When you can't get enough of one particular film and hope to revisit the characters you've fallen in love with in a sequel, be careful what you wish for.
Many sequels seldom live up to their predecessors and fans of the original find themselves disappointed after flocking to theaters to see them.
Franchises are money-making machines, however, and some fans are forgiving of them if they are remotely entertaining.
Unfortunately, not all sequels succeed at this endeavor, and the worst of the bunch was revealed when Redditor poopy_wizard132 asked:
"What is the worst sequel you have ever seen?"
These mega blockbusters smashed at the box office the first time around.
Not so much the second, third, or fourth time around.
Highlander Sequel
"There can be only one..."
– Tiamatium
"The Highlander was a story about a collective of ancient warriors who live forever and are trying to kill each other so that only one can exist. One particularly large powerful warrior is wiping out the remaining immortals in modern times and now he's coming for an immortal who came from the Scottish Highlands and faced him previously in a feudal battle."
"Highlander 2 takes place in the future when the Higherland (Connor MacLoed) has built a dome to protect the world from UV rays after the ozone layer was destroyed... and now all the immortals are aliens... and people who died in the first one are also reborn."
"The movie was so bad that Highlander 3 considered Highlander 2 to not be canon and just became a direct sequel to Highlander 1. To avoid confusion future sequels no longer had a number."
– garlicroastedpotato
Independence Day 2
"What a god awful excuse for a movie. Ridiculous plot, terrible acting, even worse script and an alien moon-sized ship that 'lands' on earth! Really??"
– Tonyhillzone
"This movie lives in a strange space for me. I've never had it happen before where I see a movie, but remember literally NOTHING about it. All I remember is that I watched it, but I don't have any idea what happened, or how it ended. It's just a black hole in my movie watching history."
"At least other movies are so bad that I remember them, but Resurgence has literally left NO impression at all on me."
– Krinks1
Jaws...Again
"The only answer can be Jaws 4: The Revenge. A shark swam all the way from Amity Island to the Bahamas to get revenge on a widow and her family for her late husband killing a different shark some twelve years beforehand. I don’t think I need to elaborate any further."
– thegoodfella98
"Don't forget that the shark roared in that one too which is just absurd."
– BondraP
Superman
"Superman 4 The quest for peace."
"Edit:and with that cast! Still utterly unwatchable."
– Joebroni1414
"I watched this as a kid on tv all the time, I thought it was great. I've seen it since and it's obviously terrible but I still get a kick out of it for just how truly bad it is. Nuclear Man with his nuclear nails, hilarious."
– TheHeyHeyMan
"Alien vs. Predator: Requiem"
"God, what an awful movie that was."
– hodgkinthepirate
"Yup but they didn't hold back on killing everyone... That hospital scene with the predalien... Didn't see that coming."
– GNDM03
These successful films made on a modest budget should've gone out on a high and stopped after the first movie.
Return To The Shack
"Caddyshack 2. Phew, what a turd. Rodney Dangerfield read the script and threw it in the trash."
– StoolToad9
"This is what I came here looking for, just embarrassingly bad for everyone involved, and is absolutely the worst performance of Dan Aykroyd's career. Yes, I've seen Nothing But Trouble."
– TheHeyHeyMan
American Psycho Strikes Again
"American Psycho 2… absolute trash and not in a good way."
– Icy-Side5075
"ya this was a bad idea from the starts. american psycho one is so good because its source material. the sequel just kind of invents a girl serial killer story and completely forgets what the main message was."
– karmagod13000
George Of The Jungle
"George of the Jungle 2. Granted the first one wasn’t that great either, but I liked it. Brendan Fraser made that movie go from bad to okay. Recasting him made the sequel unwatchable."
– leebon427
"I saw this as a kid and didn't even notice the recast at first... Until they broke the fourth wall and George looked into the camera to have a conversation with the narrator talking about how they couldn't afford Brendan Fraser."
– Troncross
Popular franchises as a package deal tend to do well because of their fanbase, but that doesn't mean there's a not a big flop in the bunch.
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
"I think Rise of Skywalker is probably the worst. It undid every hope I had for the series, and made no sense. I think the set pieces were good, because that's all JJ is good at, really. Tying them together into a story is just not something he cares about, and I really wanted someone who cared about the story of Star Wars to tie up the series."
– crazy-diam0nd
"It’s not a movie, it’s a board room argument."
– Earthshoe12
Dying Harder
"A Good Day To Die Hard. Couldn't even sit through the entire thing. It is quite the accomplishment that they managed to make an action film boring."
– Qster4
"This is the way. The other Die Hard sequels ranged from good to lacking, but they were all highly entertaining in their own way. A Good Day to Die Hard had zero redeeming qualities and somehow involved a spy mission and Chernobyl in a series of movies about a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time having to kick a**."
– AbeVigoda76
Return To The Matrix
"The Matrix 4."
"I am f'king SHOCKED anyone agreed to come back for that script."
"What the hell was Keanu and Carrie thinking?"
"What the f'k was anyone thinking? Who the f'k thought any of this would be a good idea?"
– TelephoneFanClub
"Studios are starving for established IP's, raking the coals for whatever hint of light. WB/Studio was pressuring a "reboot", 'We'll do it without you if u [Wachowski] won't do it'. So Lana just like 'F--- U' and made a tongue-in-cheek bad script, sloppy CGI movie with closed, finished story no sequel, and Keanu and crew are friends w Lana and prob realized this and signed on to take part in this 'rebellion', sotospeak."
"WB then released it, with a tail bt their leg. Covid didnt help."
– moogly2
Given the fact that many sequels bomb at the box office and draw the ire of dedicated fans, studios will keep churning them out and bank on the fact that the originals performed well.
And what keeps studios cranking out sequels is due to the demands of fans who will go see them anyway.
Who cares if Michael Myers is alive again?
People knowingly go back to theaters knowing they're not in for Oscar-worthy material. These films are bad, but oh so good for a laugh.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram