When people think of cinematic universes, the first thing that comes to mind is the big blockbuster franchises like the MCU and Monsterverse that have created links to their popular movies. But the Marvel was not the first to think of this concept, and some other shared universes had smaller beginnings.
These movies may have been popular or had their popularity grow over time, but they were not the big-budget projects that are usually seen as kick-starting franchises. But much to everyone’s surprise, these movies eventually spawned successful and long-running universes of their own.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Upon release, The Big Lebowski was initially dismissed as a lesser Coen Brothers movie. It is now seen not only as one of their best, but also one of the funniest movies ever made. And even though it’s had such a huge following since then, some may still be surprised to learn there has been a Big Lebowski spinoff.
In The Jesus Rolls, John Turturro reprised his scene-stealing role from the original movie as Jesus Quintana. The movie did not receive nearly as much love as its predecessor, but it marked the first time a Coen Brothers movie had received a spinoff.
The Mummy
The Tom Cruise version of The Mummy tried and failed to kickstart the Dark Universe franchise, but the Brendan Fraser version before it was much more successful. Though its reputation was damaged by disappointing sequels, many still regard it as a sincerely fun action-adventure.
The franchise was also responsible for kickstarting Dwayne Johnson’s movie career, as he made his debut in The Mummy Returns as The Scorpion King, which then spun off into its own franchise.
Friday The 13th
Looking back at the first Friday the 13th movie today makes it feel like such a low-budget beginning to one of the longest-running horror franchises of all time. The movie even predated the hockey mask version of Jason Vorhees that became so iconic.
The movie helped to further popularize the slasher genre, but it also ended up connecting to another popular horror series. After hinting at each other’s existence in previous movies, Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger faced off in Freddy vs Jason.
Godzilla
The modern take on Godzilla led to the big blockbuster shared universe of the Monsterverse. While the original Godzilla movie was a much smaller movie, it also managed to build a long-standing cinematic universe centered around giant monsters fighting.
The Toho cinematic universe featured Godzilla as the main event, but also ended up having movies focused on the likes of Mothra and Rodan before they ended up battling Godzilla in match-up movies.
The Conjuring
The Conjuring began as a captivating horror movie supposedly based on a true story. That interesting concept led to a terrifying movie while also establishing an expanded story of equally terrifying stories.
Along with two direct sequels to The Conjuring, there have also been spinoff franchises for Annabelle, The Nun, and others, with no sign of the series slowing down any time soon.
Dracula
Dracula has always been one of the most famous figures in the horror movie genre and perhaps the most famous version of the character is in the classic Universal movie. Of course, that would not be the only horror icon who would come out of that universe.
The Universal monster movies later grew to include Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The Invisible Man among many others. These monsters would not only face off with each other, but they would also meet up with comedians Abbot and Costello.
Anaconda
There are few people who would consider Anaconda to be a true classic, but it is enjoyed by fans as a wonderfully cheesy B-movie. It was successful enough that it spawned three increasingly low-budget sequels before combining with another creature feature franchise.
Though Lake Placid was originally a more grounded movie, its sequels became as schlocky as Anaconda. Because both franchises were based around giant killer reptiles, there was soon a crossover created called Lake Placid vs Anaconda.
Unbreakable
Following the success of The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was seen as a bit of a disappointment. However, in the years that followed, it gradually became seen as perhaps the filmmaker’s best movie.
Fans had been hoping for a sequel for years without any news. However, much to everyone’s surprise, Shyamalan’s hit movie Split ended up being set within the Unbreakable universe which led to the characters from the two movies meeting up in Glass.
Puppet Master
The horror movie genre seems especially suitable for establishing larger universes out of smaller movies. Unremarkable or overlooked movies can go on to spark long-running franchises, and such was the case for the Puppet Master universe.
The original Puppet Master was made as a direct-to-video release from Dark Moon Features and centered on a group of killer puppets brought to life by a curse. The movie gained a passionate enough fan base that it inspired ten sequels, spinoffs focused on some of the standout puppets, and a crossover movie with Demonic Toys which was similarly about possessed toys.
Clerks
Kevin Smith began his filmmaking career with the low-budget indie Clerks. While also establishing Smith’s unique filmmaking style, this very small yet beloved movie also kickstarted what would become known as the “View Askewniverse.”
These movies were mostly linked by the characters Jay and Silent Bob while also featuring a number of actors who Smith would cast again and again, such as Ben Affleck and Jason Lee. After seemingly retiring the universe following Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Smith seems to have revived it to grow even further.
