12 Movie Franchises Ended By Box Office Flops

Several big-budget movies, many of them adapted from popular books or comics, were intended to be the first in a franchise. However, when they flopped at the box office, the plans for the franchise were scrapped. Some low-quality movies are still enjoyable, and they often have fans who would gladly watch further installments. Other times, the movie is so poorly done that any sequels would likely be just as bad.

Movies fail for many reasons: the cast does not do the characters justice, the writers throw out what makes the source material good, or general interest in the genre wanes. When a movie bombs, it is not a smart business decision to produce a sequel when it is likely fewer people will go see it. This is especially true for fantasy and sci-fi movies, which are typically very expensive to make and run the risk of massive losses.

12 John Carter (2012)

Disney Scrapped Two Sequels

Disney planned for John Carter to be a franchise, adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars and its sequel novels. However, John Carter lost Disney $200 million dollars, scaring the studio away from any additional movies. It might have been a mistake to hire Andrew Stanton, whose only major projects at the time were Finding Nemo (2003) and WALLE (2008). John Carter also nearly ruined Lynn Collins’ career, according to the star, who played the Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Some plot details for the canceled John Carter 2 and 3 have been revealed since plans were scrapped.

11 Allegiant (2016)

Discussed TV Sequel Was Never Made

By the mid-2010s, audiences were starting to lose interest in the YA dystopia genre, and the Divergent series was struggling to continue after the conclusion of The Hunger Games. After the third movie Allegiant bombed at the box office, the idea of its canceled Ascendant sequel becoming a TV sequel was put forward. However, most of the cast were uninterested in returning, with the lead star Shailene Woodley directly saying, “I’m not going to be on the television show” (via Vanity Fair). The final Divergent movie was officially canceled in 2018.

10 Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)

Concluded The Chronicles Of Narnia Movie Franchise

While the first Narnia movie was very successful, after the negative reception of Prince Caspian (2008), hopes were not high. The budget for Prince Caspian was reportedly $225 million (via The Numbers), while Voyage of the Dawn Treader’s was $155 million (via Box Office Mojo), demonstrating how the Narnia team was afraid the third movie would fail and trying to mitigate any financial loss. Despite its moderate success, Voyage of the Dawn Treader still grossed less than both its predecessors. Another movie, The Silver Chair with Joe Johnston as director, was in development before the rights to the Narnia series were bought by Disney.

9 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

An Overly Ambitious Sequel Killed The Struggling Franchise

Despite having Andrew Garfield as a strong lead, The Amazing Spider-Man movies failed in part because they came right after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which only ended a few years earlier. The first movie was sufficient when it came to story and reception, but its sequel included too many villains and ultimately ended the franchise. Sony finally admitted defeat and put an end to Garfield’s run as the webslinger. The studio had much more success bringing a new Spider-Man to the screen with Disney, skipping over the familiar origin story that Garfield’s series rehashed.

8 The Golden Compass (2007)

Simplified A Complex Story

The Golden Compass movie is a much brighter version of Philip Pullman’s dark series and has a much happier ending than the first book. The novels cover some very complex themes and storylines, while the movie waters them down as much as possible for a fun fantasy adventure. The cliffhanger at the end of the movie suggests that there were sequels in the works, but after the movie failed, any plans were abandoned. The His Dark Materials HBO series is much better, starring Dafne Keen and featuring Lin Manuel-Miranda.

7 City Of Ember (2008)

Ended The Possibility Of The People Of Sparks Series

City of Ember, adapted from the first book in Jeanne DuPrau’s series, grossed only $17 million against a budget of $55 million (via Box Office Mojo). Before the movie’s release, the cast was open to returning for City of Ember 2. The then-budding star Saoirse Ronan told io9 that director Gil Kenan joked, “Get all of your friends to go and see it and then we’ll see [about a sequel].” However, the movie’s financial losses meant that these plans were abandoned.

6 The Mummy (2017)

Ended The Dark Universe Before It Began

Following the cinematic universe trend started by the MCU, Universal had plans for a Dark Universe of movies focusing on classic monsters, including Frankenstein’s monster and his bride, the Invisible Man, and the Wolfman. Its intended first movie was the failed The Mummy reboot starring Tom Cruise. The Invisible Man (2020) starring Elisabeth Moss seemed to revive the idea of the Dark Universe. However, this movie being a part of the Dark Universe is a misconception, with director Leigh Whannell stating that it was “only ever treated as a standalone film” (via CinemaBlend).

5 City of Bones (2013)

Sent The Mortal Instruments To TV

The first movie adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s books made $95 million against a $60 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). City of Bones failed because fans of the Mortal Instruments books were disappointed by changes made to the plot, among other reasons. The movie’s earnings were considered insufficient, and another film was never made. The Mortal Instruments ended up in the hands of TV producers, who rebooted the series as the show Shadowhunters in 2016. It ran for three seasons before being canceled.

4 Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013)

A Failed Sequel To An Unpopular First Movie

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief proved disappointing due to its changes to the characters and the overall plot from Rick Riordan’s books. However, the studio refused to admit defeat. The Lightning Thief had technically been a commercial success, and Fox thought the sequel could be better. The second movie attempted to appease fans by including things that were left out of the first movie. However, Sea of Monsters grossed even less than its predecessor. The series is getting a second chance at life on Disney+.

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3 Eragon (2006)

Poor Production Ended Franchise Plans

Despite being based on a successful book series, Eragon grossed $249 million worldwide but only $75 million domestically against a $100 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). The Eragon movie is generally considered a failure because of changes made to the plot of the books, bad acting, and low production value. The Inheritance Cycle is also in development for TV, so hopefully, its next adaptation will prove higher quality and truer to the books.

2 Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010)

Altering Beloved Source Material Led To Failure

Like Eragon, M. Night Shyamalan’s movie adaptation of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series failed because it made changes to the source material and did not have a strong cast. The Last Airbender movie was much darker than the generally lighthearted show. While rising star Dev Patel appeared as Prince Zuko, the rest of the cast failed to capture the characters’ magic, and the movie was generally criticized for whitewashing the characters. Netflix’s live-action Last Airbender seems to avoid the movie’s biggest mistakes.

1 Fantastic Four (2015)

A Final Failed Attempt

Before the emergence of the MCU, studios were still trying to prove that they could make a successful superhero movies. After the failed Fantastic Four adaptation of the early 2000s, one last attempt was made at a movie focusing on “Marvel’s First Family.” The most recent Fantastic Four movie only made $167 million on a $120 million budget, ruling out any plans for a sequel (via Box Office Mojo). Disney is now rebooting Fantastic Four in the MCU.