Movies Franchises That Released Way Too Many Sequels

Movie studios milk their cinematic cash cows to death, pumping out sequel after sequel even for films where a follow-up isn’t truly warranted. In turn, these otherwise great series sometimes go out not with a bang, but with a whimper.

In many cases these films are dragged out through decades, usually in the name of nostalgia, as studios attempt to capitalize on a movie’s lasting title familiarity, pop culture impact and fan enthusiasm. Take the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, for instance.

Loosely based on their classic Disneyland theme park ride of the same name, Disney struck pirate gold with 2003’s The Curse of the Black Pearl. Thanks to its all-star cast’s fantastic chemistry, wonderful visual effects, memorable music and exciting, swashbuckling story, Gore Verbinski’s film was a huge hit and received the trilogy treatment.

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While the series probably should have received a respectful burial at sea after 2007’s At World’s End tied up the story, four years later Disney sent On Stranger Tides to theaters, and while the film made more money than a buried treasure chest, fans and critics were lukewarm. Six years after that, Dead Men Tell No Tales received an even worse response.

But Pirates is hardly the only hit movie or franchise to overstay its welcome with way too many sequels, spinoffs and in-universe reboots. The Indiana Jones series and Toy Story would have been better left alone as trilogies, while films such as Shrek, Die Hard and The Fast and the Furious have also been stretched painfully thin over the years, proving that just because you can make a sequel, doesn’t mean you should.