Summary
A few movie franchises had strong potential but were cut short by one box office flop. It is not uncommon formovie franchises to be ended by a box office flop, which is the clearest indicator to a studio that audiences are no longer interested in the series. However,some abridged movie franchises did have a dedicated audience— maybe just not one as big as studio executives were hoping for — or flopped for other reasons, possibly marketing or the circumstances of the industry.
Certain franchises might have made a comeback after one bad movieor would have done better if the filmmakers were given the chance to learn from their mistakes.Good movies have suffered from bad marketing, while othermovies with serious wasted potentialmight have turned into successful franchises if not for one mishandled narrative decision. In all these scenarios, the first movie(s) in a planned franchise set up a great story that would have supported something bigger, but the financial losses ended it too soon.
10 Movie Franchises That Came Roaring Back After A Long Hiatus
While some movie franchises seem to have never slowed down, others surprised audiences and have roared back to success after an extended hiatus.
10The Chronicles Of Narnia
Last Movie: The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)
The Chronicles of Narniamovie franchise saw massive success in the beginning before starting its gradual downward trajectory and heading into reboot territory.The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobeis one of thebiggest box office hits of the 2000s; whilePrince Caspianalso turned a profit, it was nowhere near as much, andThe Voyage of the Dawn Treaderwas even worse.Despite this,The Silver Chairwas in development for some timewith Millie Bobby Brown being offered the lead role.
The Silver Chair would have been a return to a more classic adventure storyline and might have allowed the Narnia movies to make a comeback.
The second and thirdNarniamovies faced a lot of challenges with less conventional narratives,which led to major changes from the source material.The Silver Chairwould have been a return to a more classic adventure storyline and might have allowed theNarniamovies to make a comeback. However,The Silver Chairwas stuck in development for too long before being canceled. Netflix now owns the rights and is planning a reboot with Greta Gerwig at the helm.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Based on C.S. Lewis’s popular book series, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third film in the trilogy and takes place three years after the prior film and follows two siblings joined by the new king of Narnia, Caspian, as they attempt to save their world from all-encompassing darkness. The group will travel the seas to save seven missing lords to prepare for the coming battle.
9The People Of Sparks
Last Movie: City Of Ember (2008)
The movie adaptation of Jeanne DuPrau’sThe City of Emberis just a little bland in comparison to the book,the first in thePeople of Sparksseries. The movie condensed some elements from the book that would have made the potential social commentary of Ember more impactful. Considering that the movie is only an hour and a half long, they could have afforded to better develop some of the subplots. Otherwise,City of Emberis a decent movie,featuring an early-career Saoirse Ronan, alongside Bill Murray and Toby Jones.
While this movie sticks to the basic adventure storyline, showing off the intriguing production design and rising stars along the way, the sequels might have been able to build upon it thematically. The problems of limited resources and mistrust only get bigger in the subsequentPeople of Sparksnovels, laying the groundwork for some interesting movies.City of Emberwas always going to be difficult to adapt because it is more subdued than some other novels of the same genre,but it could have been a strong movie trilogy.
8Jupiter Ascending
Last Movie: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Almost everyone agrees that the premise ofJupiter Ascendingis fascinating; it’s only the execution that fell short, mainly due to the underdeveloped characters. Following an average young woman from Earth who happens to be genetically identical to the late matriarch of an extraterrestrial dynasty,Jupiter Ascendingsets the stage for some interesting intergalactic politics and power struggles.Great actors like Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, and Tuppence Middleton took on supporting roles, with Mila Kunis as the title character.
This is in addition to breathtaking sets and costume design that had everyone intrigued when shown in the trailers. However,Jupiter Ascending’s weaknesses led to its box office flop,overshadowing its strengths. If the franchise had managed to survive this commercial failure, they might have even cut out things like the needless romantic subplot in the sequels, offering a stronger story with more character development for Jupiter and the rest.
Jupiter Ascending
From visionary directors the Wachowskis, Jupiter Ascending follows Mila Kunis' Jupiter Jones, a cleaning woman from Chicago who discovers that she is actually the heir to a vast intergalactic noble house. With the help of genetically modified soldier Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), Jupiter must fight to protect Earth from the greedy clutches of Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) who is intent on taking over the planet for his own means.
7The Millennium Series
Last Movie: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Sadly,Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig didn’t return for aGirl with the Dragon Tattoosequel, despite being the best leads the franchise could hope for. Riding on the success ofThe Social Network,David Fincher was also exactly the director theMillenniummovie franchise needed,well-versed in psychological thrillers. It’s even more disappointing that the sequels didn’t happen because these hires did pay off for this adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s novel, as almost everything about it was praised by critics.
YetThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoowas still a box office flop,scrambling Fincher’s plans to adapt the whole trilogy. The franchise saw a soft reboot with 2018’sThe Girl in the Spider’s Webwith a new director and new leads, namely Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander. However, this movie was both a critical and commercial failure, destroying the series' movie potential once and for all.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Based on the award-winning novel by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) as he searches for a woman who has been missing for 40 years. Along the way, he makes an unexpected ally in Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who is a computer hacker and survivor of a traumatic childhood. The film is directed by David Fincher and won an Oscar in 2012 for Best Achievement in Film Editing.
6The Mortal Instruments
Last Movie: The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013)
Cassandra Clare debuted the firstShadowhuntersbooks amid the popularity of bothTwilightandThe Hunger Games.The Mortal Instrumentsclearly exhibits some of the most popular tropes of its predecessors, yet still stands out with its distinct premise and world-building.The Mortal Instrumentscould have been the next big movie franchise,with stunning visuals and even some strong casting choices in Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Lena Headey. Some of the exposition was rushed but could have been easily improved with a few rewrites.
The City of Bonesmovie arguably should have just cut the subplot where Clary and Jace believe they are siblings,which doesn’t come into play until the very end. In retrospect, this was an awkward storyline for the franchise to get past to become one of thebest lengthy fantasy book series worth committing to. With a couple of changes — and, of course, without the first movie bombing at the box office —The Mortal Instrumentscould have shown more of its incredible world on the big screen.
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
In The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, teenager Clary Fray discovers she is a Shadowhunter, a human-angel hybrid destined to fight demons. She delves into an underworld of magic and danger when her mother is kidnapped. Teaming up with fellow Shadowhunters Jace, Alec, and Isabelle, Clary embarks on a quest to save her mother and uncover her own hidden past. Amidst battles with dark forces and a journey of self-discovery, Clary learns the true extent of her powers.
11 Book Adaptations To Get Second Chances As TV Shows
Whether or not the film adaptation was successful, novels like Percy Jackson and Interview with the Vampire have gotten second chances as TV shows.
5Wonder Woman
Last Movie: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman was doing the best out of all the DCEU heroes in her solo movies.The firstWonder Womanwas highly acclaimed and a great introduction to the ideological conflicts of Diana’s characterand her combative abilities.What went wrong withWonder Woman 1984constitutes many possibilities, but overall, it seems to have been received as a generic addition to Diana’s story. The settings and villains are less interesting while the emotional storyline is built on clichés, all leading to Diana triumphing once again.
Wonder Woman 3’s cancellationstill came as a disappointment to many. Other (mostly male) superheroes have suffered second-movie syndrome but still got a third installment. In Wonder Woman’s case,Patty Jenkins certainly knew thatWonder Woman 3demanded something less formulaic.The result could have been Diana’s biggest adventure yet if the events ofWonder Woman 1984were treated as building blocks for something greater.
Wonder Woman 1984
Wonder Woman 1984, set during the Cold War, follows Diana Prince as she faces a formidable opponent. When a heist exposes a perilous ancient artifact, Wonder Woman is drawn into a global conflict that endangers her extraordinary abilities and challenges her resolve to save the world.
4Battle Angel Alita
Last Movie: Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Based on the mangaGunnm, known asBattle Angel Alitain English,Alita: Battle Angelisn’t as bad as a movie as some might assume, even if its visuals are stronger than its story.With extensive source material providing plenty of ideas, a sequel could be the perfect opportunity to strengthen the characters and plots where they failed in the first movie.Alita: Battle Angel 2is technically in development, but the previous installment’s failure would understandably give some people pause.
Alita: Battle Angelfirst entered development in 2003, but was regularly delayed because of producer James Cameron’s commitments toAvatar. The sequel is set up to face the same problem, with Cameron releasing a newAvatarmovie every other year for the immediate future. Some would probably assume that the franchise is over, only waiting for an official cancellation. However,the director and producers ofAlita: Battle Angelare at least enthusiastic about the sequel,which might have saved some other franchises that were once in the same situation.
Alita: Battle Angel
Produced by James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez, Alita: Battle Angel adapts the manga Gunnm to live-action, featuring Rosa Salazar as the titular cyborg who quests to rebuild her identity as she faces the dark forces that plague Iron City. With the help of Christoph Waltz’s Dr. Ido and Keean Johnson’s Hugo, Alita learns to play the futuristic game of Motorball, which could be her ticket to enter the floating city of Zalem. Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems in the year 2563.
3Treasure Planet
Last Movie: Treasure Planet (2002)
Treasure Planetis one of Disney’s most expensive failures ever,although it has become a treasured cult classic since bombing at the box office. Disney was in an awkward place in the 2000s, as the glory days of the Disney Renaissance were behind them, and they faced more competition from 3D animated movies.Yet they were ambitious withTreasure Planet,incorporating some 3D elements and planning a story that extended past the framework ofTreasure Island’s plot.
If Treasure Planet’s eventual reception had happened when it was released, it might have kicked off Hollywood’s first epic animated franchise.
IfTreasure Planet’s eventual reception had happened when it was released, it might have kicked off Hollywood’s first epic animated franchise. There was even a finished script for thecanceledTreasure Planet 2, which included a new villain, a rival/love interest for Jim, a backstory for John Silver, and more. In addition to this, there were rumors of a TV show spinoff — one of the first times Disney proposed such an idea. Unfortunately,plans were scrapped afterTreasure Planet’s epic commercial failure.
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet is a 2002 animated adventure and Fantasy film from Walt Disney studios. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, the story follows a young boy named Jim Hawkins as he attempts to find a fabled treasure and mend ways with his father who abandoned him.
2The Barsoom Series
Last Movie: John Carter (2012)
The source material forJohn Carterset Disney up with an extensive sci-fi franchise; yetDisney’s biggest animated box office flopslikeTreasure Planet, Mars Needs Moms, andMeet the Robinsonssuggest that sci-fi is not the studio’s strength. In fact,Disney’s confidence inJohn Carterbeing a success was unlike anything before,pouring a ludicrous amount of funds into the project. This would only make it even more of a box office bomb and cement the franchise’s early ending.
However, bad marketing and the series not being as popular as Disney thought are just some of thereasons thatJohn Carterfloppedspectacularly. It could have been the beginning of another space opera franchise if Disney had been more frugal in their efforts.John Carterwas all about setting up the sequel and providing as much spectacle as possiblewhen studio executives were certain that it would pan out because of its tropes rather than its unique story.
John Carter
Adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, Disney’s John Carter brings the author’s Barsoom series to life. When American Confederate Civil War captain John Carter accidentally transports himself to Mars, he soon becomes entangled in the planet’s own internal power struggles. Using the increased strength and speed afforded to him by Mars' atmosphere, Carter fights to achieve peace on the distant planet known by the natives as Barsoom.
10 Unfinished Movie Franchises That Are Still Worth Watching
Although these movie franchises didn’t have a proper ending, they still have redeeming qualities, meaning that they’re still worth checking out.
1Power Rangers Reboot
Last Movie: Power Rangers (2017)
Since its average reception in 2017, more and more people have come to the defense of thePower Rangersreboot. With a strong cast of up-and-coming stars plus great veterans in Elizabeth Banks and Bryan Cranston,Power Rangershas a more serious tone but incorporates some goofy elements.With the characters being given development as individuals as well as a group and the set-up for the Green Ranger storyline, thePower Rangerssequel could have topped what is already a strong reboot.
However,Power Rangersalso flopped at the box office, likely due to its failure to impress critics and Hollywood being oversaturated in reboots. Like with many similar cases, the studio was not willing to risk another, even bigger failure by producing a sequel. YetPower Rangersand other franchises still intrigue fanswho wish that the series could have been seen to completion.
