Every Major Franchise’s Most Disastrous Film Ranked
Movie franchises are like roller coasters, packed with thrilling highs and stomach-dropping lows. Sometimes a beloved series nosedives so spectacularly that fans wish they could erase it from memory.
Superheroes, sharks, and even legendary space operas have stumbled into disaster territory, delivering laughs, facepalms, and cinematic chaos. Scenes meant to be epic turn unintentionally hilarious, plots spiral like runaway trains, and special effects sometimes look like budget nightmares gone rogue.
Dive into five franchise flops that crashed harder than a spaceship with no landing gear and see why even blockbusters can go gloriously wrong.
1. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Nuclear weapons meet superhero drama in what became Superman’s kryptonite moment. Released in 1987, this fourth installment tried tackling serious issues but ended up tackling the franchise’s reputation instead.
With a tiny budget and special effects that looked cheaper than a school play, fans watched their hero fall from grace.
The film scored a brutal 3.7 on IMDb and a Metascore of 24, making critics and audiences agree on one thing: this was a disaster. Christopher Reeve deserved better than fighting Nuclear Man, a villain as memorable as yesterday’s lunch.
Sometimes even the Man of Steel can’t save a sinking ship!
2. Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Sharks don’t hold grudges, but this movie made audiences hold plenty. Hitting theaters in 1987, Jaws: The Revenge asked viewers to believe a great white shark personally hunted the Brody family for revenge.
Yes, you read that correctly: a shark with a vendetta!
With an IMDb rating of 3.0, this became the ocean’s biggest belly flop. The plot made zero sense, the special effects looked rubbery, and even Michael Caine admitted he never watched it.
Though he loved the house it bought him! Just saying, when your own cast roasts the film, you know you’re swimming in troubled waters.
3. Rocky V (1990)
Trading boxing gloves for street fights was Rocky’s knockout mistake. After four triumphant films, this 1990 entry dragged the Italian Stallion from the ring to the pavement, literally fighting his own protégé in an alley.
Fans wanted inspiration and got frustration instead.
However, the Metascore of 39 tells the painful truth: this round went to the critics. Brain damage, financial ruin, and a whiny Tommy Gunn replaced the underdog charm that made Rocky legendary.
Sylvester Stallone himself later admitted this film disappointed him. If Rocky can admit defeat here, so can we all!
4. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Somehow, Palpatine returned became the meme that launched a thousand eye-rolls. Closing out the Skywalker saga in 2019, this finale tried cramming three movies worth of plot into one chaotic package.
Fans left theaters more confused than a stormtrooper at target practice.
Critics and audiences split faster than the Rebel Alliance, debating whether this ending honored or destroyed decades of storytelling. Rushed explanations, abandoned character arcs, and plot twists that felt pulled from a hat made this saga’s conclusion bumpier than the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive.
Though visually stunning, the Force wasn’t strong enough to save this one from controversy!
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Giant robots fighting dinosaur robots sounds awesome until you realize the movie runs nearly three hours. Released in 2014, this fourth Transformers installment replaced Shia LaBeouf with Mark Wahlberg but kept the explosions, nonsensical plots, and headache-inducing action sequences.
Despite earning over a billion dollars worldwide, critics demolished it with a 17% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Audiences endured endless product placement, confusing storylines, and battles so long they needed intermissions.
Where other franchises learned from mistakes, Transformers kept doubling down on chaos. Sometimes box office success and quality filmmaking are two completely different Autobots!
