->"''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' has proven that the audience will forgive you and let you redo the franchise."
-->-'''Mark Waid''' on the subject of {{Continuity Reboot}}s[[note]]using the nigh-universally loathed [[Film/{{Hulk}} 2003 film]] as a reference point[[/note]]

Ah my, was it '''glorious'''. X was a superhero/science-fiction/romance/vampire/police-procedural... pick any franchise unlike any other. The fans loved it. It caused fangirls to {{squee}} with delight. Even those who weren't fans grudgingly respected its brilliance. There were books, TV shows, movies, video games, comics, lunchboxes, T-shirts, and a thousand fan-fics. It was magnificent.

But then, something went wrong. Author fatigue set in. Or maybe [[AuthorExistenceFailure the author failed to exist]]. Or perhaps [[SmallNameBigEgo their ego overshadowed the work]]. Maybe the [[ExecutiveMeddling executives meddled too much]]. Or maybe the original stars wanted too much money and left. Or the work tried to [[GrowingTheBeard grow the beard]] by trying to be DarkerAndEdgier, and instead [[JumpingTheShark jumped the shark]]. Alternatively, [[HypeBacklash the hype was just too much]].

Whatever the cause, the result was the same. The show's ratings slipped, the movie gave way to cornier sequels, and folks stopped buying the t-shirts. The franchise lost the crowd it worked so hard to win. And it died. So sad.

TheEndOrIsIt

Sometimes, the crowd can be won again! Even though the fanbase has revolted against a franchise and declared it "played out", the creator (or maybe even a new one) can actually make the franchise fresh and new and relevant (and profitable) again.

The creators realize that the franchise simply has to be adjusted for new changes in society. Or they remake it with new actors, who are *gasp* as good as the originals. Maybe they cut out the {{Narm}}tastic parts of the original. Or fix the visual effects. Or maybe the franchise just needed to rest for a little while. Whatever it is, the result is the same. The fangirls are {{squee}}ing again, folks are buying T-shirts again, and the {{Fan Fic}}s are back.

It's magnificent (again).

Compare SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced (when a preview reassures fans by showing the producers are being faithful to the source material), WinTheCrowd. See also CareerResurrection. If a company is trying to invoke this, it's a case of WeDontSuckAnymore.

----
!!Examples (Note: Some of these franchises are multi-media, examples are of the specific work that won back the fans.)

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig Zagged]] with Anime/DigimonTamers. After the controversial ending to Anime/DigimonAdventure02, which many fans considered disappointing, Anime/DigimonTamers was seen by many fans as a brilliantly written and fantastically dark reboot of the Franchise/{{Digimon}} franchise that is considered by many to be one of, if not ''the'' best seasons. However, it also had an ''extremely'' AudienceAlienatingPremise in its total ContinuityReboot, and this was coupled with RealLife problems outside of the writers control. ([[DuelingShows Pokémon being at its peak during this time]], Fox Kids going out of business, etc.) Anime/DigimonTamers would ultimately end up losing as many fans as it wowed.
** On top of that, there was the fact that you can have ''too'' much of a good thing. The teen and adult fans ''loved'' the DarkerAndEdgier story, new AllDeathsFinal rule, moments reminiscent of {{Evangelion}}, and the LovecraftMythos references. Evidently, though, it didn't do so well with the Japanese kids it's targeted at. There's such a thing as too dark (tellingly, the darkest Digimon series was followed by the lightest.)
** Going purely on the result, ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'' seems to have done this the best: first season since Tamers for its successor to air the very next year with no hiatus; first season since 02 to have its successor be a direct sequel. It did something ''majorly'' right.
* Many ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' fans dropped out part-way during the Johto arc and as a consequence not many watched the Hoenn ones. The Sinnoh arc attracted many fans back, with its DarkerAndEdgier plot compared to the previous seasons. It helped that Pokémon was hitting a PopularityPolynomial with the introduction of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''.
** The ''Best Wishes!'' saga purposely invoked this: they rushed the League heavily, making it recognized as one of the worst Leagues. It was rushed to give more time for Episode N, one of the most well-received arcs in a long time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* Due to many comic series being [[LongRunner published over a long period of time]], they fall into this trope.
* At one point ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' and ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' were dwindling properties at MarvelComics despite the fact that they were the company's flagship super-teams and in the case of the "FF", the oldest series. With not particularly stellar talent working on each book, TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks seemed to be making idealistic super-hero teams irrelevant. After the mixed-reception ''Onslaught'' CrossOver, the two teams were thrown into an alternate reality, leading to the reviled HeroesReborn. This ended up being setup for a little StatusQuoIsGod, returning the titles back to their former glory with very popular creative teams.
* Spider-Man hit a massive creative nadir with the anti-climatic conclusion to the four year long Hobgoblin Saga, which was blotched by behind the scenes drama and the decision to kill off Hobgoblin in his civilian identity in an unrelated story, denying fans a final confrontation and sticking a third string villain in the costume to keep the character around. But Marvel managed to pull their asses out of the fire with the decision to FINALLY marry Peter and Mary Jane off, which resurrected interest in the character, along with the introduction of Venom, the hiring of Todd McFarlane as artist for Amazing Spider-man, and Kraven's Last Hunt.
* The concept for the original ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational'' was a "Win Back The Crowd" moment after the disastrous Detroit era of the franchise. Similarly, when JLI became old and stale and fans became tired of it, Grant Morrison was brought back and was allowed to do what many thought was impossible: bring back the Big Seven JLA line-up.
** Of the Detroid League, one of the most revieled aspects of the whole era was the character Vibe, an EthnicScrappy with underused powers and an outfit based on breakdancing. With the New 52 relaunch, Vibe is one of the characters who was brought back in the new continuity and, so far, has already received more respect in a few short months than he ever did originally.
* Grant Morrison's Batman was seen as this too, as an overdose of crossovers, questionable storylines (Hush, War Games and War Crimes) and fans getting sick of the modern "Bat-God" take on the character had soured fans on Batman. Enter Morrison, who rejected the Bat-God formula he created in favor of a run built around the much reviled 1950s era Batman, introduced a fresh new element into the book in the form of Damian Wayne, and giving fans stories such as "The Club of Heroes" and "Batman RIP".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* If there's one thing the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise is known for, it's the ability to rise anew like a phoenix and win back movie-going audiences (multiple times over) after underperforming or dismal films:
** ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' left a lot of folks thinking ''Trek'' was only for the geek crowd and would never be a big franchise (like ''Franchise/StarWars''). ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' proved otherwise.
** After the dismal showing of ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' (which was, at the time, the lowest box-office earning entry of the franchise and a critical disappointment), Paramount Pictures made a point to bring back fan-favorite director Nicholas Meyer (who had helmed ''The Wrath of Khan'') to helm ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry''.
** ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' was the worst-performing Trek film in more than 15 years, a critical and commercial bomb that broke the StarTrekMovieCurse in the worst way possible by being an awful even-numbered Trek film.[[note]]Unless one counts the AffectionateParody ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' as [[SpiritualLicensee an honorary Trek film]].[[/note]] The announcement that the franchise would be rebooted was met with much discontent from long-time fans... until it was announced that JJAbrams would be directing it (along with Michael Giacchino composing), and focused on an alternate-universe plot that would bring back the spirit of the original series. The resulting film was the highest-grossing ''Trek'' film of all time and a hit with both hardcore fans (apart from [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a few holdouts]]) and general audiences.
* For many, the ColdOpen in ''Film/CasinoRoyale'' made James Bond seem cool again.
-->'''Dryden''': How did he die?
-->'''Bond''': Your contact? Not well.
-->'''Dryden''': Made you feel it, did he? You needn't worry. The second is....
-->'''Bond''': ([[KilledMidSentence interrupts him by putting a single silenced round in Dryden's chest, killing him instantly]].)... Yes. Considerably.
** Being a LongRunner, the ''Film/JamesBond'' films regularly have resurgences in fan appreciation. The casting of Pierce Brosnan in ''Film/GoldenEye'' won back James Bond more than 10 years before ''Film/CasinoRoyale''.
** ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' did this for the Craig-Bond after the rather mixed reception to ''Film/QuantumOfSolace''.
* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' divided a lot of fans and caused Creator/StevenSpielberg and GeorgeLucas to take a lot of flak for ruining the Indiana Jones saga. The two of them hit back with ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' which won over everyone, and among some fans is considered better than even ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''.
* Franchise/TheMuppets reached a nadir with ''Film/MuppetsFromSpace'', which failed both critically and financially. After a few years of disliked TV specials, and modestly popular commercials and [[MuppetViralVideos viral videos]], 2011 brought a new big-screen movie, ''Film/TheMuppets'', with a script and sense of humor recalling JimHenson's Muppet movies. Said script also counts as an in-universe example of this trope, as the Muppets try to win back an audience that has grown to favor cynicism in the years since they last performed together. This became one of the most critically-acclaimed movies of the year, and the Muppets' highest-grossing movie ever (not adjusting for inflation).
* After the dismal failure of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' by Creator/ChristopherNolan [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] the film franchise in order to win back Batman fans. All three films have been resounding critical and commercial successes and [[GenreTurningPoint have raised the prestige of comic book movies as gripping drama films]], are generally ranked among the greatest comic adaptations ever and the trilogy as a whole is already being labeled one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time. After ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' came out, it became the highest-grossing comic book movie ever. It also became the first comic book film to ever win an acting AcademyAward with HeathLedger posthumously winning Best Supporting Actor for his highly regarded performance as SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker.
* Not many liked ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''. Even fewer people (that's right) liked ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''. Just about everybody liked ''Film/XMenFirstClass''.
* ''Film/MissionImpossible - Ghost Protocol'' became the best reviewed film of the series, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap even going as far as to do a lot to redeem both the Mission: Impossible film series and Tom Cruise]] in the eyes of the public.
* ''KungFuPanda'': The sequence of Master Oogway's death up till Po's despairing confession to Master Shifu about his deep self-loathing that the old Red Panda feels helpless to counter. In that sequence, DreamworksAnimation showed that it had recovered from its creative nadir that drove away its partner, AardmanAnimations, and learned how to make stories with profound emotional depth with a skill rivaling {{Pixar}}. That in turn made the blistering {{wuxia}} action to follow all the more powerful with that you have grown to care about these characters.
** Two years later, and ''HowToTrainYourDragon'' would help to more or less finish the rise that ''KungFuPanda'' started, proving that even if it couldn't quite beat out [[Pixar]] for the awards, it certainly had finally gotten a strong roll going. HTTYD would become their best reviewed film up to that point, being a massive critical success, and managed to pull one of the best SleeperHit runs in animation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Many ''Literature/WarriorCats'' fans grew tired of the series after ''The New Prophecy'', due to the increased focus on the supernatural elements of the series, the disappearance of the AnyoneCanDie factor of the series, the increasing number of continuity errors, the increased focus on characterization over plot, and a perceived RomanticPlotTumor. Then came ''[[Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans Dawn of the Clans]]'', which is not only a perfect starting point for new readers, but also contained fresh themes, a faster pace, witty dialogue, plenty of death, a whole new crew of likable characters, tighter continuity, a protagonist vastly different from Firestar, and antagonist who wasn't a rehash of Tigerstar, Brokenstar, or Scourge, and a perfect combination of lighthearted scenes and darker scenes. The reception has been almost entirely positive.
* The ''Literature/{{GONE}}'' series dipped a little in the third book, which didn't seem to going in any particular direction, made formerly beloved characters (like Astrid) unlikable and annoying and the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Big Lipped Alligator Character]] that was Nerezza confused and infuriated fans. Many fans lost respect for heroic characters, and a lot of things weren't explained, to the point were a few scenes made little sense and more were monotomous and out of character. The lack of action and mystique that was all part of the appeal was lacking somewhat too. Thankfully, this was just a temporary low, and the next book ''PLAGUE'' heavily won over critics and fans alike, and was even claimed by many to be when the series [[GrowingTheBeard Grew the beard]]. It kept the quality at a steady high with ''FEAR'' and the last book ''LIGHT'' has gripped universal acclaim, and is regarded by many to be the best [[Main/MichaelGrant Michael Grant]] book ever written. Along with his wife, [[Main/MichaelGrant Michael Grant]] has written over 60 books.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The sixth season of ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' was heavily panned, making many, even hardcore fans, think maybe the show ran its course. The seventh season, beginning with ''24:Redemption'' has won back the old fans and even a fair share of new ones along with the highest ratings ever for the series.
** Kiefer Sutherland himself he was at best a B-movie actor before his Golden Globe and Emmy-winning turn as the baddest counter-terrorist agent of all time.
*** Similar to Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert's biggest role was in ''MajorLeague''. After ''24'' he became the star of ''TheUnit''.
* ''LawAndOrder'' wins back its fans at regular intervals. But then, after nearly 20 years on the air, that should be expected.
* Similarly, ''SaturdayNightLive'' has had several periods where everyone hated it, until new talent (most notably Eddie Murphy in the early '80s) brings it back into the public's good graces.
* The 2005 reboot of ''Series/DoctorWho'' was a resounding triumph for the Britain's biggest sci-fi hero following the series' ignominious death back in 1989 and the failed pilot on Fox.
* The first post-SG-1 ''Franchise/StargateVerse'' movie ''Film/TheArkOfTruth'' was considered by some to be blah at best. However, it seems ''everyone'' loved ''Film/StargateContinuum''.
* A number of TV shows may lose viewers (or indeed never really had many in the first place) when initially aired. But in reruns, they become many times more popular. The premier example is the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' series; cancelled after three seasons in 1969 due to low ratings, it became the biggest sci-fi franchise aside from ''StarWars'' after being syndicated around the world.
** ''TheGeorgeLopezShow'' is proving far more popular in reruns on Nickelodeon than it was during its initial run on ABC.
** As good as ''TheTwilightZone'' was during its original run on CBS, it has become an almost universal cult hit in reruns, and is still watched to this day.
** Both ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' and ''Series/TheGame'' benefited from this to the point of being UnCancelled. The first three seasons of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' got so-so ratings at best and constantly switched around in bad time slots, but always got great ratings when aired on Creator/AdultSwim's lineup, which led to the amazing DVD sales that sparked its resurrection. ''The Game'' was treated similarly when it was on the CW, but when reruns started of BET, the fanbase grew exponentially. So once the CW let the show go, BET picked it up and enjoyed the ratings boost.
* ''{{Smallville}}'' marked a resurgence for ''{{Superman}}'' following the years of inactivity after ''LoisAndClark'' went off the air and the last Christopher Reeve movie was released.
** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' was guilty of this as well.
* ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' won back old fans of Power Rangers lost after ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'', as well as new ones
** Many years later, ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' won back fans that had been dissatisfied with the previous succession of mediocre to bad seasons.
* The {{Academy Award}}s ceremony had to do this after the 1989 show opened with a notoriously campy production number "highlighted" by Rob Lowe singing a rewritten duet of "Proud Mary" with Snow White. Things didn't much improve from there, aside from several witty presenters, and the show was pilloried both within and without Hollywood as a disgrace. The following year, one of those witty presenters -- Billy Crystal -- was tapped to host the whole show, and largely thanks to him the result was a much-acclaimed ceremony. Crystal has hosted eight more times since then, most recently in 2012 to win back the crowd after the poorly-received 2011 ceremony that James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosted.
* While ''Film/{{Star Trek IV|The Voyage Home}}'' was winning the box office, ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' almost permanently won back the Trekkie crowd, for good. Its success triggered an almost continuous 20-year run of ''Trek'' series being produced.
* When the ''Series/ICarly'' special ''iStart a Fan War'' was announced, Seddie shippers got excited that after Season 4's lackluster quality, it would give them some Seddie moments and reboot the show's glory. Unfortunately, when it turned out to be an AuthorTract against the shipping concept, shippers were not pleased, and when they took it to DanSchneider's blog, they claimed he crossed the MoralEventHorizon when their comments were being erased and that the show was dead. That is, until his next blog explained his true intention, and that he only meant that to the obsessed shippers. He also promised them something that would make them quite pleased, which left most fans forgiving him. And that something came in the form of iOMG, which was seen as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by many fans.
* Quite a few fans were redrawn to ''KamenRider'' by ''KamenRiderDouble'' following the debacle of ''KamenRiderDecade'', though this likely applies more to the non-Japanese PeripheryDemographic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Though [[UnpleasableFanbase some parts of the fandom disagree]], {{Metallica}}'s ''Death Magnetic'' helped bring back quite a few fans after ''St. Anger'' with a return to their 80s sound.
* Dr. Dre's ''Chronic 2001'', which featured then-rising Aftermath artists like {{Eminem}} and Xzibit, also revived interest in his career after several years out of the limelight.
* ''Music/{{Accept}}''. A lot of people had a lot of doubts with Mark Tornillo, replacement of Udo Dirkschneider. And then, they release ''Blood Of The Nations''. It turns out to be one of the best Metal albums of 2010.
* EltonJohn took a break from touring and recording in 1977, at the height of his fame as the biggest selling solo performer of TheSeventies, and not long after [[StraightGay his coming out as "bisexual"]] [[ContractualPurity lost him fans in Middle America]]. A creative and financial slump followed. He bounced back as an {{MTV}} star on the strength of of his 1983 album ''Too Low For Zero'', a solid, critically and commercially successful effort which reunited Elton with the classic lineup of his "Elton John Band" (Davey Johnstone: guitar; Dee Murray: bass; Nigel Olsson: drums) and saw Bernie Taupin back as full time lyricist. Two tracks from the album, "I'm Still Standing" and "I Guess That's Why The Call It The Blues", were Top 10 hits and had popular music videos.
* Music/CliffRichard's career had been in apparently terminal decline for some years until his 1976 NewSoundAlbum ''I'm Nearly Famous'' repositioned him as more of a rock artist and broke him into the US market.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* The [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] became the undisputed top promotion of the wrestling world in the 1980's, but by the time the '90s rolled around, their top name (Wrestling/HulkHogan) was gone, nobody else was grabbing the audience's interest, and the booking had become ridiculous, predictable, and lame. The WWF found themselves trailing behind {{WCW}}, and staring down the barrel of bankruptcy. Then came the Attitude Era, a DarkerAndEdgier reinvention focused around Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, and the rest is history.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* After the [[InternetBackdraft dedicated server fiasco]] in the PC version of ''ModernWarfare 2'', ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' was advertised to have dedicated servers.
** Its sequel, ''Call of Duty: Black Ops II''. Near future setting, missions with multiple paths, Strike Force missions that can alter the story based on success or failure (and the player can even play these missions like an RTS if they want), and a story written by the writer of ''The Dark Knight Saga'', even those who hated ''Modern Warfare'' 3 for being "too much of the same thing" are becoming optimistic that Black Ops II is truly the change of pace the series needed.
* ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' (released after the infamous titles ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', and ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'') was the first 3D Sonic game since ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' to have received a generally positive reception among critics and fans alike.
** Even before that, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' was made by {{Sega}} in an ambitious effort to keep the SegaDreamcast from meeting the same fate as the SegaSaturn did in the U.S., as well as make Sonic relevant again in the eyes of gamers after he slipped into a DorkAge by the late 90s. It worked.
* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''. The series had fallen back into a DorkAge right after ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Deadly Alliance]]'' had so narrowly pulled it out of one. The 2011 game sees to it that your fond memories of the series aren't exclusive to just the 90s.
* While ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' didn't turn everyone away from the series, it did cause a serious BrokenBase with many worried as to what the next game would bring. Cue ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' which had a much more straightforward plot, a main character who looked and sounded exactly like Snake, solid gameplay that expanded on the ''MetalGearSolid2'''s gameplay, new outdoor jungle environments (which hadn't really been done before in the series since the original 2D games), spectacular boss fights and [[TearJerker an absolutely heartbreaking]] [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped yet incredibly effective ending.]] While debate still goes on as to the overall quality of ''MetalGearSolid2'' in relation to the rest of the series, ''MetalGearSolid3'', along with the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', are considered to be the franchise's crowning achievements.
* After the huge success of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', between hands was a ToughActToFollow, which neither ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' nor ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' managed to surpass (in fact, the former was for the most part overlooked, and the latter fractured significantly the fanbase). Then ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' was released and, while [[BrokenBase not completely]], it managed to put the series back on spot in sales, critical acclaim, awards and nominations.
* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' struggled to win any fans from its conception - a [[FranchiseKiller fanbase already disillusioned]] by ''[[VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar Invisible War]]'' was less than thrilled when they discovered that the third game in the series would include RegeneratingHealth and [[TakeCover cover-based combat]]. However, when a disgruntled ex-employee leaked the press demo, previously unenthusiastic VideoGame/DeusEx fans were pleasantly surprised by what they found - so much so that even the notoriously pessimistic [[ImageBoards /v/]] was genuinely impressed and looked forward to the game's release with far more excitement than before.
* The ''TonyHawksProSkater'' franchise had grappled with {{Sequelitis}} for years, eventually hitting a nadir with ''Tony Hawk's RIDE'' and ''SHRED'', two games built around an atrocious skateboard peripheral. Activision, finally seeing where this was going, released ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD'', a revamped collection of levels from the well-reviewed first and second titles.
* The first ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' was universally hailed and anticipation was high for the second one. However what fans got was a lackluster sequel that was laughably easy and stripped Dante of his rogue charm. Understandably, many were wary come news of the third game, which was developed by the same team behind ''[=DMC2=]''. However, Capcom rectified all the problems of the second game, ratcheting up the difficulty, reverting Dante back to his old self, and even giving him some new toys to play with. Then came the announcement of ''[[UpdatedRerelease Special Edition]]'', which offered an Easy Mode and allowed players to play as [[EvilTwin Vergil]].
* For years, the Ultramarines chapter had been the butt of jokes due to their being a CreatorsPet who interpreted them as LawfulStupid and [[SpotlightStealingSquad overshadowing other armies]]. But with ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', the fans are finally starting to appreciate them again (it doesn't hurt that the game has a few {{Take That}}s towards the by-the-book aspect, and by extension the author who presented them as such). The story also called for exactly what they excel at: being generic action heroes, with no tie-ins to ongoing stories or complex Chapter characterization to confuse players new to the IP.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' was this for the ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' series in general. It was riding high in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' days, and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' did well too. But once Rare left Nintendo, the series was basically orphaned for a few generations, with nothing but spinoff games (which failed to sell) to show for it. But when Retro Studios revived it, Franchise/DonkeyKong was back. ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' was back. The game sold a ton, was well received and ended up introducing a whole new generation to the series.
* The promised Perfectionist difficulty in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell Blacklist'' seems to be this as it is a return to classic stealth play, removing melees from the front and Mark & Execute, features from ''Conviction'' that may have deterred hardcore fans of the earlier games.
* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} 4'', ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} [=ReBirth=]'', and ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising'', three ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' games that came out after four consecutive installments that sat poorly with fans of the series (two lame PlayStation games, one of which is also a SegaSaturn game, and two average PlayStation2 games) which whipped the series back into what it should be.
* The Citadel DLC seems to be doing this for VideoGame/MassEffect3. While there will always be [[UnpleasableFanbase some who will never forgive]], the kudos for Citadel seem about as widespread as the furor was over the original ending.
* Due to declining sales from ''FireEmblem'' titles, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' was originally going to be the final game in the series if the game didn't reach 250,000 sales. Fortunately, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' managed to save the series from cancellation with its strong sales. And a lot of them were from Nintendo's E-Shop downloads!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''TransformersAnimated'' has proved to be an excellent show, especially after the years of [[TransformersArmada spottily-dubbed]] [[TransformersEnergon Japanese-produced for american consumption]] [[Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise (Or not)]] [[TransformersCybertron series]], attracting many old and even new fans.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', following the success of TransformersWarForCybertron (and being in that same universe), has won over basically all fans of the franchise - including man [[UnpleasableFanbase Gee-Wunners]] - and is marked as being the best Transformers show since BeastWars, if not even better. Part of this is the serious tone of the show, the return of the original voice actors for Optimus and Megatron, and the ubiquity of pieces of the Transformers Mythos from [[AllMythsAreTrue every major installation of the Transformers Franchise]].
* The seventh season of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''. [[BigBad Plankton]] is more threatening than he was before the movie, using deadly weapons and slave labor, Mr. Krabs has a nice side, characters who plagued the past three seasons have been dropped, there's a bit more drama, the epic horrors of Whelk Attack and "A Pal For Gary", Sandy may be getting back in the spotlight soon, genuinely good specials, The BlackComedy being handled better, the best SpongeBob game since Battle For Bikini Bottom, the brief StoryArc, SpongeBob getting less stupid, Patrick becoming a lovable oaf again after a brief {{jerkass}} stint , etc.
* It seems that ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is taking this direction, since after the [[SeasonalRot much reviled Season 7]]: Peter's Jerkassery was toned down, Brian is no longer the MarySue AuthorAvatar everybody was sick of, Meg and Chris are getting more screentime, and the Meg bashing is much, much less blatant, [[CharacterRerailment Stewie starts to show glimpses of his old characterization]], the newer chapters have better storylines and less flashbacks and pop culture references (which, by the way, are more recent and easier to get than the obscure 70-80s references that nobody recognized), the BlackComedy is less prominent, etc. There are even a few dramatic and serious moments once in a while.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' experienced a massive boost in popularity in 2007, thanks to the acclaimed smash hit ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' won back the Franchise/MyLittlePony franchise, [[DorkAge after it had been a joke for years]]. Moreover, [[PeripheryDemographic it gave rise to the brony movement, appealing to adults as well as children]].
** In a smaller case, writer Merriwether Williams' four episodes in season 2 were among the most disliked of the show, most notably in how their stories relied on everyone acting like jerks. Her next episode in the following season, "Wonderbolt Academy," was far better received.
* Interest in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' was waning by the time the third season arrived in 1999 and. Luckily, the feature film ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' was critically acclaimed for its risk-taking satire and wonderful score and songs (including the Oscar-nominated "Blame Canada") and it made a decent amount of money, thus giving the show more fans and helping it live on to this day.
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[[folder: Works That Won Back a Given Genre or Type of Work]]
* The "Sword-and-Sandals" type of epic had been dead since at least TheSixties. ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' (incidentally the TropeNamer of "WinTheCrowd") won ''back'' the genre.
* The DisneyAnimatedCanon, which largely floundered after Walt's death in 1966 (the last film he actually worked on was ''Disney/TheJungleBook''), came back in a big way with ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' in 1989. They went on to dominate theatrical animation during the 1990s, until they lost the crowd to [=CGI=] houses such as Creator/DreamWorksAnimation at the turn of the millennium. This seemed to spell the near death of traditional animation. Fans were [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks not pleased]], until ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' brought hand-drawn Disney animation back on the big screen with old-fashioned charm, ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'' successfully merged elements of Disney's classic fairy tales with modern-quality visuals, and ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' sealed the deal by modernizing the genre for the younger, gamer-geek crowd while not skimping on the emotional depth and story that make Disney's classics so great.
* ''MoulinRouge'' and ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' can both be credited with reviving interest in movie musicals after the genre died a slow death over the late 1960s-early 1980s.
* ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' won back westerns... and, cued a massive career resurgence for ClintEastwood that let up only when Eastwood finally entered retirement after the incredibly high note of ''GranTorino''.
** Funny thing about the Western - that genre has been declared dead so many times that there are several movies, including ''Film/{{Stagecoach}}'' (1939) and ''AFistfulOfDollars'' (1964), credited with reviving it.
* The successes of ''Film/{{Blade}}'' and ''Film/XMen1'' managed to breathe new life into the Comic Book and Superhero Genre, after ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' [[GenreKiller killed it.]]
* PiratesOfTheCaribbean helped to revive the long since dead high seas adventure (and pirates to boot) that was killed unceremoniously by CutthroatIsland. Notable in that it wasn't a perfect genre comeback, as although pirate elements have become far more common now, there still aren't too many other high seas pirate-y films ''outside'' of that series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:People Who've Won Back Their Careers]]
* See CareerResurrection
* MarlonBrando was considered a has-been after ''MutinyOnTheBounty'' ruined his career. Then he staged an epic comeback with ''Film/TheGodfather''.
* Mickey Rourke with ''Film/SinCity'' and ''Film/TheWrestler''.
* JohnTravolta with ''Film/PulpFiction''.
* Uma Thurman winning back the crowd would be her work in ''KillBill'', which earned her a Golden Globe nomination and redeemed her in the eyes of many who were still holding ''BatmanAndRobin'' over her head.
* QuentinTarantino seemed destined to never escape the shadow of ''Film/PulpFiction''. But then, he directed ''KillBill''.
* PeterSellers' career, in the early 1970s, had eroded to the point that a few of his movies didn't even make it to theaters. Then he reprised the role of [[ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]] in 1975, was ''immediately'' back on the A-list, and remained there for the last few years of his life.
* SylvesterStallone did it twice, with ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}'' (after two horrible comedies), and ''RockyBalboa'' (after many years of unremarkable films).
* RobertDowneyJr. was a successful brat pack actor from the 1980s and early 1990s whose performances in LessThanZero and Chaplan were critically acclaimed. However, from 1996 to 2001, RDJ suffered from continual episodes of substance abuse, rehab, relapse and was fired from AllyMcBeal for substance abuse-related arrests in spite of his performance's critical acclaim. After a long stint in rehab, he was cast in moderately successful and cult movies, such as Gothika and KissKissBangBang, but would later become a blockbuster star in movies like TropicThunder, IronMan, and SherlockHolmes.
* After the promising debut of ''PointBreak'' and ''Film/NearDark'', it seemed that Kathryn Bigelow was the IT girl; a woman director who was married to IT director JamesCameron. But then, her big-budget, Cameron-produced ''StrangeDays'' tanked. Badly. It was nearly a decade before she directed another big movie: ''TheHurtLocker''.
* While ''Film/TheAbyss'' didn't exactly tank at the box office, it wasn't the success it had been expected to be, and it hadn't been a particularly good experience for JamesCameron (it suffered much ExecutiveMeddling). Cameron's next movie: ''Terminator2JudgementDay''.
** Later, Cameron also helped Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger to have success again with ''Film/TrueLies'', after the misstep that was ''Film/LastActionHero''.
* TomCruise was largely considered to have destroyed his career forever after becoming Hollywood's new front man for Scientology, with his numerous bizarre and off-putting public appearances. Then came his tour de force PlayingAgainstType performance in ''Film/TropicThunder''. ''THEN'' his return to ''Mission Impossible'' with ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'', especially with the advertising that he performed the "scale-a-skyscraper" stunt himself.
* [[FormerChildStar Jackie Earle Haley]] hadn't appeared in a film for 13 years when he made his out-of-nowhere comeback in 2006 with roles in the ''All The King's Men'' remake and ''LittleChildren'', the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination.
** And then there was ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', with great praise for his great work as everybody's favorite antihero Rorschach.
* Howard Mackie, one of the seminal Spider-Man writers back in the 90's, was originally ostracized not only for his participation in the heavily controversial CloneSaga storylines, but also the mishandled Spider-Relaunch which followed it. Mackie was even for a time considered poison for any project and was even called "The Worst Spider-Man Writer Ever" by many. Currently, he's managed a small comeback with the moderately liked "The Ravagers" book over at DC while, for fairly-or-unfairly, the title of "Worst Spider-Man Writer" has been given by some to current Spider-Writer Dan Slott for his controversial run.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Networks]]
* The success of shows like ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' and ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' reignited Creator/CartoonNetwork's popularity [[NetworkDecay after the fiasco with CN Real]], with others such as ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', and quite a few more keeping the crowd appeased.
** Creator/AdultSwim seems to be trying to follow suit after their resurrection of {{Toonami}}.
* Creator/{{CBS}}, long regarded as "the Tiffany network" throughout TheNineties, regained viewers it lost after ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' debuted. Then it managed to secure a handful of critically acclaimed and popular scripted shows that pulled it into the big leagues like ''HowIMetYourMother'' and ''TheBigBangTheory'' (the latter which helped dethrone "Must See TV Thursdays" from NBC). Today it's the dominant TV network in the ratings.
** Similarly, it regained the younger crowd in the 90s after spending much of the 80s being "the network of the living dead".
[[/folder]]

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