10 Lamest Movie Franchises of All Time, Ranked

Not every franchise has what it takes to captivate audiences and stand the test of time. While some movie series expand on their initial success with creative storytelling and meaningful character development, most stumble, becoming either disappointing or outright awful. With this in mind, this list looks at some of the lamest franchises in cinema history; series that are more cringe-worthy than entertaining.

Whether plagued by dwindling originality, nonsensical plots, or increasingly laughable attempts at reinvention, these franchises struggled to maintain their relevance. Some of them started out incredibly strong, yet were quickly wiped out by the dreaded sophomore slump. Others were bad from the get-go. Despite their lack of quality, these series staggered on, zombie-like, long after viewers had lost interest.

10 ‘Fifty Shades’ (2015-2018)

Worst entry: ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ (2015)

“Laters, baby.” Fifty Shades began as a Twilight fanfiction, and that’s evident throughout the series. Despite the buzz (and mammoth sales) the books generated, the movies are actually tame and fairly boring. The romance between Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and BDSM-loving billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) was one of the most overhyped of the 2010s, lacking any real steaminess. The entire franchise is a shallow attempt at sensationalism.

While the leads’ acting is fine, their chemistry is overshadowed by the lackluster script and bland direction. Many critics also took issue with the movie’s simplistic, un-curious treatment of the BDSM scene. The films just get clumsier with each installment, to the point that Fifty Shades Freed feels almost like a comedy. Still, despite their lack of quality, all of the Fifty Shades movies triumphed at the box office, so clearly E.J. James and co. were onto something.

9 ‘After’ franchise (2019-present)

Worst entry: ‘After We Fell’ (2021)

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” Another dismal romance, the After series chronicles the tumultuous, often toxic relationship between college students Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) and Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). It could have been a decent exploration of modern love, but instead, the series serves up repetitive storylines, a ton of melodrama, and unnecessary angst.

The third entry, After We Fell is particularly tedious, with long stretches of wooden dialogue and little plot progression. Some have also accused it of glamorizing abusive relationships. Like Fifty Shades, the original story began as a fanfiction, this time about Harry Styles, and it shows. E.L. James’s dialogue is practically Shakespearean by comparison. Despite the overwhelmingly negative reviews, the After franchise shows no signs of slowing down. There have already been five movies, with a prequel set for release next year and another untitled project for some time after that.

8 ‘BloodRayne’ (2005-2014)

Worst entry: ‘BloodRayne: The Third Reich’ (2011)

“Your form is weak, lacking passion.” Based on the video games, BloodRayne is an action horror series directed by the legendarily badUwe Boll (House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark). It centers on the dhampir Rayne (Kristanna Loken in the first film) as she battles supernatural enemies in various historical settings. While the concept of a vampire warrior taking on Nazis and other foes sounds exciting, the films are plagued by flimsy effects, undercooked scripts, and subpar acting. It’s a mess of goofy fight scenes and awkward eroticism.

Adding to the weirdness is the fact that the first BloodRayne features some genuinely good actors, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez, and Ben Kingsley. Seeing the latter as a vampire lord is quite the sight. Madsen, for one, has later admitted that the film was a stinker, calling it “an abomination […] a horrifying and preposterous movie.” The franchise only goes downhill from there, playing out like a dollar-store Underworld.

7 ‘American Ninja’ (1985-1993)

Worst entry: ‘American Ninja 5’ (1993)

“Only a ninja can stop a ninja.” The first American Ninja introduced Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff), a soldier who discovers his exceptional ninja skills and takes on various criminal organizations. This original movie was a bit of fun, campy martial arts action, but the sequels quickly descended into mediocrity, and then outright awfulness. By the time American Ninja 5 rolled around, the franchise was beyond dead.

While the first film (and, to a lesser degree, the second) is a minor cult movie, the follow-ups are simply painful. They just come across as lazy, as if the cast and crew weren’t all that committed. The over-the-top subject matter should make the American Ninja movies at the very least ‘so bad it’s good’, but they’re really just lame. It’s hard to care about the plot when the characters are so one-dimensional and the stakes feel so low. As a result, sitting through IV and V is a real slog, despite their lean runtimes.

6 ‘Universal Soldier’ (1992-2012)

Worst entry: ‘Universal Soldier: The Return’ (1999)

“Are we having fun yet?” The Universal Soldier franchise started out as a Terminator copycat and then mostly got worse with each outing (despite one or two redeeming moments). The first one features Jean-Claude Van Damme as Luc Deveraux, a resurrected super-soldier battling his fellow reanimated comrades. The acting is wooden at best, with Van Damme himself, usually a solid action star, looking visibly embarrassed as he stumbles through the ludicrous plot development and uninspired one-liners.

Still, JCVD is still better than Matt Battaglia, who takes over for the sixth movie. The films don’t know whether they want to be serious action or a self-aware parody, unfortunately landing somewhere in the middle. While some of the sequels are commendable for taking risks and getting bolder, they’re still mediocre, meaning that the franchise as a whole is way below average. The fourth movie has a 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, for example, while the second holds a flat 0%.

5 ‘Sharknado’ (2013-2018)

Worst entry: ‘Sharknado 5: Global Swarming’ (2017)

“We’re gonna need a bigger chopper.” The Sharknado franchise began as a tongue-in-cheek homage to B-movie absurdity. With its terrible CGI sharks and hilarious plot holes, the first movie was legitimately ‘so bad it’s good’, rightly becoming a cult film. However, by the third go-around, the joke had already worn thin, and the franchise jumped the shark long before the sixth installment.

Indeed, what was once a silly and enjoyable good time morphed into increasingly tiresome ridiculousness. The charm that carried the first film is long gone, and the franchise now feels like it’s trying too hard to remain relevant, resorting to more outlandish ideas without a clear sense of purpose (the sixth movie prominently featured time travel, for example). For all these reasons, Sharknado went from ‘so bad it’s good’ to just bad. The series goes to show that trying to make an awful movie on purpose is rarely a wise idea. ​​​​​​

4 ‘Jaws’ (1975-1987)

Worst entry: ‘Jaws: The Revenge’ (1987)

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Sadly, Sharknado is not the only shark-centric franchise to make this list. Despite starting incredibly strong with the Steven Spielberg-directed classic, Jaws continued to offer diminishing returns with each installment. The first movie was lean and mean, combining a punchy plot with killer music and top-notch special effects. This seems like a fairly easy formula to replicate, but the sequels somehow never got it right.

Jaws 2 was mediocre at best, Jaws 3-D was a disaster that tried to hide its flaws with visual gimmicks, and Jaws: The Revenge is easily one of the worst movies of the 1980s, which is saying something. To varying degrees, all these sequels traded logic and grounded storytelling for ludicrous premises, hammy acting, and poor puppetry. The shark in the fourth film looks shockingly fake, for instance; more comical than menacing. The Jaws franchise thus runs the gamut from masterpieces to pure dreck.

3 ‘Exorcist’ (1973-2004)

Worst entry: ‘Exorcist II: The Heretic’ (1977)

“The power of Christ compels you!” The Exorcist movies are similar to Jaws in that they began with a watershed first installment, opening to critical and commercial success, before rapidly spinning off either silliness or obscurity. While William Friedkin‘s movie is undeniably brilliant, John Boorman‘s follow-up was more confusing than scary. The third chapter, helmed by original author William Peter Blatty, was at best underwhelming, as was Paul Schrader‘s prequel.

Things did not improve with The Exorcist: Believer, released last year. It lacked both creativity and genuine scariness, so much so that plans for a trilogy were scrapped. A reboot appears to be on the cards, which hopefully rights this sinking ship. Somehow all these films squander their terrific premises (even Schrader’s project). In the end, despite the greatness of the first one, all these movies add up to a decidedly lame franchise.

2 ‘God’s Not Dead Franchise’ (2014-2021)

Worst entry: ‘God’s Not Dead: We the People’ (2021)

“God’s not dead; He’s surely alive!” There’s nothing inherently wrong with faith-based movies, but they do run the risk of becoming didactic, one-sided, and preachy. This is unfortunately the case with the God’s Not Dead movies, which aim to spread a Christian message but too often sacrifice quality storytelling in favor of heavy-handed moralizing. The characters tend to be one-dimensional, and the movies engage with straw men rather than giving these issues the treatment they deserve.

These films would have been better if their philosophical exploration was more honest and rigorous. Instead, God’s Not Dead starts out with a conclusion very much in mind, and all of the sequels cling to the same basic formula. For this reason, the franchise will please the converted but is unlikely to win over any viewers who may be undecided. This makes the films a waste of potential. Plus, they aren’t even entertaining, so there’s really little reason to check them out.

1 ‘The Highlander Series’ (1986-2007)

Worst entry: ‘Highlander II: The Quickening’ (1991)

“There can be only one.” Claiming the top spot on this list is the Highlander franchise, which began with the cult classic following Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), an immortal warrior battling others like him across centuries. However, the series lost its way with Highlander II: The Quickening, a baffling sequel that introduced an unnecessary and convoluted sci-fi backstory involving aliens.

The tonal shift and incoherent plot pushed away even the most ardent fans, making it one of the most derided sequels in cinematic history. It’s actually somewhat impressive just how quickly and irreparably the sequel destroyed the franchise’s mythology. While the subsequent films weren’t quite as egregious as The Quickening, none of them are good. The third movie, for example, is essentially a retread of the first one, while the fourth features perhaps the worst acting in the entire franchise. The fifth movie made such bad narrative missteps that most fans don’t consider it to be canon. All in all, these misfires make Highlander arguably the lamest movie series of all time.

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