Just because producers have the desire and resources to make a sequel…doesn’t always mean they should. Sequel fatigue is a real thing, with audiences becoming exhausted by endless franchise expansions that often prioritize profits over creative storytelling.
Is Franchise Fatigue Real? What Audiences Are Saying
In a 2025 survey by Hub Entertainment Research, reported by Señal News, 56% of participants said they felt that too many franchise releases felt repetitive.
We’re seeing predictable plotlines, sloppy (or nonexistent) character arcs, and an over-reliance on nostalgia to sell tickets at the box office. But Hollywood doesn’t seem to get the memo, as we’re constantly being served prequels and sequels that nobody asked for.
One of the most recent culprits is Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026), with one critic describing it as “threadbare in narrative thrust with its episodic structure.” And that’s honestly not even the worst offender of the year, as it still got a very respectable 61% on Rotten Tomatoes’ tomatometer.
And hey, we get it. If a film finds an enthusiastic fanbase, it can be tempting to expand the story and run with the hype. However, knowing when to stop is an art that more producers need to master…unless we’re talking about The Godfather Part II, that is…
Now, let’s look at five franchises that should have stopped after the first film.
1. The Matrix: Why One Movie Was Enough
First Released: 1999 (Rotten Tomatoes: 83%)
Other Franchise Installments: The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021). There is also an animated spin-off called The Animatrix (2003).
It’s hard not to fall in love with the originality, plot twists, and tight martial arts scenes of the first The Matrix. Keanu Reeves has also become one of the most-loved celebrities of all time. Even then, we’re tired of seeing him come back again and again for further iterations of his career-defining role as Neo.
Convoluted philosophy, over-the-top CGI, and bloated plot lines are just a few of the common criticisms received by the sequels.
The announcement of The Matrix 5 (made in April 2024, with Drew Goddard writing and directing, and still in development) has not been met with enthusiasm. Some comments on @filmbuzzr’s Instagram post give you a general idea of audience sentiments.
“I love this franchise but please let it rest 😮💨”
“I’ll pass. Gave up half way on the last. Maybe. Just maybe. Think of a new story and not a sequel”
“Beating a dead horse”
2. Scary Movie: One Great Parody, Five Weaker Sequels
First Released: 2000 (Rotten Tomatoes: 52%)
Other Franchise Installments: Scary Movie 2 (2001), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Scary Movie 5 (2013), and Scary Movie 6 (2026)
If Rotten Tomatoes scores serve as an accurate ranking system, the original Scary Movie comes out on top by quite a long shot. With a decent Tomatometer score of 52%, the film is often praised for its quick-witted satire and impeccable comedic timing.
But it was all downhill from there. According to RT, the best-ranked sequel was Scary Movie 3 — with its dismal score of 35%. The latest addition to the franchise, Scary Movie 6, premiered in June 2026 (Rotten Tomatoes: 23%). Was it a worthwhile watch? The reviews are a mixed bag (critics 23%, audience 63%), with some enjoying the ‘stupid funny’ nostalgia and others simply fed up with the disjointed sketches and dated humor.
Perhaps it’s time this one-trick pony goes out to pasture.
3. The Fast and the Furious: From Street Racing Movie to Endless Saga
First Released: 2001 (Rotten Tomatoes: 55%)
Other Franchise Installments: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9: The Fast Saga (2021), and Fast X (2023)
With 10 official installments already released, the 11th and final one (Fast Forever, due March 17, 2028) on the way, a couple of short films, and a theatrical spin-off, The Fast and the Furious has become one of the biggest franchises of all time.
The most recent film, Fast X (2023), underperformed at the box office and was met with a mixed critical response.
Despite the relative popularity of the sequels, many fans believe that this should have stayed a standalone film. The first movie is grounded and tells a self-contained tale of an undercover cop backdropped by authentic street racing.
Even Vin Diesel famously said ‘no’ to the second film, feeling a sequel would be too rushed. This, alongside Paul Walker’s tragic death, led to a disjointed cast across the franchise.
4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Harry Potter Spin-Off That Lost Its Magic
First Released: 2016 (Rotten Tomatoes: 74%)
Other Franchise Installments: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Harry Potter fans were ecstatic at the release of the series borne from the wizarding world of Hogwarts, and the first Fantastic Beasts movie truly delivered. The acting superb? The beasts? Adorable and magical? The love stories? Completely charming.
So what went wrong with the second and third installments? (They landed at 36% and 46% on Rotten Tomatoes.)
Audiences were displeased with the confusing subplots, lack of beasts, and the Harry Potter lore that simply didn’t make sense (hello, Dumbledore’s brother). Besides that, there were off-screen controversies surrounding both J.K. Rowling’s social commentary and Johnny Depp’s legal battles.
J.K. Rowling’s expanded plan was for Fantastic Beasts to be a five-film project, but Warner Bros. put things on hold after box office numbers began to dwindle.
5. Taken: Liam Neeson’s Hit Didn’t Need Two More Sequels
First Released: (2008/2009) (Rotten Tomatoes: 60%)
Other Franchise Installments: Taken 2 (2012), Taken 3 (2014/2015), and a NBC TV series that acts as a modern-day prequel.
The first Taken movie had us on the edge of our seats, waiting to see what Liam Neeson would do when he got his hands on the bad guys. With a very 60% Tomatometer score, producers should’ve simply taken the win and called it a day.
But no, they had to bring back the characters a second and third time, just with worse production quality and watered down storylines (Taken 3 sits at 13% on Rotten Tomatoes). The first film felt raw and real, like something that could happen. The second two…not so much.
Side Note: You may have noticed the many fake trailers for Taken 4 doing the rounds on social media. These have been created using generative AI, and there is no confirmation of a fourth film.
Final Verdict: Sometimes One Movie Is Enough
Yes, you can have too much of a good thing. Producers take note: Sometimes it’s better to leave audiences wanting more than to ruin their favorite universe by over-explaining the lore in never-ending sequels that simply do not do the original film justice.
While there are plenty of great franchise expansion examples out there (Hunger Games, we’re looking at you), not every five-star film deserves a follow-up.
Where to watch: Scary Movie (2000) and the new Scary Movie (2026) are both streaming on Paramount+, and the Taken trilogy began streaming free with ads on Tubi in February 2026. The Matrix, The Fast and the Furious, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them can be rented or bought on Fandango at Home and other digital stores.
