20 film franchises that failed or are failing

The Chronicles of Narnia franchise started strong thanks to the remarkably faithful adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As soon as Prince Caspian came out, however, it became clear that the franchise was about to hit troubled waters, and this was even more true with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It struggled to recapture the magic and grandeur of the first installment, and it stalled after the third film. As so often, though, it’s slated for a reboot with a new set of films directed by Greta Gerwig.

M. Night Shyamalan might be most famous for his twist endings, but he has also made numerous forays into fantasy, as he showed with The Last Airbender. Unfortunately for both Shyamalan and really anyone involved with the production, it was universally condemned by audiences and critics alike. It made a modest amount of money at the box office, but the backlash was just too severe, and the original plans to turn the film into a franchise were quickly scrapped. As so often, however, the series was given new life in the 2020s with a live-action version.

Tim Burton turned his unique attention to Planet of the Apes, which was released in 2001. It loosely follows the plot of the original book and the 1968 film, focusing on an astronaut who crashlands on a planet ruled over by apes. It was clearly intended to be the beginning of a series, especially since it ends on a (very controversial) cliffhanger. However, the film never really found critical mass and, though it earned money and made a profit, it never became a series. Instead, the whole series would be rebooted a decade later with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 

Piggybacking off the success of both Harry Potter and Rick Riordan’s YA novel series, the Percy Jackson franchise managed to last for two films before it started to run out of steam. In part, this was because the films didn’t really seem to have much appreciation or a real grasp of the books, for all that they featured the sorts of CGI that had come to be associated with and expected from big-budget spectaculars. Fortunately, it received new life with a Disney+ adaptation, which has received much more acclaim.

Spider-Man might be one of the most recognizable superheroes, but that doesn’t mean that all of the films set in Sony’s shared universe have been successes. Indeed, the franchise has been limping along for the past few years, pushing out film after film that struggle to connect with audiences or critics. Films such as Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter, and Morbius have cost quite a lot of money and boasted strong casts but ultimately haven't done well, suggesting the franchise is desperately in need of focused guidance. 

From the beginning, the DC Extended Universe has labored in the shadow of the much more consistently successful MCU, and it has very often been found wanting. Though the franchise has produced some notable successes, it’s never reached the level of consistency Marvel’s output has, and many of its films have fallen flat with audiences and critics alike. It has rebounded somewhat under the guidance and leadership of James Gunn, but it remains to be seen whether it will be able to become a culture powerhouse in its own right.

At first, it seemed as if Fantastic Beasts was going to be able to piggyback off the success of Harry Potter to similar box office dominance. However, while the first film was a success, it began to flounder in the second, as it became clear there was no real trajectory for the franchise as a whole. By the time that The Secrets of Dumbledore came out in 2022, the writing was on the wall, and it soon became clear that there would be no further installments in this franchise (though the Harry Potter stories themselves would be rebooted with a forthcoming TV series).  

The early 2010s were a bit of a rough patch for Disney, particularly when it came to its live-action films. The Lone Ranger was yet another example of the studio fumbling the ball with its major proposed tentpoles, and it poured nearly half a billion dollars into this attempt to update the classic TV hero. The results were another bomb — following the catastrophe that was John Carter — and, to the surprise of no one, there were ultimately no further films in what was clearly set up as a franchise.

It’s been clear from the beginning that the DC characters were going to have a hard time finding the same success as those of Marvel, and Green Lantern brought this home particularly strongly. While Ryan Reynolds certainly gives his all in the role, even he’s not enough to save the movie as a whole from being a failure, due in no small part to the fact that it takes too many liberties with its source material. It failed to break even, let alone make a profit, and it would take a few more years before the DCEU got its proper start.

Few films have bombed quite as spectacularly as John Carter, which was a bit of a catastrophe for Disney, in large part because of its enormous price tag. The studio clearly hoped it would be the beginning of a sprawling sci-fi adventure series, but when it tanked at the box office, it became clear these ambitions would never be realized. The film was a cautionary tale about the importance of effective promotion and how even a huge budget is no guarantee of success.

At first, it seemed as if A Series of Unfortunate Events would be able to capitalize on the popularity of Harry Potter.  In addition to being entertaining, it featured a strong cast, including Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, and Jude Law. Unfortunately, it never really took off, in no small part because it wasn’t a huge hit at the box office. It would take quite some time, but the book series would eventually get the adaptation it deserved when it was turned into a TV series. 

Despite the involvement of Peter Jackson and his collaborators, Mortal Engines has the dubious distinction of being a truly catastrophic failure. It bombed with both critics and audiences, earning only a portion of its budget. As has happened several times in recent Hollywood history, studios learned the hard way that no amount of explosions and special effects can overcome the limitations of a lackluster story. It remains to be seen whether anyone will try to reboot the series or whether it will remain dead in the water.

At first, it seemed like The Maze Runner would be a major franchise, and indeed, the first film was a success, managing to earn quite a tidy profit. However, the series started to stumble with the second and third installments, and though they made money, it was clear they were being governed by the law of diminishing returns. It’s thus not surprising that there are plans to reboot the franchise, though there are some indications that it will try to stay true to the spirit of the first film.

Few major releases have stumbled as catastrophically as Artemis Fowl. It certainly didn’t help that it was released only on streaming rather than theatrically — it came out during the pandemic — but the film’s abysmal critical reception truly hampered it. It’s hard to avoid the feeling that the film would have been better off languishing in development hell rather than being brought to the screen, whether big or small. It’s no wonder it didn’t become the franchise it was eventually intended to be. 

On paper, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword  looks like it should be a successful franchise-starter, given that it stars Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law and was directed by Guy Ritchie. Its innovative take on the legend of King Arthur was a little too much, however, leading to many mixed reviews. It was, however, the film’s box office that spelled the doom of the intended franchise; since it failed to even recoup its budget, this ensured that King Arthur wouldn’t be the start of any more films about England's famous king. 

There’s rarely been a franchise quite like Tron, which now spans three decades, though it's been only moderately successful in each. The first one was a cult classic, and it finally received a sequel in the 2010s. While moderately successful, the second installment clearly wasn’t the titanic success Disney anticipated, but this didn’t stop them from releasing a third movie in 2025. This most recent addition, however, looks like it’s going to be a bomb, which means that this franchise will probably go down in the annals of failed franchises. 

The success of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings in the early 2000s led studios to attempt to find the next big fantasy franchise, so it makes sense they would turn to Eragon, the bestselling novel by Christopher Paolini. While the movie seemed to have many things going for it, it never attained the tremendous success the studios clearly wanted. It might not have been a disaster, but its rather lackluster blockbuster returns meant that it wasn’t going to kickstart the next great fantasy franchise.

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower remains one of his most beloved series. It’s had a lot of trouble getting a successful adaptation, however. While the film The Dark Tower  boasted a great cast, including both Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, it never quite found its groove. In addition to a very negative critical reception, it also failed to take off at the box office. Since then, various adaptations have been bruited as possibilities, though none have yet materialized. 

Universal Studios has a long and important history of producing horror movies, but in the 21st century, the studio has struggled to recapture its past glory. The ambitious Universal Monsters, for example, stumbled from the beginning thanks to the disappointments that were Dracula Untold and The Mummy. Since then, the franchise has continued to struggle to gain traction, with films like The Wolf Man never really becoming a pop culture phenomenon, despite decent reviews. It remains to be seen whether the franchise will ever really reach its full potential. 

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials must have seemed like the ideal choice for a franchise in the mid-2000s, given the success of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. However, The Golden Compass, while lavishly produced, failed to take off, and the intended franchise fizzled. Eventually, however, Pullman’s beloved fantasy trilogy would find its worthy adaptation, though in this case it would emerge on TV, thanks to a collaboration between HBO and the BBC, and the series’ three seasons finally did justice to Pullman’s vision.