History FranchiseKiller / Film

* After ''Film/HomeAlone3'' flopped at the box office, FOX didn't release another ''Film/HomeAlone'' movie in theaters again, two subsequent movies were Direct-to-TV releases, and a third (called ''Home Sweet Home Alone'') made after Disney's buyout of Fox was released on Creator/DisneyPlus.

* There was originally going to be a third film in ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' movie series. However, due to ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'''s financial failure (it's the only animated Disney movie released during UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation for the studio to ''ever'' suffer this fate), combined with the death of actress Eva Gabor (Miss Bianca) in 1995, the idea for a third ''Rescuers'' movie was scrapped.

* There was originally going to be a third film in ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' movie series. However, due to ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'''s financial failure (it's the only animated Disney movie released during UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation for the studio to ''ever'' suffer this fate), combined with the death of actress Eva Gabor (Miss Bianca), the idea for a third ''Rescuers'' movie was scrapped.

* The critical and financial meltdown of the LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' convinced Creator/{{Nintendo}} that the film business wasn't fruitful for them, and refused to grant the film rights to any of their franchises for the next few decades[[note]]outside of the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokemon]]'' movies, but only because those are directly based off the anime, which itself is based off the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} video game franchise]][[/note]]. They made exceptions for some of their games and characters appearing in movies as cameos: Bowser and a Super Mushroom appear in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', and Mario, Donkey Kong, and the dog from ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' respectively appear in ''Film/{{Pixels}}''. It would not be until 25 years later before both [[Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu an American movie based on a Nintendo game was made]] and the announcement that Creator/{{Universal}}'s Creator/IlluminationEntertainment acquired the ''Super Mario'' movie rights and are doing [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie an animated movie]] that completely disregards the 1993 film, set to be released in 2023.

* To a lesser extent, ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' killed Disney's traditional animation department and made them move into CGI starting with ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle''. An attempt to move back into traditional animation in the late 2000s/early 2010s with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' and ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh'' was unsuccessful as the two films were written off by the company as financial disappointments, and led to ten members of the staff in the traditional animation department being handed their walking papers.[[note]]''The Princess and the Frog'' actually did very well, earning $267 million at the box office. However, it was nowhere near the smash success of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' the next year (which earned $591 million), leading Disney to change ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' from a traditionally animated film to a CGI film. That being said, ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' did bomb at the box office (earning under budget), but it might have been a result of [[ScrewedByTheNetwork its simultaneous release alongside]] [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows the final film in the]] ''Harry Potter'' series, its small target demographic consisting of mostly young children, and [[InvisibleAdvertising a virtually nonexistent advertising campaign]].[[/note]] Years later, Disney would ultimately bring back 2D animation in the 2D segments of ''Film/{{Disenchanted}}''.

* To a lesser extent, ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' killed Disney's traditional animation department and made them move into CGI starting with ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle''. An attempt to move back into traditional animation in the late 2000s/early 2010s with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' and ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh'' was unsuccessful as the two films were written off by the company as financial disappointments, and led to ten members of the staff in the traditional animation department being handed their walking papers.[[note]]''The Princess and the Frog'' actually did very well, earning $267 million at the box office. However, it was nowhere near the smash success of ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' the next year (which earned $591 million), leading Disney to change ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' from a traditionally animated film to a CGI film. That being said, ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' did bomb at the box office (earning under budget), but it might have been a result of [[ScrewedByTheNetwork its simultaneous release alongside]] [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows the final film in the]] ''Harry Potter'' series, its small target demographic consisting of mostly young children, and [[InvisibleAdvertising a virtually nonexistent advertising campaign]].[[/note]]

* A [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action]] ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' film was released in 2002 (notably the last project that [[Creator/HannaBarbera William Hanna]] ever worked on before his death the previous year). Despite negative reviews, it was a success at the box office and seemed destined to spawn a franchise. Then came 2004's ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'', which received even worse reviews, won a UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward for Worst Remake or Sequel, and under-performed the first film. As a result, Creator/WarnerBrothers cancelled plans for ''Scooby-Doo 3'' and ended the theatrical live-action films; although they did produce two tangentially-related, [[Film/ScoobyDooTheMysteryBegins prequel]] [[Film/ScoobyDooCurseOfTheLakeMonster films]] at the end of the decade, plus one [[Film/DaphneAndVelma spinoff]]. Eventually, Warner Animation Group opted to do an animated ContinuityReboot in ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}'', which was released in 2020, but even that was destined to fail as it was released during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and was criticized for replacing nearly all of the series' regular voice cast except for Creator/FrankWelker as Scooby himself (despite Frank being replaced as Fred in favor of Creator/ZacEfron).[[note]]The film's theatrical release mainly happened overseas, with video on demand and Creator/HBOMax mainly handling the film in America, and the majority of its profits were earned through this to make it a financial success anyway. While technically being a crossover with other ''Hanna-Barbera'' properties, mainly featuring Blue Falcon and Dynomutt from ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder'', Captain Caveman and Dee Dee Skyes from ''WesternAnimation/CaptainCavemanAndTheTeenAngels'', and Dick Dastardly and Muttley from ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' in starring roles, the film had a better score on Rotten Tomatoes (48% versus the 30% and 22% of the previous two films) compared to the prior theatrically released ''Scooby-Doo'' films, plus being beloved by fans as a love letter to ''Hanna-Barbera''.[[/note]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' franchise originally went missing in action for two decades, following ''Film/Predator2'', which was considered a significant box office and critical disappointment compared to the original. The belated revival, ''Film/{{Predators}}'' was decently reviewed and a commercial success, which naturally got a sequel put in development...only for ''that'' film to kick around for nearly a decade in DevelopmentHell and end up being ''Film/ThePredator'', which underperformed at the domestic box office and sparked polarizing critical reactions across the board over its undecided tone and muddled focus. Two additional sequels were planned, only for them to be canned and the series being put on the shelf again after an eight-year hiatus. Not helping matters was that the film was released at the time Disney was preparing to take over Fox, with its film slate cut drastically as a result. Tellingly, [[Film/{{Predator}} the first film]]'s screenwriters Jim and John Thomas would soon exercise their copyright grant termination rights to the intellectual property, meaning that Disney would lose the rights to the series by 2021 and freeze all activity with the franchise unless a deal could be worked out. Eventually, the now renamed Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios managed to put a fifth film, ''Prey'', into production, meaning the franchise still has some life left.

* The ''Film/{{VHS}}'' franchise of [[FoundFootageFilms found-footage]] horror {{anthology film}}s ended in 2014 when the third film, ''Film/VHSViral'', was roasted by critics and fans alike for a nonsensical [[LiteralMetaphor "viral video"]] wraparound that [[ArtifactTitle abandoned the theme of the past two films]] (people discover old VHS tapes containing horrifying scenes), and the actual anthology segments not being much better. After three years of annual installments, it took seven years for the next film, ''[[Film/VHS94 V/H/S/94]]'', to get made, and that film was a full reboot of the franchise. That said, the "Amateur Night" segment from the first film was later adapted by its creators into the standalone, feature-length ''Film/{{Siren|2016}}'', which was fairly well-received.

** And the film that broke that hiatus, ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers'', killed off its branch of the storyline for good by way of its TroubledProduction, ExecutiveMeddling, and poor reception by critics and fans. The next film, ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'', created an AlternateContinuity that [[CanonDiscontinuity accepted only the first two films as canon]] in order to undo the damage caused by the last two films and brought back Creator/JamieLeeCurtis to reprise her role as Laurie. The film made money and was sort-of well-received by fans and critics as it offered a satisfactory conclusion to Laurie's story. However, execs wanted to bring back Michael and the ending was {{retcon}}ned in the next film.

* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''. Hoo boy. This [[LongRunners long-running series]] has experienced this up to ''five times'' depending on how you count it. Given that there have been eleven ''Halloween'' films, this means that nearly half the films in the franchise can be said to have made the creators rethink whether or not to make another sequel.

* The 2006 [[Film/SilentHill film adaptation]] of the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games was surprisingly well-received (at least [[CriticalDissonance by fans and moviegoers]]), especially by [[VideoGameMoviesSuck the standards of video game adaptations]], and made some money at the box office. As such, in 2012 they released a sequel, ''Film/SilentHillRevelation3D''. Since AdaptationDecay had been a common complaint from series fans about the first film, this one attempted to be [[TruerToTheText more faithful to the source material]], but in doing so, it [[SeriesContinuityError mangled its predecessor's lore and storyline]] in a manner that infuriated fans of both the games and the movie. The rest wasn't much better, the budget having been cut by more than half compared to the original and most of the film being a parade of {{jump scare}}s. While it was a modest box-office hit (albeit mostly [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff overseas]]), its scathing reception from both critics and fans ensured that no new ''Silent Hill'' movies would be made, despite ''Revelation'' ending on multiple clear {{Sequel Hook}}s. Until a decade later, when alongside a slew of new games, Konami announced a new movie entitled ''Return to Silent Hill'', which is set to adapt ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.

* The 2006 [[Film/SilentHill film adaptation]] of the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games was surprisingly well-received (at least [[CriticalDissonance by fans and moviegoers]]), especially by [[VideoGameMoviesSuck the standards of video game adaptations]], and made some money at the box office. As such, in 2012 they released a sequel, ''Film/SilentHillRevelation3D''. Since AdaptationDecay had been a common complaint from series fans about the first film, this one attempted to be [[TruerToTheText more faithful to the source material]], but in doing so, it [[SeriesContinuityError mangled its predecessor's lore and storyline]] in a manner that infuriated fans of both the games and the movie. The rest wasn't much better, the budget having been cut by more than half compared to the original and most of the film being a parade of {{jump scare}}s. While it was a modest box-office hit (albeit mostly [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff overseas]]), its scathing reception from both critics and fans ensured that no new ''Silent Hill'' movies would be made, despite ''Revelation'' ending on multiple clear {{Sequel Hook}}s.

* The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series was on unsteady ground in the late '80s. It had already taken a hit when the seventh installment, 1988's ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood The New Blood]]'', got heavily {{Bowdlerise}}d by the MPAA to avoid an X rating, producing one of the most bloodless ''Friday'' films yet. While it marks the beginning of fan-favorite Creator/KaneHodder's turn as Jason Voorhees, it's also viewed as the beginning of the series' DorkAge. A double-header of bad films that followed it proved to be the breaking point.

** Since ''Jason Goes to Hell'', there have been periodic attempts at reviving the ''Friday'' series, but none that managed to get the franchise going again in a serious way. The film that broke the drought, the [[SoBadItsGood guilty]] [[RecycledInSpace pleasure]] ''Film/JasonX'' in 2002, was made only to restore fans' interest in the series before the release of the long-awaited ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', which finally came out the following year after over a decade in DevelopmentHell. However, while it was the biggest hit in both the ''Friday'' and ''Nightmare'' franchises and, [[BrokenBase by and large]], won the approval of fans of both series, plans for a sequel were restricted to the realm of [[ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh comic books]]. A [[Film/FridayThe13th2009 remake came out in 2009]], and while it was a hit, it wasn't a big enough one to convince New Line not to sell the rights to the series back to Paramount. The two tried once more to reboot the series in 2017, but financial turmoil at Paramount and low box office numbers for ''Film/{{Rings}}'' led to the reboot getting canceled and Paramount's rights expiring for good. Since then, an ongoing lawsuit between Cunningham and the first film's writer Victor Miller over the rights to the franchise has not only put the brakes on any new movies, it's also forced the developers of ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' to cancel all new content they had planned (effectively killing the multiplayer-focused game) after [[ScrewedByTheLawyers receiving a cease-and-desist letter]].

* The failure of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp'' killed off any chance of a sequel, and also prevented the making of movies based on other Disney Afternoon series such as ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' and ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' franchise, following a growth of success on television (thanks to reruns on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/{{Cartoon Network}}, and a series of successful television spinoffs), was able to hit it big with 1996's ''Film/SpaceJam'', which despite mixed reviews was a major commercial success. However, plans to capitalize on it with a sequel [[TroubledProduction went into turnaround]], and the resulting film in 2003's ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' --[[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel despite being considered to be a modest improvement]] over ''Space Jam'' by reviewers-- flopped at the box office, thanks to strong competition and Warner Bros. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork not bothering much with advertising for the film]]. The resulting failure, aside from [[CreatorKiller tanking the Warner Bros. Feature Animation division for good]], crippled the franchise across the board. A new batch of ''Looney Tunes'' shorts being made for theaters were trashed in mid-production, as were ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts that were pre-conceived at the same time [[note]]though judging the quality from the few ''Looney Tunes'' shorts that ''were'' released, most would say scrapping them was a good thing[[/note]], and classic ''Looney Tunes'' shorts were pulled from television reruns on Cartoon Network in October 2004 and later Creator/{{Boomerang}} in May 2007. Coupled with some short-lived television shows which took on new directions [[AudienceAlienatingEra with mixed results]]; the franchise as a whole nearly faded into obscurity for the rest of the 2000s decade. The 2010s eventually saw the ''Looney Tunes'' regain some ground with the original shorts finally placed back in regular rotation (temporarily on Cartoon Network, permanently for Boomerang), a handful of new theatrical CGI shorts, and some television series that gradually [[RevisitingTheRoots returned the franchise to form]]; although the mainstream heights the characters had it the TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium is still yet to be rekindled. However, with Warner Bros. [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/space-jam-sequel-finds-director-834978 eventually greenlighting into production]] a proper ''Space Jam'' sequel --''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy''-- which released in 2021 to decent financial success (albeit a much more mixed critical reception); all may not be lost for the so-called ''Tune Squad''.

* The critical and financial meltdown of the LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' convinced Creator/{{Nintendo}} that the film business wasn't fruitful for them, and refused to grant the film rights to any of their franchises for the next few decades[[note]]outside of the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokemon]]'' movies, but only because those are directly based off the anime, which itself is based off the [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} video game franchise]][[/note]]. They made exceptions for some of their games and characters appearing in movies as cameos: Bowser and a Super Mushroom appear in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', and Mario, Donkey Kong, and the dog from ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' respectively appear in ''Film/{{Pixels}}''. It would be until 25 years before both [[Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu an American movie based on a Nintendo game was made]] and the announcement that Creator/{{Universal}}'s Creator/IlluminationEntertainment acquired the ''Super Mario'' movie rights and were doing an animated movie that completely disregarded the 1993 film, rumored for a 2022 release.

* The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' franchise, following a growth of success on television (thanks to reruns on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/{{Cartoon Network}}, and a series of successful television spinoffs), was able to hit it big with 1996's ''Film/SpaceJam'', which despite mixed reviews was a major commercial success. However, plans to capitalize on it with a sequel [[TroubledProduction went into turnaround]], and the resulting film in 2003's ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' --[[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel despite being considered to be a modest improvement]] over ''Space Jam'' by reviewers-- flopped at the box office, thanks to strong competition and Warner Bros. [[ScrewedByTheNetwork not bothering much with advertising for the film]]. The resulting failure, aside from [[CreatorKiller tanking the Warner Bros. Feature Animation division for good]], crippled the franchise across the board. A new batch of ''Looney Tunes'' shorts being made for theaters were trashed in mid-production, as were ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts that were pre-conceived at the same time [[note]]though judging the quality from the few ''Looney Tunes'' shorts that ''were'' released, most would say scrapping them was a good thing[[/note]], and classic ''Looney Tunes'' shorts were pulled from television reruns on Cartoon Network in October 2004 and later Creator/{{Boomerang}} in May 2007. Coupled with some short-lived television shows [[WereStillRelevantDammit which took on new directions]] [[DorkAge with mixed results]]; the franchise as a whole nearly faded into obscurity for the rest of the 2000s decade. The 2010s eventually saw the ''Looney Tunes'' regain some ground with the original shorts finally placed back in regular rotation (temporarily on Cartoon Network, permanently for Boomerang), a handful of new theatrical CGI shorts, and some television series that gradually [[RevisitingTheRoots returned the franchise to form]]; although the mainstream heights the characters had it the TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium is still yet to be rekindled. However, with Warner Bros. [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/space-jam-sequel-finds-director-834978 eventually greenlighting into production]] a proper ''Space Jam'' sequel --''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy''-- which released in 2021 to decent financial success (albeit a much more mixed critical reception); all may not be lost for the so-called ''Tune Squad''.

* The final film in the Showa Era of the ''Film/{{Gamera}}'' series, ''Film/GameraSuperMonster'' is widely considered one of the worst of the franchise, having some truly terrible acting and special effects, nearly half of it being StockFootage from previous movies (including almost all the scenes of Gamera), and an unlikeable main character. It was made when Daiei was still recovering from bankruptcy, and they attempted to make a Gamera film as cheaply as possible to bring in a little more money, but it unsurprisingly disappointed at the box office and killed the franchise for nearly fifteen years (the writers were even so disappointed by the film's quality during production that they deliberately killed Gamera at the end). The revival trilogy that came after was much more successful and considered some of the best kaiju films ever made.

* The critical and financial failure of the infamous ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' (the one where the [[TheVoiceless famously silent]] cat-and-mouse duo [[SuddenlySpeaking talk and sing]]) prevented the making of another theatrical ''Tom and Jerry'' film for decades, with all films in the series since then being Direct-to-DVD. Eventually Warner Bros. considered developing a live-action/CG theatrical film for the characters during the 2000s, [[DevelopmentHell but no such film would enter production until the end of the 2010s]], with [[Film/TomAndJerry2021 the resulting film]] eventually coming out in 2021 to negative critical reception (although fans look upon it much more positively as an improvement over ''Tom and Jerry: The Movie''). However, the mildly successful ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryKids'' and reruns of the original shorts gaining high ratings on Creator/CartoonNetwork [[AvertedTrope prevented]] this from happening to the franchise as a whole.

** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' in 2016 would become this for the rebooted Kelvin timeline that started in 2009. Although the film was well-received by fans and critics, it bombed compared to the huge budget, and Paramount's attempt to reduce costs made stars Creator/ChrisPine and Creator/ChrisHemsworth drop out since they were unwilling to settle for reduced salaries. It seemed only an unrelated movie with Creator/QuentinTarantino of all people directing was in the works... until in November 2019, the fourth film [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-trek-fargo-creator-noah-hawley-direct-next-film-1256352 resumed development]] with Creator/NoahHawley taking over as director and writer, meaning that the Kelvin timeline is far from over - only [[DevelopmentHell struggling to get into production]] (a fate which Tarantino's film also got).

* ''{{Film/Solo}}'' was the second "Star Wars Story" film in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series, which was evidently meant to be a long run of anthology movies in the ''Star Wars'' universe, but ''Solo'''s poor performance prematurely put an end to the prospect of future anthology films. ''Films'' being the operative word, as ''Star Wars'' anthologies simply shifted into the medium of television with big-budget Disney+ shows, including the planned Obi-Wan Kenobi film being realized as the series ''Series/ObiWanKenobi''.

* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' franchise had been struggling with [[{{Sequelitis}} declining critical favor]] for some time, but the death knell for the franchise eventually came with ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales''. The film, which was released six years after ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides On Stranger Tides]]'' and suffered from a [[TroubledProduction tumultuous production cycle]] due to Creator/JohnnyDepp[='=]s continued domestic violence troubles, became the lowest-scoring film in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes, and only barely surpassed the worldwide total for ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl The Curse of the Black Pearl]]'' while under-performing against all the other movies. Indeed, the film's box office performance is what caused Disney to scrap plans for another sequel and go for a full ContinuityReboot, although a spinoff starring Creator/MargotRobbie has managed to beat the reboot out of the production gate. Disney had publicly decided to part ways with Depp but any lingering hope for his return in some capacity was more than likely killed when he lost a high-profile domestic violence defamation case in the UK in November 2020 since he was fired from two other projects after the ruling.

** ''Film/LicenceToKill'', the 16th official movie (and the second and last one to star Creator/TimothyDalton) seemed to do this for a while. With inflation in account, it's the lowest-grossing film in the franchise. The film was one of the most polarizing Bond movies due to its decidedly DarkerAndEdgier, ''Series/MiamiVice''-influenced plot, and coming out during a busy summer season with subpar marketing didn't help its chances. ''LTK'' felt like an EndOfAnAge (dating back to the Creator/SeanConnery era) as it was the last Bond movie to have any involvement from director John Glen, screenwriter Richard Maibaum, title designer Maurice Binder, cinematographer Alec Mills, and producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli (plus the last Bond movie to take place during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar). There wouldn't be a new Bond movie [[DevelopmentHell released for six years]] (the longest such delay in franchise history) mostly due to litigation from 1990-1993 between the co-owners on the sale of television licensing rights, not to mention a fraudulent acquisition of MGM. In the meantime, Dalton's contract expired, Creator/PierceBrosnan was hired, and [[Film/GoldenEye the 17th movie]] started being SavedFromDevelopmentHell.

** While ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' by no means flopped (it was the highest-grossing Bond film at the time), it was deemed ridiculous by many and received at best mixed reviews. More importantly, however, was that with this film and the preceding ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', the box-office grosses simply did not match the increasing production budgets and marketing costs, and made very little profit for franchise co-owners Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer and Broccoli/Wilson's Danjaq. For MGM, their co-ownership in the James Bond franchise is their single-most important IP asset, and for a studio with an otherwise weak output, Bond must provide large profits for the studio to survive. Soon after, Brosnan was dismissed and the franchise went into hibernation before rebooting with a [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 back-to-basics movie]] starring Creator/DanielCraig as Bond. WordOfGod mentions that the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks also played a part because the writers felt they couldn't justify the franchise's campiness after such a traumatic event. [[http://io9.com/the-james-bond-movies-had-to-go-darker-because-mike-my-1667143453 According to]] Creator/DanielCraig, the ''Film/AustinPowers'' films were responsible for the ''Film/JamesBond'' series' DarkerAndEdgier reboot in the '00s. That series ruthlessly lampooned the more outrageous tropes of the Bond movies and made them impossible to take seriously anymore, while also becoming pop-culture sensations that arguably overshadowed the Creator/PierceBrosnan-era Bond films from that same time period. This also led to the success of ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' in the '00s, whose edgier, more realistic concepts and action were the benchmark for the Daniel Craig movies. (at least until ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' made the producers decide to [[{{Reconstruction}} bring back many of the series' traditional elements]])

* ''{{Film/Solo}}'' was the second "Star Wars Story" film in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series, which was evidently meant to be a long run of anthology movies in the ''Star Wars'' universe, but ''Solo'''s poor performance prematurely put an end to the prospect of future anthology films. ''Films'' being the operative word, as ''Star Wars'' anthologies simply shifted into the medium of television with big-budget Disney+ shows, including the planned Obi-Wan Kenobi film being realized as the series ''{{Series/ObiWanKenobi}}''.

!!Examples

* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': ''Film/SawVI'' was by no means a flop overall, and was widely considered by critics and fans of the series to be [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel a much better film]] than the previous two movies released before it. However, it was by far the lowest-grossing film in the series, especially at the domestic box office, where its intake of just $27.7 million was barely half that of the first and fifth films (the previous lowest-grossing entries in the series). When combined with the failure of similar films at the box office in the late 2000s and the blockbuster success of ''Film/ParanormalActivity'', the film that ''Saw VI'' [[DuelingWorks competed with]] that October (and which couldn't have been [[NothingIsScarier more different]] in terms of tone), Creator/{{Lionsgate}} saw the writing on the wall and pulled the plug after the next installment. While ''Film/Saw3D'' was a hit [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff internationally]] (with its box office intake outside North America setting a series record), it wasn't enough to save the franchise, not with its domestic box office performance being the second-worst in the series behind only ''Saw VI''. Whereas new ''Saw'' movies had come out annually before ''Saw 3D'', to the point where ads for later films credibly marketed it as a Halloween tradition, it would be [[SequelGap seven years after that]] before the franchise got a [[Film/{{Jigsaw}} new installment]], and it took another four years to get [[Film/Spiral2021 yet another film]].

* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'': ''Film/SawVI'' was by no means a flop and was widely considered by critics and fans of the series to be [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel a much better film]] than the previous two movies released before it. However, it was by far the lowest-grossing film in the series, especially at the domestic box office, where its intake of just $27.7 million was barely half that of the first and fifth films (the previous lowest-grossing entries in the series). When combined with the failure of similar films at the box office in the late 2000s and the blockbuster success of ''Film/ParanormalActivity'', the film that ''Saw VI'' [[DuelingWorks competed with]] that October (and which couldn't have been [[NothingIsScarier more different]] in terms of tone), Creator/{{Lionsgate}} saw the writing on the wall and pulled the plug after the next installment. While ''Film/Saw3D'' was a hit [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff internationally]] (with its box office intake outside North America setting a series record), it wasn't enough to save the franchise, not with its domestic box office performance being the second-worst in the series behind only ''Saw VI''. Whereas new ''Saw'' movies had come out annually before ''Saw 3D'', to the point where ads for later films credibly marketed it as a Halloween tradition, it would be [[SequelGap seven years after that]] before the franchise got a [[Film/{{Jigsaw}} new installment]], and it took another four years to get [[Film/Spiral2021 yet another film]].

* Given its low budget, ''Film/SawVI'' in 2009 was by no means a flop and was widely considered by critics and fans of the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series to be [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel a much better film]] than the previous two movies released before it. However, it was by far the lowest-grossing film in the series, especially at the domestic box office, where its intake of just $27.7 million was barely half that of the first and fifth films (the previous lowest-grossing entries in the series). When combined with the failure of other TorturePorn films at the box office in the late '00s and the blockbuster success of ''Film/ParanormalActivity'', the film that ''Saw VI'' [[DuelingWorks competed with]] that October (and which couldn't have been [[NothingIsScarier more different]] in terms of tone), Creator/{{Lionsgate}} saw the writing on the wall and pulled the plug after the next installment. While ''Film/Saw3D: The Final Chapter'' was a hit [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff internationally]] (its box-office intake outside North America setting a series record), it wasn't enough to save the franchise, not with its domestic box-office performance being the second-worst in the series behind only the aforementioned sixth film. Whereas new ''Saw'' movies had come out annually before ''Saw 3D'', to the point where ads for later films credibly marketed it as a Halloween tradition, it would be another seven years after that before the franchise got a [[Film/{{Jigsaw}} new installment]].