:53So here we stand, together, not as five factions, but as one city. And we're gonna tear down that wall.
10:02Number 20. Mortal Engines.
10:04You never head south in the Outlands. Not ever.
10:09With Lord of the Rings writers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens penning the script for
10:14this adaptation, and many of that trilogy's cast and crew returning, things seemed promising at first
10:20for Mortal Engines. The film looked to emulate the success of other young adult series following young
10:25female protagonists through a post-apocalyptic world. However, this was no Hunger Games. The film's
10:32massive scope may have been too much for first-time director and long-time Jackson collaborator Christian
10:38Rivers. While the film's ruined landscape and Predator Cities looked incredible thanks to Weta
10:44Digital's special effects, it also came with an insane budget. Its abysmal opening and even worse hold
10:50led to it losing an estimated $175 million, dooming any sequel plans.
10:56You're gonna kill me. For a little while.
11:01Number 19. Battle Los Angeles.
11:04Defensive lines are being set up in Boston, and at 1315 Zulu time, we lost communications with San
11:12Francisco and San Diego. Of all the commercial products solely designed to manipulate the male
11:17gender, Battle Los Angeles is one of the most blatant. The film is overstuffed with everything macho,
11:23including the American military, lethal aliens, explosions, video game action sequences, and
11:30Michelle Rodriguez as a tough soldier. Maybe this would be cool if there was something of substance
11:36backing it all up, but Battle Los Angeles has about as much nutritional value as a certain Michael
11:42Bay franchise. Unlike Transformers, though, this film lost the battle and the war with audiences.
11:48What the hell are all these red marks here?
11:50It means they're gone.
11:52What, you mean the units got moved?
11:53I'm let down.
11:56All of them?
11:56All of them.
11:58Number 18. Madam Web.
12:00I'm going to protect you guys. We'll protect each other.
12:03We're in this together. Right?
12:06Sony's desire to emulate the success of the MCU led them to create a number of superhero films with
12:13whatever rights they held, including the ill-fated Madam Web.
12:17Cassandra Webb, an elderly clairvoyant with a visual disability and paralysis in her legs,
12:23was pulled from the Spider-Man fringes to the center stage.
12:27She was reimagined as a young EMT, which already snips a lot of the character's intrigue. Dakota
12:33Johnson was joined by Sydney Sweeney trying her best and a constantly redubbed Tahar Rahim,
12:39along with Adam Scott as a shoehorned-in Uncle Ben. The plot pulled from parts of Spider-Man's lore that
12:45are forgotten, despised, or both. And while it did promise multiple Spider-Women, they didn't
12:51receive their powers or costumes in this film, or any other for that matter.
12:55We don't know exactly when your vision takes place, so you're giving us a 10-year range just to be safe.
13:01Number 17. The A-Team.
13:04Russ, this is too big an enterprise. We can't let these bozos do this.
13:09An A-Team movie had been in development since the mid-90s. By the time the film finally came out in
13:142010, it was a little too late. While not a colossal flop, modern moviegoers were borderline
13:21uninterested in seeing a screen adaptation of an 80s series starring Oscar Schindler,
13:26Phil from The Hangover, that one guy from District 9, and not Mr. T. It's fitting that the A-Team
13:33never had a plan B since director Joe Carnahan announced that a sequel won't be happening.
13:38I love it when a plan comes together.
13:40Number 16. Speed Racer.
13:43Every one of us has to find a reason to do this. You don't climb into a T-180 to be a driver.
13:49You do it because you're driven. Following the success of the Matrix trilogy,
13:53people were excited to see what the Wachowskis would do next. The answer was Speed Racer, a film that had
13:59been in developmental hell since the early 90s, though the filmmakers did make it truly their own.
14:05Speed Racer emulated the anime on which it was based with its bright colors and over-the-top
14:10characters. Its plot about grit and determination triumphing over corporate machinations and evil
14:16capitalists was surprisingly earnest, and people hated it. Overwhelmingly negative critical reviews
14:23and an abysmal box office return killed a planned sequel. Over the years, however,
14:27the film has earned a much-deserved reappraisal, frequently hailed as an underrated masterpiece.
14:33But I want you to know, that door is always open. You can always come back.
14:40Because I love you.
14:41Number 15. I Am Number 4.
14:44In the meantime, your powers will only draw attention. You keep yourself in check, you understand?
14:48So I got all these powers, but I'm not allowed to use them?
14:50Exactly.
14:51One of several teen romance films that desperately wanted to be the next Twilight,
14:56I Am Number 4 tells another story of an attractive outsider who falls for an ordinary girl in a
15:02quiet town. The only difference is that the protagonist is a sexy, brooding alien with no
15:07personality instead of a sexy, brooding vampire with no personality. Granted, I Am Number 4 has a few
15:14more action set pieces likely included in the hopes that they'd attract a wider audience. But in the end,
15:20the film didn't attract much of anyone. You slow us down, I'll shoot you myself.
15:26And I believe you. Can we go now?
15:28Number 14. Van Helsing
15:31Don't wish for death so quickly. I intend for you to be quite useful.
15:35Just as he did with The Mummy, Steven Summers brought many of Universal's classic monsters to life
15:41in this reimagining of Dracula's greatest foe. With characters like Frankenstein's monster, Mr. Hyde,
15:48The Wolfman, and of course Dracula himself, sequels, potential spin-offs and even a TV show were
15:54expected. Universal was so confident that the studio paid to keep the sets and began developing
16:00a follow-up before Van Helsing even opened. However, many monster movie fans were unhappy
16:05with the transformation of the older, stoic Abraham Van Helsing into the action hero Gabriel Van Helsing
16:12with his gadgets and quippy dialogue. Despite Hugh Jackman's best efforts and some moderate
16:18success at the box office, the awful reception drove a stake through the planned sequel's heart.
16:23We've shot him, stabbed him, clapped him, sprayed him with holy water, staked him through the heart
16:28and still he lives. Do you understand? No one knows how to kill Dracula.
16:32Number 13. Prince of Persia The Sands of Time
16:36There must be a reason why you can't take your eyes off me.
16:38You're… I… I don't trust you. And you're not my type.
16:43A franchise based on a video game can be a risky proposition. While in recent years some have
16:49found success, many more would-be franchises sputtered and died before ever getting a sequel
16:55script. Such was the case with Disney's Prince of Persia The Sands of Time, with studio heads referring
17:02to it as their next Pirates of the Caribbean. On the surface, the similarities — a swashbuckling
17:07historical figure based on popular IP — seemed clear. However, the parallels were surface level
17:14at best, and it failed to duplicate the success of Pirates. Critics weren't fond of the film,
17:19and rightly criticized it for its whitewashing while video game fans thought it deviated too much from
17:25the game on which it was based. How can I trust the man that breached the walls of my city?
17:31Well, I'm starting to think I'm no longer the same man who breached those walls.
17:34Number 12. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
17:39I must say you're a gloomy looking bunch. Why are you so glum?
17:44Our parents just died. Oh yes, of course. To be fair, A Series of Unfortunate Events was a fun adaptation.
17:52It captured the darkly whimsical spirit of Lemony Snicket's books, and Jim Carrey was born to play
17:58Count Olaf. With 13 novels in the series, though, there was simply too much material to squeeze into
18:04one or even several films. As a result, A Series of Unfortunate Events felt a bit rushed, while failing
18:11to attract an enduring audience. Luckily, the TV series developed by Netflix had better luck in that
18:17regard. Still desperate to recreate the success of the Pirates franchise, Disney reunited with star,
18:36director, producer, and writers of the original trilogy for The Lone Ranger. Like those films,
18:42it also carried a massive price tag, with an estimated budget of $225 to $250 million even
18:49after budgetary concerns were raised by Disney, which caused production delays. Hopes that budget
18:55would be recouped at the box office were destroyed when it opened against Despicable Me 2, which,
19:01despite being made for a third of The Lone Ranger's budget, made triple that weekend. It fared no better
19:07critically and wasn't helped by the controversy surrounding Johnny Depp playing a Comanche warrior.
19:12Wait a minute. You're saying you're Tonto? The Tonto?
19:17Number 10. The Golden Compass
19:19In my world, scholars invented an alethiometer.
19:25A golden compass. From a technical standpoint, The Golden Compass had all the right tools to bring
19:31Philip Pullman's celebrated novel to life. The film even won an Oscar for its jaw-dropping
19:36special effects. But as beautiful as the film looked, the story's complex themes regarding
19:42religion and free will were lost in the midst of all the visual eye candy. Fans of the books were
19:47disappointed, those who never read the book were just confused, and director Chris White
19:52has practically disowned the film, which he claimed was ruined due to the studio's involvements.
19:57What, mother? I heard you was an orphan, and your uncle only left you here because nobody wanted you.
20:03Come here and say that. Number 9. Power Rangers
20:07Me and four kids from Angel Grove found a spaceship buried underground.
20:11What?
20:14I'm pretty sure I'm a superhero. While not a totally horrendous bomb,
20:18Power Rangers severely underperformed at the box office with the film barely turning a profit.
20:24Similarly, while its reviews weren't overly negative, they weren't particularly good either,
20:30splitting critics down the middle. So why is a mild disappointment middling film even here?
20:35It's because of the overwhelming confidence that Lionsgate would get not just another movie,
20:40but at least five more. It was revealed that the film was meant to be the first in an arc that could
20:46span six to eight movies, with much being held back for the potential sequels. For instance,
20:52fan favorite Green Ranger Tommy Oliver, who was teased in a post-credits scene that would ultimately go
20:58nowhere.
21:08Number 8. Aragorn
21:10Adaptations of Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings were huge financial successes in the early
21:232000s. Therefore, another adaptation of a popular fantasy book series seemed like a no-brainer,
21:29and Aragorn got the green light. Plans were in place to shoot the second and third installments
21:34back-to-back after what director Steven Fangmeier assumed would be a highly successful first project.
21:40The planned trilogy would never come to fruition, however, as fans of the book were united with
21:45critics in their disdain for the film. Despite it crashing and burning, fans remained passionate with
21:51the release of further books, petitioning for a rebooted TV series. Those prayers have seemingly been
21:57answered, with a show reportedly in the works for Disney+.
22:00Number 7. John Carter
22:10Disney's lucky that they've produced some of the biggest franchises of all time, because the company
22:17has also gambled away countless millions on some of the biggest bombs, like John Carter. This space
22:23adventure tried nothing new, borrowing elements from Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Thor, and every
22:29popular blockbuster in recent memory. It's kind of ironic that a film based on a revolutionary sci-fi
22:35novel and directed by the brilliant Andrew Stanton would amount to such a mundane and uninspired waste
22:41of time, not to mention money. Number 6. Warcraft
22:51Legendary Pictures truly swung through the fences when deciding to adapt one of the biggest video
23:01game franchises of all time in Warcraft. They did this by hiring acclaimed and, at the time,
23:07upcoming director Duncan Jones, giving the film a massive budget to fully realize the world of Azeroth.
23:14All involved expected the adaptation to birth a long-running fantasy series,
23:19while the end result undoubtedly looked spectacular, it was a hollow spectacle. The script left much to
23:25be desired and was torn apart by critics. Its massive budget and marketing campaign meant that,
23:30despite a healthy tag at the box office, it failed to be profitable.
23:34One or colloquial world to return. Are you sure? Look around you. Does it not remind you of something?
23:42Number 5. Dragon Ball Evolution
23:45You've never done this before, have you? Uh, yes. Many times. In my head.
23:50Dragon Ball has existed for decades through multiple iterations and mediums, and was incredibly popular in
23:57Japan, the US, and the world over. So, to studio execs in the late aughts, it was right for an
24:04incredible and long-spanning live-action franchise. Hollywood wisely decided to adapt the beloved
24:10manga and anime with an eye on making multiple entries for years to come. However, they not so wisely
24:17decided to deviate heavily from the source material, turning the cherished series into a generic action
24:23flick. Perhaps, worst of all, was the casting of Justin Chatwin as Goku. A few years after its
24:30catastrophic release, series creator Akira Toriyama described the movie as bland and something he could
24:36not call Dragon Ball. I'm close to a breakthrough. I can feel it. The key must be the other Dragon Balls.
24:42I have to have them all. Number 4. Green Lantern
24:45There is no way you can succeed. You will die, Hal Jordan.
24:49In an age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Dark Knight trilogy, Green Lantern came off
24:58like a multi-million dollar after-school special. Although the cast was blameless for the most part,
25:03the effects were CGI overkill, the villains were literally cartoon characters, and the plot never
25:09took off. Fortunately, it at least looks like DC is trying to get their act together with Nathan
25:15Filion newly cast as the new Green Lantern, an actor who seems perfect for the role after so
25:20many years of voicing the character. We can only hope the writing will be stronger this time around.
25:25I feel your fear growing. You will be dead soon.
25:31Number 3. Fantastic Four
25:34You always said I had the potential to do something important. Who's to say this isn't it?
25:37Marvel's first family have always had a rocky relationship, no pun intended, with film adaptations.
25:44After some moderate success in the 2000s, Fox decided to give the franchise a gritty reboot
25:50when they brought in director Josh Trank. Problems arose from the start with bickering over the script
25:55during pre-production and a number of complaints aimed at Trank's behavior during filming. Allegedly,
26:02he and star Miles Teller almost even got into a fistfight on set. Problems were compounded by
26:07massive reshoots, leading to a film where actors' facial hair and obvious wigs varied between scenes.
26:14Upon release, the film was widely panned and considered one of the worst superhero movies
26:19ever made, with its announced sequel's release date quietly removed from Fox's schedule.
26:25The matter from Earth is being converted to energy! We need to stop Victor, he's the source!
26:30Number 2. The Last Airbender
26:32I'm taking you to my ship. If you don't come, I'll burn down this village.
26:38I'll go with you. Seeing how Avatar The Last Airbender was pretty much perfect to begin with,
26:45M. Night Shyamalan had no reason to make a live-action Cliff Notes film adaptation. Given
26:50how phenomenal the animated series remains though, shouldn't some of that greatness have worked its
26:55way into The Last Airbender? Nope. Instead, Shyamalan messed with core elements, while stripping the
27:01story of any humor, heart, or magic, and said, Isn't my version so much better, you guys?
27:07Fans around the world responded with a resounding no,
27:10bringing this new Avatar cycle to an end before it even started.
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27:341. Universal's Dark Universe
27:39You have been selected as the vessel for the ultimate evil.
27:44Plans for an entire slate of interconnected monster films, including Bride of Frankenstein
27:49and The Invisible Man, were the first to be released. The Mummy were announced as an attempt
27:54for Universal to get into the cinematic universe trend. On paper, it made sense with their monster
28:00movies of the 1930s to the 50s serving as the original cinematic universe. The official Dark
28:06Universe Twitter account even posted a heavily photoshopped picture with the announced leads of
28:11the films. Upon release, The Mummy contained a number of Easter eggs and teases for future films
28:17and had Russell Crowe as a Nick Fury-esque Mr. Hyde. After the film's disastrous opening,
28:23any future projects were delayed and then outright cancelled, killing the cinematic universe before it ever
28:29lived. Somewhere in there, fighting to get out, is a good man. You don't know that. Which,
28:37never-to-be-film franchise, do you think was the biggest mistake? Let us know in the comments below.
28:43You must understand, we crafts, we have responsibilities. Jobs to do.
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