Plenty of movie franchises overstay their welcome, and two movies is often enough to see whether a franchise has a viable future. The first sequel often dictates whether a franchise can be more than just one great movie. For example,John Wickwas designed as a standalone movie, but its first sequel set up an intriguing story that necessitated an entire franchise. For everyJohn Wick,there are many more franchises which deliver underwhelming sequels.
Not all movies should set up long-running franchises, and not all franchises should be designed to continue indefinitely. There are plenty of franchises with just two or three movies that are the perfect length. Unfortunately, studios don’t always know when to quit. There’s an art to knowing the right time to call it quits, and a lot of movie franchises would be held in higher regard if they had stopped at just two movies.
10The Godfather
Francis Ford Coppola’s Masterpiece Didn’t Need Its Coda
Francis Ford Coppola created the greatest duology in the history of film withThe GodfatherandThe Godfather Part IIin the 1970s, but the third movie in the series is often derided asthe ultimate example of an unnecessary sequel.The Godfather Part IIIisn’t quite as badas some people make it out to be, and it’s worth remembering that it was nominated for Best Picture. However, it still constitutes a massive let-down.
There are some great moments, but ultimatelyPart IIItaints the impeccable legacy of theGodfatherseries.
The first twoGodfathermovies tell the story of Michael Corleone’s turn toward a life of violent crime, and it masterfully contrasts his journey with that of his father. Released 16 years later,The Godfather Part IIImeanders a little while it struggles to come up with a story half as captivating. There are some great moments, but ultimately it taints the impeccable legacy of theGodfatherseries.
9Home Alone
Macaulay Culkin’s Exit Changed The Franchise
TheHome Alonefranchisenever managed to recover from Macaulay Culkin’s exit, and even the 2021 reboot fell flat.Home Aloneand its first sequel ask a lot of Culkin, buthe manages to keep things compelling and funny, which is no easy feat for such a young actor.The franchise attempted to keep on going after he left the role of Kevin McCallister behind, but the quality quickly dropped off a cliff.
AlthoughHome Sweet Home Alonecounts as an improvement on the franchise’s worst movies, it doesn’t come close to touching the first two movies.
After three miserable sequels that failed to recapture the magic of the first twoHome Alonemovies, the franchise came back with a 2021 reboot starring some great comedic actors, including Rob Delaney and Aisling Bea. AlthoughHome Sweet Home Alonecounts as an improvement on the franchise’s worst movies, it doesn’t come close to touching the first two movies.Home AloneandHome Alone 2: Lost in New Yorkwill probably remain in the Christmas rotation for many years. The franchise should have quit at that.
TheShrekfranchise often inspires a debate about which of the first two movies is the best. WhileShrekhas Lord Farquaad, a perfectly subversive fairy tale story and Donkey’s hilarious romance with the Dragon,Shrek 2introduces more great characters like Puss in Boots and the Fairy Godmother. The subsequent twoShrekmovies never enter the conversation, since they’re such a disappointing step-down in quality.
The Donkey Spinoff: Confirmation, Cast & Everything We Know About The Shrek Movie
The Shrek franchise continues to grow with the announcement of a brand-new spinoff that will focus on the beloved Eddie Murphy character, Donkey.
Shrek the ThirdandShrek Forever Aftersimply run out of juice, failing to come up with a story that’s as exciting and vital for the characters. WithShrek 5in development, it’s possible that the franchise could continue this downward trend. The one reason to be optimistic aboutShrek 5isPuss in Boots: The Last Wish,the 2022 spinoff that delivered the franchise’s biggest laughs and most thrilling action sinceShrek 2.IfShrek 5can mix in the same ingredients, it could revive a flailing franchise.
7Scream
Scream’s Self-Parody Has Been Pushed To Breaking Point
The long-runningScreamfranchise has produced some good movies in recent years, but none have been quite as exciting as the first two. WithScream7on the way, the franchise looks likely to continue its healthy box office returns despite some behind-the-scenes controversy. However, even ifScream 7and any potential sequels turn out to be great slashers, it’s nearly impossible for them to recapture what made the first two movies so special.
The long-runningScreamfranchise has produced some good movies in recent years, but none have been quite as exciting as the first two.
The firstScreamis an exciting blend of mystery and horror, but what makes it stand out is the way it deconstructs the slasher genre.Scream 2takes this one step further with the in-universeStabfranchise, awitty self-parody that satirizesScream’s satire. After this,Screamdevolved into exactly what it had been mimicking, without the intelligent style of self-awareness.Screamstill makes fun of its similarities to the excessive and redundantStabfranchise, but this isn’t quite enough to justify its own existence.
6Terminator
The Terminator Franchise Doesn’t Work As Well Without James Cameron
James Cameron delivered back-to-back bona fide action classics with the first twoTerminatormovies, but the franchise couldn’t sustain this momentum after Cameron relinquished directorial duties. It probably didn’t help that the thirdTerminatormovie came following a 12-year break. The franchise has never been able to get back to its best in the 21st century, despite several attempts.
The franchise has never been able to get back to its best in the 21st century, despite several attempts.
Each newTerminatorsequel comes on a wave of hype, but the franchise’s repeated failures mean that more and more trepidation is creeping in among the fan base. Cameron has confirmed thatTerminator 7is in the early stages of development, but neither Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Linda Hamilton will be returning. No matter how the sequel shapes up, it seems unlikely that it will be as lively or meaningful as the franchise’s first two movies.
5The Hangover
One Sequel Was Acceptable, But Two Was Unwise
Comedy sequels are notoriously difficult, and there are very few comedies which can sustain entire franchises while remaining funny and surprising the whole way through.The Hangover’s huge box office success meant that a sequel was always a possibility, even if the premise didn’t call for one.One sequel should have been enough. It was worth seeing whether the franchise could reinvent itself and keep the laughs coming, but the results of this experiment didn’t warrant a third movie.
It was worth seeing whether the franchise could reinvent itself and keep the laughs coming, but the results of this experiment didn’t warrant a third movie.
It’s easy to say in hindsight thatThe Hangovernever should have had a sequel, although this opinion naturally takes the end product into account.The Hangover Part IIIwas unequivocally a bad idea. Without freshening up the formula, the threequel stood little chance of success. Despite a string of terrible reviews, there have been rumors about a potentialHangover 4for a while.
4Kingsman
Kingsman Started Strong But Quickly Fell Apart
Thefuture of theKingsmanfranchiseremains in limbo, with conflicting reports about whether the third movie in the main storyline will ever be made. If there are no further movies, the franchise’s death will be attributed to the disappointing spinoff,The King’s Man.The prequel looks at the founding of the Kingsman Agency during the First World War, with a bizarre plot that insinuates that the key figures of the war were all part of some shadowy conspiracy.
If there are no further movies, the franchise’s death will be attributed to the disappointing spinoff,The King’s Man.
The King’s Manends with the strange post-credits tease of a World War II-based sequel, as a young Adolf Hitler steps into the light. If certain reports are true, this is the final image of a franchise that started so strongly before veering off into absurd spy-fi.Kingsman: The Secret Serviceis a brilliant action comedy.The Golden Circledoesn’t reach the same heights, and it should have been sign as a warning sign that the franchise didn’t have as much in the tank as the first movie suggests.
3X-Men
X-Men Eventually Bounced Back
AMarvelX-Menmovieis officially in the works, and it’s already becoming one of the MCU’s most hotly-anticipated projects ever. There’s a lot that the MCU can learn from the Fox StudiosX-Menmovies, both positive and negative, but Marvel will also be keen to put their own stamp on the characters. TheX-Menfranchise went through some turbulent ups and downs at Fox, and it seemed at one point as if it peaked too soon.
Every X-Men Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
The X-Men movie franchise has spanned many years, spinoffs, and different reactions - comprising some of the best and worst superhero films to date.
2000’sX-Menand 2003’sX2were the franchise’s only good movies for a long time.X-Men: The Last StandandX-Men Origins: Wolverineset the franchise on a downward trajectory. Fortunately, the franchise underwent a successful reboot with mostly new actors entering the fold. Again, things dropped off after an impressive start. Marvel will be hoping for a longer period of sustained success.
2Men In Black
Men In Black Has Repeatedly Failed To Reinvent Itself
The originalMen in Blackis a hilarious sci-fi comedy that borrows heavily from the buddy cop genre. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones balance each other out perfectly, and their unlikely chemistry is a joy to watch. The first movie ends by setting up a sequel that never happens, as Agent K leaves to enjoy his retirement, and his protégée Agent J starts to mentor Agent L. Surprisingly, Linda Fiorentino is nowhere to be seen inMen in Black II.
The first sequel lacked the excitement of the first movie, and the franchise should have ended there.
Jones and Smith’s hilarious dynamic turned out to be too good to ignore, andMen in Black IIconcocted a way for them to team up once again. The sequel lacked the excitement of the first movie, and the franchise should have ended there.Men in Black 3tried to freshen things up with a time-travel plot, andMen in Black: International’s full reboot was just as disappointing.The franchise now seems dead for good, but it was dragged out for far too long.
1Alien
The Alien Franchise Struggled After Its First Sequel
TheAlienfranchise started with two sci-fi classics, each with their own strengths and unique styles.Alienis a tense horror movie with a mysterious creature let loose on a spaceship full of potential victims, whileAliensis a gun-toting 1980s shoot ‘em up. IfAlienhad ended things there, it could have had an unblemished record, but the potential for more stories was always going to be hard to resist.
IfAlienhad ended things after two movies, it could have had an unblemished record.
The franchise’s troubles began withAlien 3.Unlike James Cameron’sAliens,Alien 3failed to bring a new perspective to the story, and it was criticized as being derivative and timid. There have been many more revolutionaryAliensequels in the 21st century, but not all of them have been popular.The mixed response toAlien: Romulussums up how far the franchise has fallen.
