Moviesequels are tough to execute, and though there are a handful of franchises that are perfect, there are also many others that failed to deliver on quality follow-ups. As long as Hollywood has existed, so too has the idea of the film sequel. When a movie does well at the box office, producers are usually clamoring to cash in.
Therein usually lies the problem with sequels, and many follow-ups are more about making money than they are about telling compelling stories. Some film franchises have expansive worlds that can’t fit within the narrative of a single movie, but others are stretched thinly across a copious number of bad sequels.
Genre also plays a part in the frequency of sequels, with horror, action, and fantasy spawning their fair share. Rarely does a sequel manage to meet the quality of the original, and that becomes even truer with each new film in an ever-expanding franchise. Even if one or two sequels work, they are usually drowned by several more bad ones.
Bad sequels can be especially disappointingwhen the original film was a classic, and there’s nothing worse than an excellent idea being squandered by a terrible follow-up. Whether they’re cynical cash grabs or just creatively bankrupt, a bad sequel can do a lot to spoil the reputation of a great film.
Hellraiser
Noted horror author Clive Barker successfully adapted his novella,The Hellbound Heart, in 1987, buttheHellraiserfranchisewent off the rails almost immediately after. Though the first sequel,Hellbound, was a serviceable exploration of the rich lore of the Cenobites, none of the follow-ups came close to being as scary or original as the debut film.
The biggest problem was that theHellraiserseries quickly devolved into straight-to-video fare, meaning the budgets were slashed considerably. Also,the complex and sadistic Cenobites were turned into generic horror movie villains, and none of the sequels seemed interested in Barker’s rich themes. When Pinhead went online inHellworld, the series had officially jumped the shark.
Ghostbusters
ThoughGhostbustersis one of the most beloved films of the 1980s,it has never fared well as a franchise. Cartoons and comic books have expanded the lore, but the supernatural exterminators have faltered every time they tried to return to the big screen.Ghostbusters 2nearly got it right, but it lacked the strong character-driven humor of the original.
1984
95%
1989
55%
2016
74%
2021
63%
2024
42%
A 2016 reboot failed to launch, anda duo of legacy sequels felt like cynical nostalgia bait, and not someone’s actual creative vision. 2021’sAfterlifewas far too disjointed to ever make a great film, and the 2024 sequel tried something new but couldn’t stick the landing. No sequel will ever be able to recreate the original’s charm.
Robocop
Robocopis both an excellent action film, and a witty dissection of many of the tropes found in the genre. The bitingly satirical action comedy featured rich layers of commentary, and that’s something that none of the rest of theRobocopfranchise could duplicate.Robocop 2was the least offensive, but it was a far cry from the 1987 classic.
It all began to fall apart when the movies took Robocop seriously, and started treating him like the very action heroes that he was originally spoofing.
It all began to fall apart when the movies took Robocop seriously, and started treating him like the very action heroes that he was originally spoofing.Robocop 3dropped to a PG-13 rating, completely stripping the series of its ultraviolent humor. The 2014 remake fared no better, and woefully misunderstood what madeRobocopso good in the first place.
Jaws
1975’sJawsis one of the mostimportant summer blockbustersof all time, and ithelped to make director Steven Spielberg a household name. Unfortunately, that meant that a string of increasingly unnecessary sequels would follow. 1978’sJaws 2was a down-to-earth sequel with a few highlights, but that’s where the fun stopped.
Jaws 3-Dwas a cheesy disaster that stretched the limits of suspended disbelief to its breaking point, while 1987’sThe Revengemercifully ended the franchise on a sour note. Simplicity and effective scares helped makeJawsso successful, butthe sequels never bothered to invest in storytelling. Also, they quickly became repetitive, with the shark attack sequences losing their luster.
Tremors
Though it was something of a box office disappointment,Tremorsproved to be a big hit on home video. This inspired a string of direct-to-video sequels that began to drift further and further from the simple-but-effective charm of the first movie. Michael Gross' Burt Gummer slowly transitioned into the leading role, andthe franchise shifted more toward comedy.
The 1990 film had a strong setup and interesting characters, buttheTremorssequels eschew storytelling in favor of copious Graboid action scenes. While this normally wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, the sequels' low budgets mean the action is mediocre and sometimes downright awful. More recent sequels have leaned heavily on CGI, further cheapening the experience.
Tremorsalso inspired a short-lived TV series that ran for one season in 2003.
Halloween
John Carpenter helped to invent the modern slasher movie when he madeHalloweenin 1978, but Michael Myers hasn’t fared well in the decades since.Halloween IIpicked up right after the first, and was intended to close the book on the masked killer, butthe failure ofHalloween IIImeant the anthology approach simply wasn’t going to work.
From the late 1980s through the early 2000s,Myers would return in a handful of movies that ranged from okay, to absolutely terrible.Halloweenwas so effective because the motivationless crime reflected modern fears, but each sequel tried too hard to explore Myers' backstory. Even the David Gordon Green trilogy from recent years was way off the mark.
Terminator
The originalTerminatorwas a gritty neo-noir with heady sci-fi concepts that thrilled the viewer with tense action and unique visuals.Terminator 2: Judgement Dayarrived and not only matched the quality of its predecessor, but exceeded it in many ways. However,after nailing one great sequel, the rest of theTerminatorfranchise was downhill.
Terminator 3got too bogged down in trying to replicate the magic of the first two movies, while the remaining sequels found themselves tangled in the franchise’s complex timeline. Each new reset to the continuity only made things worse, andmovies likeGenysisandDark Fatewere so focused on time travel paradoxes that they forgot to tell interesting stories.
The Matrix
The Matrixis one of those movies that was perfect for its time, and the rise of technology in the late ’90s was very inspirational for cinema at the turn of the new millennium. Unfortunately,the engaging cyberpunk ideas in the first movie were very quickly stretched thin across two sequelsthat released in rapid succession.
ThoughThe Matrix Reloadedhad a lot of the same action as its predecessor, it was already showing wear-and-tear on its themes. By expanding the world ofThe Matrix,the movies ultimately risked explaining too much, and that’s exactly what happened inRevolutions. No ending could have been truly satisfying, but the threequel squandered a lot of opportunities.
By the time 2021’sResurrectionsrolled around, the inward meta narrative just wasn’t very interesting, andThe Matrixhad started to feel like a late 1990s time capsule and not cutting-edge cinema.
The Karate Kid
Some movies are begging for sequels, butThe Karate Kidwasn’t one.It never seemed necessary to return to the world ofThe Karate Kid, but Hollywood couldn’t resist the chance to make a quick buck.The Karate Kid Part IIstarted the trend of simply copying the best elements from the first movie, and the threequel followed suit.
The Karate Kid Part IIstarted the trend of simply copying the best elements from the first movie, and the threequel followed suit.
Even when the franchise attempted to restart, it never had the same spark as the first film.The Karate Kidis the quintessential teen drama story, and it has all the hallmarks of a great sports narrative too. Unfortunately, that means thatsequels are bound to feel like echoes, and even 2025’sKarate Kid: Legendsis just another rehash.
Jurassic Park
Decades after he reinvented the blockbuster withJaws, Steven Spielberg did it again with 1993’sJurassic Park. Distilling Michael Crichton’s novel into a more appealing cinematic package, the film blended all the best aspects of the art of filmmaking into one easily-consumed package. Sadly,that magic would be lost when the franchise returned in sequels.
The Lost Worldcame closest to matchingJurassic Park, but the third movie was far too strange and cynical. When theJurassic Worldfranchise began, it too took things in a new direction thatdivorced it from the charm of the 1993 film.
Jurassic World: Rebirthintentionally leaned toward the grittiness of Crichton’s novel, but was often silly and trite.MovieslikeJurassic Parkare exceedingly rare, and even its sequels couldn’t live up to the excellence of the original.
