Movie Franchises With Only Rotten Scores On Rotten Tomatoes

There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure when it comes to films or movie franchises since it's okay to enjoy something that someone else might not. That being said, it's difficult to ignore that a tradition has been built around Rotten Tomatoes scores and how these aggregated numbers play a significant role in shaping the general discourse and sentiment around films. Filmmakers and studios, for example, would love nothing more than to utilize high scores and "Fresh" scores to promote a film rather than consider the dreaded opposite.

Look, it is entirely possible that a movie simply doesn't land with reviewers upon arrival and receives a "Rotten" score, but what happens when an entire franchise is deemed to be a giant flop? That's the reality for more than a few franchises — and no, "American Pie" is surprisingly not a feature on this list. There are some close-shave scenarios where a film or two in the series is on the borderline of the 60% threshold, while there are others that are nowhere near critical approval even if they doubled their scores.

Again, it must be emphasized, this should hold no bearing on anyone's enjoyment of these films; this is merely a reflection of these movie franchises' Rotten Tomatoes scores.

There are horror franchises that are bulletproof to hack-and-slash reviews, and "Saw" is one of them. No matter if it's "Saw 3D" or "Saw 53," the audience will show up for the twisted features, even if reviewers would rather put their own heads in a bear trap than watch another second of the Jigsaw Killer, or his endless number of proteges, trying to torture their victims. Remarkably, though, not a single "Saw" film has received a positive Rotten Tomatoes score. In fact, the best-reviewed film of the franchise is still James Wan's 2004 original, which still holds just a 50% critical approval rating.

From there, the scores only get worse: "Saw VI" at 39%, "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" at 37%, "Saw II" also at 37%, "Jigsaw" at 32%, "Saw III" at 30%, "Saw IV" at 18%, "Saw V" at 13%, and "Saw: The Final Chapter" at 9%. Regardless of these ratings and complaints about the "Saw" franchise being milked to death, it is an unstoppable juggernaut at the box office. The films are relatively cheap to make, but the franchise has raked in almost $500 million in the U.S. alone, per Box Office Mojo. So, while John Kramer might be all about playing games on screen, no one is messing around when it comes to making bank.

"Resident Evil" fans must be secretly side-eyeing "The Last of Us" and wondering why the film adaptations can't do something similar. After all, both franchises are essentially about zombies, so what's preventing Jill Valentine and friends from excelling, too? Unfortunately, "Resident Evil" films suffer from the video game adaptation curse, with the Tomatometer being unable to conjure up a "Fresh" rating for any movie to date.

The Paul W.S. Anderson-produced (and mostly directed) six films struggled to even garner 50% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2002 film notched up 35%, "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" hit19%, "Resident Evil: Extinction" earned 24%, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" sat at 21%, and "Resident Evil: Retribution" notched 28%, and "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" peaked at 37%.

When it was announced that the film series was being rebooted and would adapt the first two game's storylines, fans had every reason to be optimistic. However, while Johannes Roberts's 2021 reboot, "Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City," was a more faithful adaptation than its predecessors, it wasn't the godsend that many had dreamed of, settling for a 30% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This beloved franchise simply can't catch a break on the big screen — or Netflix, for that matter.

It's an outrage that a horror film franchise about an Irish folklore legend doesn't have all the Oscars and Golden Globes. However, reviewers haven't discovered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow known as "Leprechaun." While most may talk about the genre-bending qualities of "Friday the 13th" or "A Nightmare on Elm Street," this series, too, has unforgettable entries such as "Leprechaun in Space" and "Leprechaun in the Hood," which should be saved in a time capsule so future generations can also enjoy the pinnacle of human creativity.

While the franchise has released eight films to date, none of them have tickled the fancy of professional critics. The first "Leprechaun" movie, which stars Warwick Davis and Jennifer Aniston, holds a 27% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel nose-dived to 6%, while the third entry doesn't even have a score, though all reviews were negative. "Leprechaun in Space" garnered an unjustifiable 17%, while "Leprechaun in the Hood" and "Leprechaun Back 2 tha Hood" achieved 33% and 20%, respectively. 2014's "Leprechaun: Origins," which stars Dylan Postl (better known as Hornswoggle in the WWE), received a big fat zero in critical approval, while 2018's "Leprechaun Returns" achieved a franchise-high of 45%.

Put Vin Diesel in a film, and the people will show up. It's a formula that has worked many times over. Look at "Fast and the Furious" as an example. The films were laughed at as brainless action flicks for so long, but after $6.6 billion at the global box office (via The Numbers), Diesel is likely referred to as "sir" and gets the red carpet treatment every time he visits Universal Pictures' offices. Another Diesel-centric franchise that hasn't quite reached the same heights as "Fast and the Furious" but still remains popular is "xXx."

However, much like many of the "Fast" films, the high-octane action-spy series hasn't left critics asking for more of Xander Cage. The 2002 film picked up a 48% critical approval rating, while the Diesel-less sequel, "xXx: State of the Union," plummeted to 17%. The third entry in the franchise, "xXx: Return of Xander Cage," was something of a return to form with 45%, but it's still a far cry from being an overwhelming or glowing recommendation.

Humanity goes through certain phases — just look at the popularity of mullets in the '80s as a prime example. In terms of film, the same holds true, as the mid-2000s were chockablock with dance movies. One of the biggest was 2006's "Step Up," starring Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. The dance drama kicked off a plethora of disconnected sequels, as fans continued to turn up for all things "Step Up." Despite finding an ardent and loyal fan base and more than respectable box office hauls, as per The Numbers, the franchise never quite tangoed with the critics.

The first film in the series flatfooted itself to 21% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, while the sequel, "Step Up 2 The Streets," improved marginally with 28%. "Step Up 3" must have felt like the "Terminator 2" of the franchise with its 46% score, while "Step Up Revolution" and "Step Up: All In" kept it in the 40s with 41% and 42% respectively. By the time "Step Up: Year of the Dance" arrived in 2020, though, critics didn't even care enough to review it. Talk about harsh.

On paper, the concept of "The Purge" is a fascinating premise for a thought-provoking horror, since it asks the question: What happens when human beings are allowed to run riot for 24 hours without consequence? Logically, the 2013 original film starring Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey should be the strongest entry in the series, as every sequel afterward is a deviation of the same idea. The critics don't agree with that sentiment, though, as the James DeMonaco-directed movie received only 40% approval on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact, it's the lowest-rated film in "The Purge" franchise.

The first sequel, "The Purge: Anarchy," has the highest score at 57%, while its follow-up, "The Purge: Election Year," received 55%. The franchise went back to basics in 2018, as it released the prequel titled "The First Purge," which debuted with the same score as "Election Year." The fifth film in the series, "The Forever Purge," fast-forwarded again to the original continuity, but it only managed to garner 49%.

It's not often that the first entry in a movie franchise is considered the worst from a critical standpoint, but "The Purge" bucks the trend here.