7 movies that killed their franchises

"RoboCop 3"

• 1993
• USA
• Action, adventure, crime, sci-fi, thriller
• Director: Fred Dekker
• Starring: Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Rip Torn, John Castle, Jill Hennessy
• IMDb Rating: 4.2

In a blighted Detroit, Omni Consumer Products Corporation (OCP) is undertaking a massive development called Delta City and hiring armed forces to evict the slum dwellers. Cyborg cop Alex Murphy, legally owned by OCP, is ordered to crush the resistance, but inwardly remains human and decides to side with the rebels. A war breaks out in the city where a robot and a human inside the same body have to fight not just crime, but a system that uses technology against citizens.

The film was a disastrous blunder: the creators for some reason softened the rating to PG-13, removing the trademark violence and satire, causing the audience to not recognize their hero. The financial failure and the replacement of the lead actor finished the series, sending "Robocop" into hibernation for almost 20 years.

"No matter what anyone says, but the movie is cool, came out better than the second part, and a bunch of gimmicks Robocop was given", — CHASER

"In fact, the only thing affected by the actions of the "cool robot samurai" was the billboard outside the grocery store. Japanese technology!" — Xzirex

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"Allegiant"

• 2016
• USA
• Adventure, fiction, action, detective
• Director: Robert Schwentke
• Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Naomi Watts
• IMDb Rating: 5.7

After the destruction of the usual faction structure, heroine Tris Prior, along with Tobias, goes beyond the wall that bounded the city. There they encounter an organization controlling the genetics and memory of the remaining inhabitants, and learn that their familiar isolated world was part of an experiment. After realizing that the project was created with the intention of erasing humanity's memory and starting over, Tris makes the decision to stop the secret plan, even if it costs her life.

The third part of the series was a record-breaking one, earning only almost half as much as the previous installment and receiving an 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The studio canceled the final story and unsuccessfully tried to move the project to television. So one movie buried the entire series, ending it in the middle of the book story.

"What a load of crap they made, a passable sci-fi dystopia, it's a good thing they didn't make a fourth movie, nothing good will come out of it", — CHASER

"My favorite series of movies. There's no logic, just emotion. Like Twilight", — bezdan

"Watched it once as a teenager, rated it a 3 out of 5. Now almost 10 years later I watched all three parts in an evening, and I liked it. It's a pity that the 4th part was never filmed. Read the book or something", — sunshine_lika

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"Star Trek: Retribution"

• 2002
• USA
• Fantasy, action, adventure, thriller
• Director: Stuart Baird
• Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Tom Hardy, Brent Spiner
• IMDb Rating: 6.4

After the wedding of William Riker and Deanna Troi, the crew of the USS Enterprise heads to the planet Romulus, where the new Praetor Shinzon has staged a coup d'état. Shinzon turns out to be a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, raised on Remus, a Romulan slave planet. Hiding behind a diplomatic mission, he prepares an attack on the Federation and Earth, and Picard must face his mirror version. The final mission turns into a farewell for the crew that no one expected.

The release was unsuccessful: the film grossed only $67 million with a budget of $60 million (note to editors: to really recoup the investment, the movie must collect double the money). Due to competition with "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" tape cut in time for the sake of extra sessions, spoiling the plot. After such a failure, Paramount permanently closed the "Next Generation" line.

"An unusual piece in every sense. Less like the others and more like modern space fiction. So intense battles and a strong enemy. Also happy about the references to ST: Voyager in this and last part. Nostalgia for Voyager))))," - IlyaGalantik

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"Spider-Man 3"

• 2007
• USA
• Action, adventure, sci-fi
• Director: Sam Raimi
• Starring: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace
• IMDb Rating: 6.3

Peter Parker is once again wearing the Spider-Man costume, his fame is on the rise, and he intends to propose to Mary Jane. At this time, a meteorite brings a symbiote to earth, which merges with Peter's suit and awakens in him shadowy tendencies: aggression, arrogance, alienation. At the same time, Harry Osborn learns the truth about his father's death and seeks revenge, while common criminal Flint Marko accidentally turns into the Sandman.

Despite billions of dollars in box office receipts, the movie became a stigma for the studio. Critics derided the confusing script and the 'emo version' of the main character. The negative reaction and Sam Raimi fatigue forced Sony to cancel the fourth installment and afterward restart the franchise from scratch.

"Here's whoever said what, the movie is great, my favorite part of the trilogy. Well evil Peter/ Bully Maguire is the best meme in movie history, love it", — sherlotte

"What a lot of action they've gone for here. Sandy turned out pretty good, but Eddie Brock is meh. And it's like Venom doesn't even exist, it's a name no one says, and the symbiote doesn't talk. Then again, Peter has personal motivation here! And this rewriting of the canon...
Suddenly it suddenly turned out that there were two robbers (so that Peter again had a personal motivation against the villain) Or suddenly comes in the butler, and such, by the way, the father suicided in essence)))) Why didn't you say something before? And the bully maguire is so cringe. It's so cringe-y it's good!" — NyanQt3_14

"The third part can also be watched with interest and even rated highly... but more for good memory. If objectively, the plot finally turned into a soap opera, the characters converge-diverge, dumb and mean. That's pretty much it :) P. S. Maguire's sexy bad boy is completely out of place. Not his format", — MouseJerry

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"Dark Phoenix"

• 2019
• USA
• Fantasy, action, adventure
• Director: Simon Kinberg
• Starring: Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain
• IMDb Rating: 5.7

During a rescue mission in space, mutant Jean Grey is exposed to a cosmic force and gains nearly limitless abilities — but not control over them. Her internal struggle escalates into dangerous instability: fear of herself, alienation from the X-Men team, conflicts with friends and enemies. Meanwhile, the aliens discover in Jean the resource to seize power. The X-Men find themselves in a dilemma: save Jean or stop her before she destroys everyone.

The movie was conceived as the beginning of a new trilogy, but after the failure of "Apocalypse" Fox compressed two scripts into one. The resulting finale was rushed and soulless, and Disney's purchase of the studio finally closed the era of X-Men.

"Overall good, but the whole movie never left the feeling that it was just a prologue, that the main events were about to begin. But the music is great", — Gevorg

"I like the original trilogy better. Here, each movie has a different villain and they carry on like the most common heroes fighting each of them. In the trilogy, the huge idea of human/mutant conflict is split into parts and developed in each one", — NatashCHa

"Oh my god, this movie is the bomb. The actress playing Jin is like an exact replica of the adult Jin. However, little Jin didn't get this power from birth, but by sucking it up in space, and adult Jin was born with this power, but Phoenix's powers are stronger than what adult Jin had", — naytvd

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"Hellboy II: The Golden Army"

• 2004
• USA
• Fantasy, action
• Director: Guillermo del Toro
• Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, John Hurt, Doug Jones
• IMDb Rating: 6.9

In ancient times, the elves created the invincible Golden Army, a mechanical army under the control of royalty. Centuries later, the exiled Prince Nuada decides to revive it in order to destroy humanity. Standing in his way is Hellboy, a demon who dreams of being a hero in a world that fears him. But in the fight to save people Hellboy will have to face not only the legendary army, but also his own destiny.

After the success of del Toro's original movie, fans waited for a sequel, but the studio abandoned the third installment and years later filmed a reboot with David Harbour. It failed miserably — both the old and new versions of the franchise were buried for good.

"It's just impossible not to love Guillermo del Toro's comic book movies. Of course, they are not so vykholennye and glossy as comic book movies from Marvel, but their soul they definitely have. And separately it is worth noting the excellent selection of actors. Perlman perfectly fit into the image of Hellboy, as if this role was specially created for him", — Barnaby

"A very cute movie in its genre. Despite some of the conventions inherent in old comic book movies, like the formulaic villains and ridiculous enemies, it's easy and fun to watch. Nothing is annoying, there is unobtrusive humor. Hellboy turns out to be charismatic too, dragging the whole movie", — MouseJerry

"Oh, good old Nazis... A bit of a dumb comic book movie, full disclosure on where the Red Demon came from, but where did the waterman come from? How did Lizka get her powers? We're not getting any info", — LEANMUNN

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"Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle"

• 2003
• Countries: USA, Brazil
• Action, adventure, comedy
• Director: McG
• Starring: Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore
• IMDb Rating: 5.0

Three Charlie's Angels secret service agents — Natalie, Dylan and Alex — are tasked with finding two special rings with codes containing witness protection program data. Once stolen, these rings become the target of assassins and a former partner bearing a grudge. The Angels are sent into a whirlwind of stunts, glamor, and self-irony, from motorcycle track racing to hand-to-hand underground fights.

The sequel tried to replicate the success of the first installment, but critics accused it of being pointless and overstuffed. After a box office drop of tens of millions of dollars, the franchise disappeared for nearly two decades — not even a 2019 relaunch could save it.

"As a kid there was a video tape of this exact part that I re-watched a bunch of times, now watched it again and I'm ecstatic! Movies from my childhood are forever in ❤️", — YanaMo

"Great sequel to the first installment. It was fun to watch", — rina_stay

"Interesting the difference of ratings on KP and IMDb 😂", — Gevorg

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