Movie Series That Failed As Soon As The First Sequel Came Out

The biggest film franchises don't just span multiple installments, but multiple decades. The likes of the James Bond movies or the "Star Wars" saga have been entertaining several generations of audiences with no end in sight. These films show just how enduring these sorts of blockbusters are if they manage to resonate with people and keep providing satisfying further adventures. But not every movie series gets to that point. Managing to spawn your first sequel is only the first step in the journey to becoming the next "Star Wars," and too many features drop the ball at that point. 

These are the motion pictures that did prove successful enough to warrant a sequel, but whose follow-ups managed to land so far beneath expectations that the whole reputation of the franchise tanked. The circumstances that informed these franchises' first sequels crashing so badly vary greatly from one movie to the next. Some struggled to get the attention of moviegoers thanks to bad marketing, while others just never had enough audience devotion to warrant a sequel in the first place. Whatever the case, these sequels derailed their respective franchises. While a handful of these sagas did manage to produce follow-ups (albeit obscure and troubled ones) in the wake of these disastrous installments, things were never the same for any of these movie series after these first sequels.

Box office expectations often miss severely when it comes to comedy sequels. While projects like "City Slickers" or "Horrible Bosses" made big bucks at the worldwide box office, their respective follow-ups just failed to click with moviegoers. Still, the allure of delivering the rare "The Hangover: Part II" or "22 Jump Street" at the worldwide box office means that studios still try their luck at launching hit comedy franchises. This includes a follow-up to the 2014 sleeper hit "Neighbors," which ended up becoming one of Seth Rogen's biggest movies.

The same could not be said for "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," a follow-up that flipped the script and had a sorority rather than a fraternity move in next to Rogen and Rose Byrne's house. The result was a project that just didn't connect with moviegoers, partially because the premise didn't offer enough that was different from the original. Though technically profitable after making $108.7 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, that was a massive step down from the first "Neighbors." Any potential for "Neighbors" becoming like "The Hangover" and going on for an entire trilogy was stopped cold with "Sorority Rising," which turned out to be both a franchise killer and another example of an underperforming comedy sequel.

The original "The Exorcist" wasn't just a hit, it became a pop culture sensation. There was no going back for American horror after this, with every scary film released in its wake existing in its shadow. This level of influence meant it was only a matter of time before the producers of the movie decided to try their hand at continuing the story. Despite the definitive ending of the original film, "Exorcist II: The Heretic" hit theaters in 1977, four years after the original. 

However, whereas "The Exorcist" was greeted with universal praise, "The Heretic" became one of the worst-reviewed horror movies of all time. Original "Exorcist" director William Friedkin was among the chorus of moviegoers who despised the project, going so far as to declare that "The Heretic" was one of the worst films he'd ever watched. What inspired this deluge of vitriol? Mainly a confounding plot and moments that elicited giggles rather than screams. With this kind of response, the prospect of an ongoing "Exorcist" franchise suddenly seemed a lot less possible than before. It would be more than a decade until someone tried to make another "Exorcist" sequel and even the respectable "The Exorcist III" was unable to escape its predecessor's dismal reputation at the box office. Only time will tell if Blumhouse's trilogy of "Exorcist" sequels will finally make "The Exorcist" a viable franchise.

The original "Blade Runner" was not a box office hit, but it proved to be so enormously influential that a sequel was an inevitability. After years of development, "Blade Runner 2049" hit theaters in October 2017 courtesy of director Denis Villeneuve. Before its release, Villeneuve and producer Ridley Scott openly discussed how there were hopes and story ideas for a potential "Blade Runner 3." It's not hard to see why those concepts would prove so tantalizing, given the rich fictional universe of this franchise. If "Blade Runner" could spawn a sequel decades after its release, there's no telling how many installments "2049" could inspire in a modern Hollywood landscape built on the backs of franchises.

However, those hopes were immediately threatened by the box office for "Blade Runner 2049." Despite lots of pre-release hype, "2049" underperformed on opening weekend. What once looked like a surefire way to re-energize the "Blade Runner" world was suddenly in serious financial jeopardy. This critical problem didn't get rectified in the weeks afterward, as "2049" ended up losing money once its worldwide box office run was done. With this development, the idea of doing further "Blade Runner" movies was shelved, with Villeneuve moving his ambitious sci-fi storytelling abilities onto multiple "Dune" movies instead. Despite both entries in the franchise scoring critical acclaim, box office woes have kept the "Blade Runner" movies from being a regularly expanding film series.

Some franchises that go off the rails start with a beloved movie that people do initially want to see sequels to. Not so with the 2016 horror movie "The Boy." While this title delivered decent box office numbers, there was far from a massive fan base clamoring for Brahms the doll boy to return for more chilling installments. Even with other haunted dolls like Chucky and Annabelle becoming characters who could sustain multiple sequels, the idea of "The Boy" launching a franchise seemed far-fetched.

However, Hollywood won't let any familiar brand name go unexploited. Thus, February 2020 delivered "Brahms: The Boy II," which already faced the simple problem that it was arriving four years after its predecessor. That's an eternity in the world of horror movies, with Jordan Peele directing two feature-length movies in the interim between installments. Any affection for the original "The Boy" had long cooled off. It didn't help that nobody from the original movie, save for the titular Brahms, was coming back. There were no returning characters or intriguing new developments in long-running character arcs, like that of Laurie Strode in the 2018 "Halloween," to grab people's attention. Add in a minimal marketing campaign and it's no wonder "Brahms" cratered at the box office. With that, any hopes of "The Boy" becoming the next long-running horror franchise were tucked away back in the toy chest.

At the start of the 2010s, director Roland Emmerich announced that there were finally plans to make a sequel to "Independence Day." Not only that, but this filmmaker openly discussed ambitions to make a pair of follow-ups to his 1996 sci-fi movie. Though only one sequel was eventually greenlit, Emmerich was discussing as late as June 2016 his detailed ambitions of doing a sequel to "Independence Day: Resurgence" that would follow that film's new young characters into an outer space offense attack against the alien invaders.

Unfortunately, Emmerich would never get a chance to realize his vision. Though the initial "Independence Day" was one of the biggest box office hits of the 1990s, its sequel was one of the biggest box office disappointments of 2016. The project's financial troubles could be chalked up to all sorts of factors, including intense competition from other blockbusters that summer as well as the film failing to differentiate itself from its predecessor in its marketing. Whatever reasons for "Resurgence" failing to meet box office expectations, it was quickly clear that there would not be a third "Independence Day" movie, leaving one of the seminal blockbusters of decades past with just a solitary sequel.

Certain Marvel superheroes have gone on to headline countless big-screen hits. Spider-Man, for example, has received a whopping nine theatrical movies, while Iron Man has led multiple solo outings and "Avengers" installments. But other figures from this comic book company's vast library of fictional characters have been less successful in maintaining longevity in theaters. Case in point: Ghost Rider, a darker superhero that initially seemed to be poised for multiple adventures after the first live-action "Ghost Rider" film turned into a solid box office performer.

That yielded a sequel, named "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," but there were a few problems that ended up causing the "Ghost Rider" franchise to crash and burn. For starters, there was a five-year gap between "Ghost Rider" movies. In that time, the first two "Iron Man" adventures hit theaters. Meanwhile, this new "Ghost Rider" didn't offer much to attract audiences, not even an R-rating that could have lured in comic book geeks yearning for a darker take on the property. While there were plans for a third "Ghost Rider," the dismal box office intake of "Spirit of Vengeance" slammed the brakes on those prospects — although a different version of the character surfaced on Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." TV series.