The Top 10 Most Disappointing Film Franchises Ever

When you see Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in your free time, or possibly by way of a 5-way DVD collection, you may consider it to be one of the most appealing among unfinished movie franchises. It hits in many ways, such as VFX and even storylines. That's something unique for any Godzilla or King Kong film. Yet, it also offers some disappointment if you were expecting the last movie to remain as gruesome as a Gojira should be. Spoiler: It's so not.

(If you want that, Godzilla Minus One is the most righteous way to go there!)

This is one of the things Warner Brothers has not screwed up, and it shows. In 2014, when the world was given yet another gander at the great Kaiju, there was an obvious glow among the fans. Gareth Edwards created a true Titan–one of scale, fright, and awe-striking power.

The King was back, and with him, came the MonsterVerse. A decade later, we get these two fabled frienemies working up the nerve to crush two new gruesome monsters–Skar King and Shimo. Then, there’s a rumor that says there are scenes in Godzilla x Kong showing this film franchise is far from over.

Don’t you just hate unfinished movie franchises? (Yes, DC Comics of past versions, we're looking at you.)

You invest in the characters, appreciate the theme, and prepare to hold on for the ride, wherever it may lead. Also, you invest money into seeing each movie, and then… nada! The movies stop and the character vanishes like a gust of wind. It’s the worst.

We feel you.

These are the Top 10 (or bottom 10, depending on your perspective) most disappointing film franchises ever.

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HM. God's Not Dead (2014-2024)

In 2014, God's Not Dead came to theaters and floored a few markets because of how popular it became. The movie championed strenous discussions about God's existence. The tropes were there. So were the stereotypes. Yet, there was something refreshing about the film. Starring Dean Cain of CW's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The church crowd loved it and made a few trips to see it.

The sequel came a couple of years later to much less fanfare. That should have been prophetic for this one among film franchises, but directors were determined to make another splash for evangelism. While a divine message was curated with films three, four, and five, not many dollars reciprocated. Decades ago, professionals would have called the quality of these campy films "straight to DVD."

Considering the last two We the People and In God We Trust could have been labeled as political propaganda instead of true cinematic moments, it makes anyone familiar with them why the franchise didn't give up the ghost already.

10. Inheritance (2006)

Remember Eragon?

You may not have noticed (largely the idea for this list) but this is (now) a pentalogy that was never given its due on the big screen because of otherworld fatigue. There’s only so much fantasy moviegoers can take in one decade. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth invaded movie theaters worldwide, and George R.R. Martin took over streaming with Game of Thrones so Eragon never stood a chance.

To make things worse, the book series is called “The Inheritance…Games.” Remind you of another successful fantasy book and film series? C'mon people. Crack open a thesaurus.

9. Millennium (2009-2011)

Casual fans know this book series and one-time movie trilogy as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The “Millennium” novel series was a collection of seven books by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. (Well, at least the first three.) If only the movie franchise was as cohesive.

Back in 2009, a trilogy was released but never went beyond that. If you missed it and enjoy the books, go find them. It’s worth some time to escape into this spy genre. Never mind the reboot from 2011 (seen above). That wasn’t worth anyone’s time. Given its lackluster gate at the box office, the book series may not be given any more time at all.

8. His Dark Materials (2007)

The Golden Compass was to be the next great fantasy group of films. Instead, it was among the many unfinished movie franchises that got one movie, promised many more, and bupkis. Furthermore, there was a personal agenda from author Phillip Pullman, who seems to set up this screenplay against a tyrannical syllogism of his idea of Christianity.

When the 2008 recession hit, the remainder of the trilogy was put on hold and eventually shelved. By definition, The Golden Compass was a box-office success, but it still sucked out loud. Given the economy, there was no confidence in making money moving forward.

If the title made you think about something you have saved in MAX, it's the same thing. Of course, the HBO series His Dark Materials is a moderate success in its third season. There's also some marketing savvy disconnecting this series from the Nicole Kidman flop bonanza. It was just that bad.

7. The Mortal Instruments (2013)

Much like The Golden Compass, this is a book series that never fulfilled its on-screen potential. In fact, it was only given one chance to succeed. Although the six books garnered much love among young adults, the movie tripped over its shoelaces and fell into a sewage ditch.

Although the YA novels were not created from a Christian perspective, author Cassandra Clare is definitely not bashful about including religious themes of faith, mythology, and ideology connected to biblical truth. This appealed to a conversative Christian base, but some of the scenes fell hollow and that word spread like a fart in church.

The movie of City of Bones was awful, but the books were rewarded with huge fanfare and critical acclaim. The first–and last–film became the broken promise of unfinished movie franchises. Fortunately, for fans of the books, Shadowhunters was a moderately successful TV series that ran for three seasons. Granted, it aired on Freeform, so there’s that.

6. Divergent (2014-2016)

We got a trilogy and were promised much more than simple film franchises. The young adult book series caught fire when it was published. Fans clamored for movies immediately. Then, when Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars, The Secret Life of the American Teenager) was announced as the lead, the trek to the box office was set.

Divergent did the dystopian series good at the box office. Then came Insurgent, which fell woefully short of expectations. And, Allegiant was the worst of the three since it was only part of one book. It was supposed to be one of those cash-grab “Part One of Two” movies (a la The Hunger Games) but that never happened. The fourth film was denied. That became a TV series, which was also shut down.

In the end, no one seemed to care following the opening credits of Insurgent, the third of the failed troika. It's a sad note because author Veronica Roth is a Christian who purposely avoided creating Christian fiction, believing she would have reached more audiences. True, but why not use religious themes? Eh, maybe she knew the story was "divergent" too. (#SorryNotSorry)

5. The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008, 2024)

This is one of the most acclaimed children’s tales in history, so naturally, the movies were going to crush it at the box office, right? Not so much.

Against a $90 million budget, the movie almost lapped its profits at $162.8 million. Yet, this is a massive hole among unfinished movie franchises because of its underwhelming debut. Also, Mark Waters and his production team tried to cram all five books into one movie. It’s like he was drug smuggling and only wanted to cross the border once.

For the fans who refuse to turn their back on the beloved novel, Roku resurrected the young adult novel, and put some serious money to market its coming out to the streaming world party, starring Christian Slater. Naturally, the streamer claimed it was their most-watched series ever. Then again, it may have been its only, so there's that.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010)

Yes, this is an entertainment blog written by folks proud to follow God. Yes, it's almost ecumenical form to read books by C.S. Lewis. However, nerds everywhere wanted this one among all film franchises in fantasy to work. Sadly, it didn't and no one can really be certain why.

We have a no-brainer classic among young adult literature. Then, we have that author (also, besties with another fantasy auteur named J.R.R. Tolkien). To sum the positive mojo, Walt Disney put their word behind it. This will not fail. Only, it did.

Seven books, one vision, and zero chance this fantastic series will get a chance of a restart. When The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe hit screens, the majestic saga seemed to be the “next” Lord of the Rings. It made $745 million and delivered. Then came Prince Caspian. Although it made $419 million and was the 10th highest-grossing film of 2008, it wasn’t a fan-favorite. In fact, it was forgotten.

By the time The Voyage of the Dawn Treader showed up, fans checked out and began following the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney still owns it so it could come back, but that is some Peter Jackson-type storytelling to give it the love it deserves. Good luck with all that.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012-2014)

Ladies and gentlemen, start your mentions. This is the one among nerd film franchises that polarizes a room faster than "Hey, are you a Star Trek or Wars fan?" Let's get this out of the way: Andrew Garfield was done dirty by Sony Pictures, as was many of the Marvel properties they touched.

He was a first-rate Spider-Man, but then he was faced with Jamie Foxx’s Electro and that deplorable sequel. Suddenly, the idea for a trilogy was throttled because this Tom Holland came around. No hate against Holland, who was the MCU blessing from God to knit together the hamhanded Sony Spider-Verse and the behemoth Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But, dang.

If you don’t believe he was good in that role, go watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. Who was first through the Doctor Strange portal? Before the sequel was made, a third and fourth film in the franchise was announced. They began flirting with the “Sinister Six.” That isn’t to mention the pummeling the Venom trilogy gave nerds of all web varieties.

2. Percy Jackson & The Olympians (2010-2013, 2023)

Unlike the mythology of Hollywood that never says never to a remake, Rick Riordan's Greek romanticized idea of children from Mount Olympus was considered to be dead, thrust into Hades for good.

The tweenager six-book series was supposed to capture the world like Harry Potter. Only, there was no magic to be found in this movie. It was a ham-handed CGI washout that had fans groaning within 30 minutes. Turns out Rick Riordan had zero creative control for input about his characters. In 2013, Sea of Monsters arrived, and it was clear people stuck a trident in this franchise and called it a day.

Fortunately, Disney+ has rekindled the mythological mystery series. Maybe the residents of Mount Olympus will shine brightly on this magical idea. So far, so good.

1. DCEU (2013-2023)

Ah, c'mon people. You knew this was the lighter fluid for this dumpster fire. From the way it was mismanaged by bureaucratic nimrods who knew only that DC Comics had two letters in the alphabet, to how Zack Snyder was sent a bill of goods as Warner Bros hacked his vision into some Edward Scissorhands concoction...

Absolutely, the DCEU is the worst stain on the idea of film franchises in history. All that promise. All those characters. All that richness in storylines. And none of the delivery. Like the Amazon Prime went on strike. The only brought to the legion of fans was heartache, spasmic colons, and social media typhoons that lasted a decade.

(Stop us when you feel this is too hyperbolic. We'll wait...)

The number of foibles created by Warner Bros. in delivering this superhero waste could fill a storage facility. There was zero strategy for world-building or character development. It was rushed like Batfleck’s origin story. And then, there’s the entire Justice League debacle. DC fans have been getting the worst of it countless times. They deserved better. They wanted more. And they got The Flash (and whatever Aquaman sequel that was) to end it all.

It was a terrible time. James Gunn and Peter Safran are on a journey–one we can only hope gives us an inkling of what Kevin Feige was able to achieve over at Marvel Studios. And by the way the new Superman is looking, a "legacy" could be something we all hope for.

Hope. Ah, yes. Remember that?