Today, we are going to look at how the reception for the highest-performing IP-led titles stack up against original films. We will also analyse the potential response from Hollywood studios and what audiences should look out for.

Franchise Upset

For the purposes of this analysis, I looked at the 50 highest-grossing films of 2025 according to Box Office Mojo. Of the American-produced projects, 27 of them were sequels, spinoffs, reboots or remakes of branded projects. A further 6 were adaptations of books or games. Plus, F1 traded on the brand name for attention.

Across all these franchise and adapted projects, only 11 have a rating of 7 stars or higher on IMDb (meaning more raters view it more positively than average). 

Although these ratings are not an objective measure of quality (these ratings are vulnerable to abuse) and other review sites like Rotten Tomatoes provide differing perspectives on many of these films, the volume of the ratings from across a vast range of projects from IMDb provides a good broad look into general audience attitudes towards these films. These ratings show that these films are seen as fine but nothing special. Of course, not every film needs to be a 10/10 artful statement about the human condition. That said, when there is such a large amount of franchise releases, with so much money behind them, and only a few of them can muster higher than 7/10, it does not necessarily bode well for future engagement.

There were also some noticeable dips in the takings of established franchises. For example, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Wicked: For Good, and all of Marvel’s 2025 offerings took significantly less than prior series entries. Showing that brand names are not always infallible.

Smaller Names Doing Well  

By comparison, in the top 50, there are 5 original US films. 3 produced by a major studio (Sinners, Elio and Weapons) and 2 distributed by A24 (Materialists and Marty Supreme). Three of them being rated above 7 stars. Overall, original films had a much more consistent success rate with audiences. 

Plus, of the 5, only Elio underperformed at the box office, showcasing that original films can still bring audiences in without franchise names being needed to give them a boost.

Hollywood Morals

With movies like Sinners, Weapons and Marty Supreme dominating conversations over the past year and proving original films can still be successful financially as well as with both critics and audiences, what will Hollywood learn from the experience? Considering that a lot of coverage around two of these films has been about the possibility of sequels and spinoffs, it seems that Hollywood is still intent on turning everything into a franchise. 

Of course, Hollywood currently relies on franchises to make the money it needs to function, and it has often turned original IP into quick franchises, particularly if they’re genre films (horror, comedy, sci-fi action, etc.). Although seldom has it seemed this desperate and all-consuming.

Studios also like to react to successes by trying to capture lightning in a bottle again. Making projects that crib the style and ideas from others and reuse them constantly. Creating projects that could very well be original but are so familiar, they may as well be unofficial remakes or sequels. Just look at how Netflix “original movies” are designed to be similar to others to drive engagement.

Support Originality

Unfortunately, we can never tell what studios will decide after an original film has succeeded, and with so many films vying for our attention, it can sometimes be hard to separate the originals from the fakes. But you can still do things to minimise franchise fatigue and burnout from Hollywood’s unoriginality.

Firstly, look up a film’s director. If the director has a good track record of producing original or distinctive work, then you can at least feel somewhat safe that they will give you a whole movie before turning it into a cash cow. Second, listen to word of mouth. Look at what other people and critics are saying about something to help you know the kind of story you are dealing with. And thirdly, don’t be afraid to be more discerning with your time and money. Just because a film has a franchise name attached or is a sequel to something you liked doesn’t guarantee a good-quality project. Embrace variety and support true originals and the people who make them at the box office. The only way the studios will notice is if audiences tell them they want more originality.

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So let’s look at six movies from different genres that either tried to start or continue a franchise. And we will look at the various reasons why these films failed to spark enthusiasm for their brands. 

1. Dredd (Comic Book Movie)

Dredd proves that not all failed franchise starters are bad. Following Judge Dredd and rookie Judge Anderson on a mission to bring down the head of a Highrise crime syndicate, the film was a gloriously fun and violent alternative to most comic book movies of the time. Unfortunately, Judge Dredd was too obscure a character for mainstream audiences. Along with this, it had generally poor marketing which meant it didn’t make its budget back. Many critics also derided it for having a similar plot to “The Raid“. Nevertheless, Dredd gained a loyal cult following whose hopes for a franchise will never be dashed. 

2. Halloween 3: Season of The Witch (Horror)

After definitively ending Michael Myers’ story in Halloween 2 the producers decided to make the series into an anthology. With each entry telling a different Halloween-themed story. This time focusing on an evil businessman’s plans to destroy the youth of America using masks that kill the wearers when a certain advert is watched. But this attempted change failed. Audiences were confused by the lack of Michael Myers, critics saw it as generally bad and it made less than either of its predecessors. Because of this lack of success, the anthology franchise was scrapped in favour of reviving Myers. A disappointing end for an amazing idea. 

3. Batman and Robin (Superhero)

The film that killed the Batman film franchise for almost a decade. Despite being a fun romp about the ever-growing Bat-Family working together to beat Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, it was despised by audiences and critics. With reasons ranging from the change of tone from the darker Tim Burton films to the inclusion of aesthetics more potentially appealing to LGBTQIA audiences. This outcry and the overall poor financial reception led to the cancellation of the planned sequel “Batman Unchained“. Ending the then-current Batman series until the Batman Begins reboot 8 years later.

4. The Last Airbender (Fantasy)

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most beloved animated shows ever made. And Nickelodeon Movies certainly hoped its success would translate to film. A three-movie series following the tale of Airbender Aang and his companions was planned. Unfortunately, The Last Airbender underperformed in cinemas, and it displeased everyone. Fans hated the film’s handling of the show’s story. And casual viewers, as well as critics, found the film to be a poorly put-together slog. Snuffing out any hope of the live-action films continuing.

5. John Carter (Sci-fi)

Nothing quite kills a potential franchise like being one of the biggest box office flops of all time. Despite having a middling rather than a hostile reception by audiences and critics John Carter lost over £87 million during its run, which ended any hope for future adaptations of John Carter’s adventures on Mars. According to writer Michael Sellers, the marketing sank the film by not driving home connection to its book source material. Ironically saying the film would have faired better if it was more open about its intentions to start a franchise.

6. Carry On Columbus (Comedy)

The Carry On films were never high art and by today’s standards contain more than a few offensive moments and attitudes. But they always found a way to entertain audiences with their double entendres and funny performances. Until Carry On Columbus. The 31st series entry follows the fictionalised life of the eponymous coloniser. It was released 14 years after Carry On Emmanuel (itself quite poorly received). The film flopped. Additionally, it failed with audiences and was dubbed the “worst British film ever” in a 2004 British film workers’ poll. We have seen no other series entries since. It’s safe to say the series ended because the world had moved on from Carry On’s brand of comedy.

Those are just a few movies that sent their franchises to the grave. Did we miss any big franchise killers? Please let us know.

Also Read: How To Revive A Franchise After Many Years

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