10 ’90s Movies That Failed To Launch Franchises
The ’90s was a golden era in Hollywood. It had rom-com films like “Pretty Woman“, “You’ve Got Mail” and spine-chilling movies like “The Silence of The Lamb“, “Se7en“. There were also critically acclaimed films like “Titanic“. Indeed, we saw pure Hollywood movies that were a piece of art on their own. Do you agree? In today’s era, we have great films that have managed to glue the audience. So much so, that they managed to release blockbuster franchises like “Star Wars” and the “Marvel Cinematic Universe“. Likewise, in the ’90s, many films were trying to launch their franchises. But, they failed to do so. Altogether, here’s a list of 10 Hollywood movies that failed to launch franchises in the 1990s. Check them out!
1. The Rocketeer
In 1991, the theatres saw “The Rocketeer” film that had a killer cast, sorted action, and a sweet production design. The film is based upon the character of the same name created by comic book artist and writer Dave Stevens. This gorgeous piece of art was directed by Joe Johnston. With such a great cast and storyline, the filmmakers thought that it’ll make a great hit. However, that wasn’t the case. The film couldn’t take off well at the box office as expected. Plans of its sequel were immediately shattered.
2. Spawn
Spawn is a 1997 American superhero film based on the Image Comic‘s character of the same name. It is one of the first films to feature a black actor portraying a major comic book superhero role in the ’90s. Spawn outnumbered movies like Starship Troopers, Alien Ressurection, etc. which was a huge thing for a comic-based film in the’90s. Nonetheless, we never got to see the sequel. However, they’ve halted the sequence for more than a thousand years! They update the information on its making every once in a while, but nothing comes out. Apparently, a reboot is in production, but nothing concrete can be said about it.
3. Judge Dredd
The film “Judge Dredd” was released in 1995. Sylvester Stallone plays the lead role in it. However, his star powers started to fade away in the ’90s. Even though he went all out with this movie, the results were not great. Moreover, the movie was heavily criticized by the audience. The $100 million budget back in those days for a movie like this was not justified at all. This meant making that much revenue, which wasn’t the case!
4. The Bone Collector
The Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington starrer “The Bone Collector” was released in 1999. The film was adapted from the book of the same name. Though the movie was a blockbuster hit, it could not offer its viewers a sequel, especially when Washington’s character had appeared 13 times in the original novel! Maybe there were BTS quarrels that nobody talks about. Probably the criticisms it received from the audience didn’t allow the filmmakers to think in that direction. Maybe. But, who knows?
5. The Shadow
The movie “The Shadow” is based on Walter B. Gibson‘s novels and radio serial of the same name. The 1994 film starred A-listed actors like Ian McKellen, Alec Baldwin, and Tim Curry. The movie is based on the 1930s comic strip. The film made a decent amount of money at the box office. However, it is mainly remembered as a major flop of the ’90s. For this reason, we do not a sequel to it.
6. The Phantom
The movie “The Phantom” was released in 1996 based on Lee Falk’s comic strip. Billy Zane plays the lead actor as an immortal crimefighter and battles against all forms of evils. Above all, the film’s budget was $45 million. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t score well at the box office. Moreover, fans and critics didn’t praise the film. Despite all this, Zane has said to sign multiple sequels to it. However, none of it could be materialized.
7. Lost In Space
The movie was New Line Cinema‘s major film of 1998. It is based on the popular 1960s TV show of the same name. The movie has great actors like William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, etc. In addition, the production team did whatever it could to make sure the film was a hit. Except for making a good movie! For this reason, the movie did not do well at the box office. As a result, a sequel was scrapped off. In place of that, a TV reboot was released in 2018 on Netflix.
8. Wild Wild West
The American steampunk comedy film made its debut in 1999. The film starred Will Smith. Yes, you heard it right. Will Smith. And Kevin Kline. Surely this movie should’ve made a lot of money and franchises, right? However, it was completely the opposite! Fans and critics absolutely hated the movie. In addition, the movie was the most expensive film ever made at the time of inflation. To sum up, the film was a complete disappointment.
9. Street Fighter
The 1994 movie “Street Fighter” was sure to smash the box office with its starry cast that included Kylie Minogue, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia. However, the movie didn’t really smash the box office as hard as the filmmakers thought it to be. Markedly, it managed to crack the Top 50s among 1994s top domestic releases. Naturally, rumors of a sequel kept coming and going. But, as the star cast was aging, so did the idea of a sequel did.
10. Super Mario Bros.
Remember Mario? Oh, who doesn’t? Since childhood, we are familiar with this name. Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 adventure comedy film based on the popular Mario video game series by Nintendo. Obviously, you’d think a film based on Mario would have smashed all records seeing the popularity of the video game. But, no. It was kind of a notorious disaster! The film was criticized by almost everyone. Moreover, even the actors hated everything about the movie. However, we still have hope with the Animated Mario film that’s promised to release in 2022.
