15 Disappointing Movies That Killed Their Franchises

Hollywood dines out on their franchises -- they keep the lights on. But sometimes studios have to cut the cord on them. Here are 15 films that either doomed a movie series in progress, or killed it before it even had a chance to start. 

'Batman & Robin' (1997)

1995’s “Batman Forever” was a misstep for the franchise, but it still pulled in an impressive box office haul. Unfortunately, the sequel doubled down on everything that made “Forever” inferior to Tim Burton’s films, and audiences responded accordingly. It was less a movie than a neon-lit toy commercial. Only eight years of downtime, and a completely different approach with “Batman Begins,” were enough to restore the Dark Knight to greatness.

'Catwoman' (2004)

There were talks of a solo Catwoman movie ever since 1992’s “Batman Returns” put the femme fatale back on the map. Unfortunately, by the time “Catwoman” finally lurched into life in 2004, we found ourselves wishing the project had stayed dead. This misguided film severed all ties to the Batman franchise and eliminated most of what fans loved about the character in the process. 

'Superman Returns' (2006)

The real tragedy of Bryan Singer jumping from the X-Men franchise to Superman is that the latter didn’t turn out much better. “Superman Returns” has its merits, but some questionable casting choices (Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane) and a lack of exciting action hurt the Man of Steel’s big return. Worst of all, “Returns” was too slavishly devoted to the classic Richard Donner films at the expense of doing anything new with the character. 

'Terminator: Salvation' (2009)

We were psyched on a Terminator movie focusing entirely on the war between man and machine in a post-Judgment Day wasteland. But the messy script failed to channel the drama and humanity of the first two films. “Terminator: Salvation” boasted an incredible trailer, but the actual movie was disappointingly dull by comparison, forcing the franchise back to the drawing board again.

'Terminator: Genisys' (2015)

When “Terminator Salvation’s” jump to the future didn’t reinvigorate the saga, the franchise returned to well-trodden territory for its fifth entry -- another in a growing lineup of cinematic pseudo-reboots. While it was fun to see ex-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger back in his most iconic role, “Genisys” basically regurgitated elements of the earlier films without any of their heart or thematic depth. The film's limp box office all but guarantees that Skynet will stay offline. 

'Star Trek: Nemesis' (2002)

Traditionally, even-numbered "Trek" films are high points of the franchise. The tenth installment, and the fourth "Next Gen" film, broke that tradition. "Nemesis" is a very uneven film that feels like pricy fan-fic, one that is especially tone-deaf in regards to how to portray these characters. The movie bombed, killing future missions from the "TNG" crew. It would take Paramount seven years to recover with J.J. Abrams' reboot. 

'Tron: Legacy' (2010)

It could be argued that Disney was asking for trouble by greenlighting a big-budget sequel to a cheesy, 1982 cult-favorite. There’s certainly a lot to love about “Tron: Legacy,” between the gorgeous special effects and the mesmerizing Daft Punk soundtrack, but we can’t say we’re surprised the film only brought in modest box office numbers. Nor are we surprised that the third “Tron” movie was canned in favor of more live-action reboots of classic Disney movies.   

'Jonah Hex' (2010)

For some reason, WB turned to Jonah Hex rather than, say, Wonder Woman or The Flash for their next big DC Comics project after “The Dark Knight.” While casting Josh Brolin as the titular scarred bounty hunter was a wise choice, everything else about this adaptation was a mess. 

'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' (2013)

Just because teens flocked to the "Hunger Games" series doesn’t mean every YA book series needs to be adapted to film. Case in point, this adaptation of the first book in "The Mortal Instruments" series regurgitated all the usual tropes without bringing anything new to the table. It’s no surprise that the planned sequel was quietly canceled. 

'Vampire Academy' (2014)

“Vampire Academy” had the right idea. Rather than trying to spawn another straightforward YA franchise about ordinary teen girls encountering the world of the supernatural, this film opted for a satirical, “'Twilight' meets 'Mean Girls'” approach. The problem is that the movie’s sense of humor and special effects were on par with the “Scary Movie” series, and it bombed hard at the box office. Even an ambitious Indiegogo campaign wasn’t enough to bring the sequel back from the dead. And nothing will resurrect this would-be franchise.

'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006)

The X-Men franchise was riding high after the release of “X2.” Unfortunately, the third entry in the series promptly derailed the train. “X-Men: The Last Stand” suffered a number of behind-the-scenes problems (including losing director Bryan Singer to “Superman Returns” and then his replacement, Matthew Vaughn). At that point, it’s hard to blame Brett Ratner for delivering such a mediocre and clearly rushed sequel. Even though the franchise soldiers on (thanks to the prequels), it’s telling that Fox made "Days of Future Past" to undo the damage done by "X3." 

'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' (2014)

Aside from the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, these new Spidey movies have very little to offer that the original series didn't previously do better. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s” poor lineup of villains and unsatisfying resolution served as the death knell for the series. But the film’s failure paved the way for Spidey to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so we can't get too upset about it. 

'Daredevil' (2003)

So much Evanescence... It’s not so much that “Daredevil” was a bad superhero movie, it's just a bad movie. The casting was generally solid, but the film recycled too many superhero origin tropes and couldn’t quite decide if it wanted to be dark and gritty or campy and over-the-top. Maybe if the Director’s Cut version had been released originally, “Daredevil” could have spawned a true franchise. 

'Elektra' (2005)

Not even Jennifer Garner's earnest performance could save this dud, which -- at the time -- was the lowest grossing movie to feature a Marvel character since "Howard the Duck." Yikes. 

'Die Another Day' (2002)

In terms of movie quality, Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as James Bond was rocky at best. Brosnan’s 007 peaked in his first outing, 1995’s “GoldenEye,” and never quite recovered. “Die Another Day” only reinforced the idea put forth by competing spy movies like “XXX” and “The Bourne Identity” -- that James Bond was a dull relic of a bygone era. It would take Bond producers four years to reboot with "Casino Royale."