As a lifelong movie fan, I’ve seen a huge shift in what we get at the cinema. It feels like everything these days is part of a franchise! For years, the big screen has given us amazing, unforgettable stories – the ones that really stick with you and become part of our culture. And naturally, when a film does really well, studios want to keep that world alive with sequels. But now, it’s gone beyond just a few sequels – we’re talking about massive franchises that go on and on, offering these huge, complex stories that really need multiple films to tell them properly.
Creating movies costs a lot of money, so if a film doesn’t do well, a sequel is unlikely. This can kill or seriously damage even seemingly invincible movie franchises. Often, a franchise’s downfall can be traced to one specific failure, and certain scenes highlight how quickly things can go wrong for even the biggest movie series.
10) “Somehow… Palpatine Returned.” – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Star Wars is famous for being a series you can watch again and again, but many fans felt the ninth movie, concluding the Skywalker Saga, didn’t live up to expectations. Following criticism of the previous film, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker ultimately disappointed and seemed to solidify the mixed reception of the sequel trilogy.
Early in the film, it became clear that the evil Emperor Palpatine wasn’t truly defeated in Return of the Jedi. This was already a hard idea to accept, but the movie explained it with the famously awkward line, “somehow… Palpatine returned.” That moment lost many fans’ interest in the sequel trilogy and the overall Skywalker Saga. As a result, the Star Wars franchise shifted its focus away from the sequel characters and back to its original stories.
9) “My Name Is Trevor.” – Iron Man 3 (2013)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has generally become more successful over time, but a major twist in Iron Man 3 nearly ruined everything. The movie centers around Iron Man’s pursuit of the terrorist known as the Mandarin. When he finally confronts him, he discovers the Mandarin is actually just an actor playing a role.
Ben Kingsley’s performance of that single line became a widely used jab at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for a time, it felt like the criticism could ruin the whole franchise. It arguably did change things, as Marvel has since avoided delivering such a shocking plot twist in such an over-the-top manner. Now seen as a famously bad – but funny – movie twist, the moment forced Marvel to be more cautious with its source material, leading to a new approach that respects its comic book origins.
8) The Rhino’s Return – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The story of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is sadly ironic. While initially disliked by many fans, it’s now viewed more positively. However, the negative response to the film ultimately led to Andrew Garfield losing the role of Spider-Man, paving the way for the character’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016. It’s easy to identify the moment the Amazing Spider-Man series ended: it’s the final scene of the second movie, which features a particularly controversial portrayal of a Spider-Man villain.
Early in the film, Spider-Man defeats Aleksei Sytsevich, a criminal known as the Rhino in the comics. This was a nice Easter egg for fans, and it seemed like that would be the end of his story. However, the movie brought Aleksei back in the final scene, piloting a mechanical suit that resembled a rhino. While it hinted at a potential sequel or a cool action sequence that never happened, many viewers didn’t appreciate the callback. Ultimately, the negative response to the movie and its ending effectively ended the franchise.
7) The CGI Baby – Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I (2011)
The first Twilight movie quickly became a global phenomenon, and the sequels kept that momentum going, sparking a vampire craze in Hollywood. Though the series wasn’t universally loved, there was a specific point that alienated even many of its fans.
The first part of Breaking Dawn showed the birth of Bella and Edward’s daughter, Renesmee. While fans were willing to overlook the unusual name, many struggled with the unnatural CGI used to create the baby. This took away from the emotional impact of the scene and is often seen as a low point for the Twilight movies, as it disappointed many longtime fans and contributed to the series’ decline.
6) Kevin’s Dance Scene –Ghostbusters (2016)
As a critic, I remember the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot being controversial even before it hit theaters, and unfortunately, the final product didn’t really win many people over. It just didn’t capture the magic of the original films. The biggest issue, I think, was that it completely started over with a new team, and audiences just didn’t connect with these new characters. The hope was to launch a fresh franchise, but it stumbled right out of the gate.
Looking back, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when things went wrong with the movie, but there’s one scene that really sticks out as a bad sign. They actually filmed this crazy sequence with Chris Hemsworth’s possessed character leading a flash mob of police officers! But it was so weird, they ended up burying it in the end credits. Apparently, it was one of the most expensive scenes they shot, and when you combine that with the fact that the movie just wasn’t very good, it pretty much killed any chance of them making sequels. It’s a shame, but that scene feels like where the whole reboot idea really fell apart.
5) The Flash Falls On Wonder Woman – Justice League (2017)
I always loved what Zack Snyder was building with the DC movies – people even called it the ‘Snyderverse’! It really felt like his vision was starting to come together in Justice League. It’s such a shame he had to leave, and even more frustrating that Joss Whedon came in and completely changed the film. Honestly, you can feel the difference in almost every scene. That moment where the Flash just runs straight into Wonder Woman’s chest? It’s a perfect example of how jarring those two directors’ styles were together – it just didn’t feel right!
While the DCEU had a few bright spots after that, the Justice League movie really marked the beginning of its decline. It was the first time the films significantly strayed from Zack Snyder’s original vision, heading in a direction that felt forced and wasn’t humorous. This shift signaled the end of Snyder’s plans for the franchise and, ultimately, foreshadowed the DCEU’s eventual cancellation years later.
4) Peter Parker’s Jazz Club Dance – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
For a while there, Sam Raimi defined what superhero movies could be with his Spider-Man films. But then came Spider-Man 3 in 2007, and things really took a turn. While the movie had a few problems, there’s one scene that just sticks out as… well, a misstep. I’m talking about the jazz club sequence, where a Peter Parker under the symbiote’s influence breaks into this incredibly awkward, bizarre dance. It just didn’t work, and honestly, it kind of derailed the whole film for me.
The scene was so awkward and poorly done that it just didn’t work. It was heavily criticized and effectively killed any plans for a fourth Spider-Man movie directed by Raimi, bringing his series to an end. This ultimately paved the way for the Amazing Spider-Man reboot, which also didn’t succeed. Even now, people still talk about how bad it was, and it’s considered the low point of Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.
3) Mutt Swinging Through the Jungle – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The Indiana Jones movies are a rare example of a franchise that quickly went from being beloved to poorly received. While the first three films were huge hits and are still considered classics, the fourth movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was heavily criticized for its direction and continuation of the story.
A specific scene with Shia LaBeouf’s character swinging through the jungle with monkeys is widely considered the low point of the film. While some of the movie’s visual effects and even parts of the plot haven’t aged too badly, that scene perfectly captures everything that went wrong with it. It was so poorly received that it nearly ended the Indiana Jones franchise, creating serious questions about its future and leading the next film to largely ignore its storyline.
2) Nick Gets Intimate With Ahmanet – The Mummy (2017)
Universal’s attempt to create a shared universe with classic monsters, known as the Dark Universe, has been troubled. The 2017 film The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, was meant to launch the franchise, but it received largely negative reviews. While the movie had several weak moments, many believe the scene depicting a romantic connection between Cruise’s character and the Mummy effectively ended the project before it could gain traction.
Despite Universal’s history of successful monster movies, a scene where Tom Cruise was propositioned by a creature that should have been frightening was a major turn-off for viewers. The awkwardness was compounded by the other characters simply watching, making it arguably the low point of an already weak film. This moment effectively ended any chance of the franchise being successfully rebooted.
1) The Bat Credit Card – Batman & Robin (1997)
Joel Schumacher’s Batman films often receive criticism, and sometimes it feels a bit strong. Still, it’s hard to argue that they significantly damaged the Batman franchise that Tim Burton began in 1989. Batman & Robin effectively ended Batman’s movie appearances for nearly ten years. While the film has many weak points, the most infamous moment is arguably Batman showing off his Bat-branded credit card to the audience.
The appearance of a Batman-branded credit card during a scene where Batman and Robin are bidding on Poison Ivy’s company feels both inappropriate and confusing. It’s unclear what the scene was trying to achieve, and it marks a point where the movie completely lost sight of what makes Batman, Batman. While it might have been best for the franchise to end after Batman & Robin, that credit card remains the single worst moment in an already flawed film.
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2026-02-14 23:18