Sequels can either be great or bad and even if a film is a box office smash, this does not guarantee that the sequel will follow suit. Here are 18 sequels that totally bombed.
Predator 2
The first Predator movie holds iconic status in the World of film, and it seems like people will never get tired of hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger shout, “Get to the chopper!” Unfortunately, Predator 2 failed to achieve the same astronomical success as the O.G. movie.
Transformers: The Last Knight
This movie reportedly lost Paramount $100 million, which is not a small number. The Last Knight was the fifth installment of Michael Bay’s Transformers movie series, and the films slowly seemed to degrade in value and audience appeal with every new release. This movie only managed a score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
The Indiana Jones movie franchise is deemed one of the most successful in cinematic history. All four movies were super successful, at least until the most recent installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which was filmed in 2023. Compared to its predecessors, it surprisingly flopped.
The Matrix Resurrections
Going by the explosive success of the other Matrix movies and considering that Keanu Reeves was also in this film, it’s hard to believe how badly this movie fared. However, the film was dealt a poor hand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the studio had to reschedule its release several times, and it ended up going straight to HBO MAX, which meant its exposure and ratings were much lower than expected.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
Released in 2000, this movie was never going to reach the grand heights of the first film. The Blair Witch Project was the highest-grossing independent movie of all time. But what added to the first film’s appeal was the fact that it was made by semi-amateurs in the woods with just two cameras. With the sequel being officially produced by a studio, it lost some of its magic and audience appeal.
Caddyshack II
The original Caddyshack movie was made in 1980 and ended up being one of the most successful movies of the 80s. It’s still rated 7.2 stars on IMDB. However, even though the sequel starred Chevy Chase and Bill Murray, it wasn’t able to replicate the success of the first film, it received a critical reception, and was panned as a box office disaster.
Sex and the City 2
The Sex and the City franchise is big business, and the first movie was a roaring success straight off the back of the brilliant TV series. Unfortunately, the famous four somehow lost their shine with this film. Critics panned it, and it is still only rated 4.5 stars on IMDB.
Blues Brothers 2000
The first Blues Brothers movie is a cult classic, and it was a box office smash. However, Blues Brothers 2000 didn’t seem to hold any of the same appeal for audiences, and it was met with poor reviews. And IMDB only gives this film 4.9 stars.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Some films are the perfect storm of on-screen chemistry, great acting, brilliant scripting, and amazing casting; Dirty Dancing, the original movie, was one of them. Unfortunately, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was not. Let’s face it: who can beat Patrick Swayze?
Troll 2
We aren’t sure why, but the first Troll movie was quite a hit. Just kidding, we know that there are some Troll fans out there somewhere. While neither of these films was a massive success, Troll 2 is significantly worse than the first movie, with only a 3.0 rating on IMDB.
Staying Alive
The sequel to the notoriously brilliant Saturday Night Fever movie, Staying Alive, rated so poorly in comparison that most people don’t even know that it exists. It follows John Travolta as a much older, serious dance teacher in NYC, but this film was a flop compared to the original.
Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood
Like its predecessor, this movie sequel is about an evil leprechaun who kills people. The first film did quite well, and if you want to see a very young Jennifer Aniston, I suggest that you check it out. But as for this sequel, everything about it is awful, including the storyline, the acting, and the scenes; it’s a no from us.
Piranha 3DD
The Piranha film franchise has seven movies in total, with Piranha 3DD coming in at number six. The first film was made in 1978, and it has the best rating out of all versions of this fish-eating frenzy, but Piranha 3DD is only rated 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s safe to say that it was not a success.
Teen Wolf Too
Teen Wolf Too was a total flop. It was criticized for trying to capitalize on the original movie’s success by regurgitating its cookie-cutter plot. The film also received scathing reviews that claimed it had an aimless plot and charmless characters.
S. Darko
The sequel to the famously successful Donnie Darko; most people don’t even know that this movie exists, which is a testament to how badly it performed. S. Darko picks things up with Donnie Darko’s sister, and well, let’s just say that this film isn’t nearly as good as the O.G. movie.
Dumb and Dumber: When Harry Met Lloyd
This sequel is meant to be the prequel to the first Dumb and Dumber movie, and it documents the back story of the two main characters, Harry and Lloyd. Despite the first film’s record-breaking success, When Harry Met Lloyd flopped tremendously, probably because fans of the original movie were disappointed when they learned that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels had dropped out of the lead roles.
Step Up: Year of the Dance
Released in 2019, this is the sixth installment of the Step Up dance franchise. Unfortunately, it’s also the least successful, only grossing $388,518 at the box office. However, we must recognize that this could partly be due to the fact that it was only released digitally in the US.
Mean Girls 2
We bet you probably didn’t even know there was a sequel to Mean Girls, right? Well, that’s probably because this movie did not do as well as expected and was a bit of a flop. The first film was an epic success and now has cultural and iconic status as an early 2000s masterpiece, but Mean Girls 2 achieved none of these accolades.
