Hollywood often puts the cart before the horse in terms of success. Every year, studios prep Oscar campaigns for films that end up being snubbed. They’ll prepare for big hits for movies that flop. And they’ll start sequel plans before a film even comes out. Today, every studio wants the success of Star Wars or Marvel, a vast cinematic universe that can produce not only hit movies but scores of merchandising profits. But in their zeal to craft some fancy franchise, they miss one tiny detail: Making sure the first movie actually works.

Sometimes, a movie can have all the ingredients for success but will never become a hit. Other times, it’s clear it’s doomed from a troubled production, but the studio still pushes it through. Too often, studios are tied to creating a new franchise and making plans before the first film drops. We can make an entirely separate list of the YA novels that failed as movie franchises, but others are more notable. Here are the 20 biggest failed attempts at creating a franchise to show how planning for early success rarely works out.

20 Jem And The Holograms Vanished Fast

A franchise based on a beloved 1980s cartoon show is a no-brainer. But rather than a big action piece, Hasbro made a film very loosely based on the show about a girl singing band. Both critics and fans of the show raked it over the coals for its story.

It ended with a stinger introducing the rival Misfits. Given it only cost $5 million, this should have eked out some profit. Instead, it did so terrible that it was yanked from theaters in just two weeks. Bombing on a budget that small is a genuinely epic feat.

19 Warcraft Had To Rely On International Box Office

Given it’s the most popular online role-playing game in history, a World of Warcraft movie had a built-in fanbase. The live-action film promised plenty of action and a good storyline. But a common criticism was how the film wasted too much time setting up a potential sequel.

The film was a bomb in the United States but was saved by making $400 million in China. That wasn’t enough to earn a sequel as director Duncan Jones (who had planned a trilogy) confirmed it was dead. It seemed like Warcraft fans preferred just playing the game.

18 Ghostbusters 2016 Couldn’t Replicate The Magic

Making a reboot of a movie as beloved as Ghostbusters was always going to be a risk. Having it star an all-female even more so. But more troublesome was how Sony planned to turn this into a franchise with plans that included an “international” team and a TV show.

Those plans were ended when the reboot failed with both critics and audiences. Sony lost $70 million, and the backlash curtailed any sequels. A “soft sequel” is coming in 2020 as moviegoers just didn’t take to this “new” version.

17 John Carter Was An Out Of This World Bomb

Before Star Wars or Avatar, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter stories helped pioneer sci-fi action. There had been attempts for years on a movie version, and in 2012, Disney finally brought it to life. While the $250 million budget was huge, the marketing made no mention of Burroughs, so the movie looked like a rip-off.

Sadly, the film turned into one of the biggest box office flops of all time, with Disney losing upwards of $200 million. It’s attained a cult following as it’s not that bad a film, but it’s a shame this iconic character never got the franchise he deserved.

16 Van Helsing Had Too Much Too Soon

After making The Mummy a smash hit, Stephen Sommers was tasked to bring more of Universal’s monsters to life. The idea was sound with Hugh Jackman as an adventurer fighting monsters. Sommers had big plans, including sequels revealing the character was a fallen angel.

But the movie had too much in the first installment with Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolfman all featured. The poor reviews didn’t help, so while it did okay at the box office, it wasn’t the runaway hit needed to start a franchise. It was an exceptional case of blowing any potential in the first go.

15 The Lone Ranger Was A Costly Disaster

From the start, this movie was cursed. A live-action film series based on the iconic Western hero seemed perfect for Disney. The biggest misstep was casting Johnny Depp as Tonto and making him the lead character. Disney shut the movie down over its budget but still let it go ahead.

They sure regretted that as the $250 million movie opened to a terrible box office and Disney would lose nearly $200 million on it. It was a severe blow to Depp’s box office power and one of the worst summer tentpoles of the last decade.

14 Power Rangers 2017 Couldn’t Live Up To Its Source

A movie based on a TV franchise still going strong after 26 years should have been a hit. This reboot of the beloved show offered a good cast and a grittier storyline while still appealing to fans. The producers talked a big game of a seven-movie series with a teaser on the Green Ranger.

While not a total flop, the movie didn’t live up to its expectations at the box office. The plans for the sequel were soon put aside, and buzz is that a new reboot is coming. It was a good attempt but couldn’t get the power for a full franchise.

13 Prince Of Persia Wasn’t Very Royal

In terms of video game movies, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is one of the better attempts. True, casting Jake Gyllenhaal as an ancient Arabian prince was a bad idea, yet the movie was well-received by critics. With several entries in the game series, the sequel potential was huge.

But the nearly $200 million film fared poorly at the box office with only a good international take keeping it from a bigger loss. Disney had planned seven movies in this series, but one trip was enough for the time-traveling Prince.

12 Monster Trucks Was A Monster Bomb

Every now and then, there’s a movie so weird, it’s amazing it ever got greenlit. Monster Trucks centered around a pack of aliens who manage to bring cars to life. As incredible as it sounds, Nickelodeon and Paramount saw major franchise potential in this saga and were prepping sequels.

Then the movie, with its ridiculously large $125 million budget, barely grossed $60 million. Critics were astounded as to how bad it was, and any sequel potential died instantly. Like an actual car crash, it was hard to look away from this flop.

11 Green Lantern DIdn’t Shine Brightly

When your franchise's own star trashes it every chance he gets, you know you’ve failed. The iconic DC hero was brought to life in 2011 with Ryan Reynolds in the lead. Warner Bros expected this to be a big hit with a stinger involving Sinestro turning evil and sequels that would introduce other space Corps.

Then the movie was torn apart by critics and audiences alike, barely making back its $200 million budget. DC films since have been darker, and Reynolds has mocked the film in his Deadpool movies. Had this been a hit, DC movies today would be a lot different.

10 Sahara Was Stranded At The Box Office

Clive Cussler’s long-running Dirk Pitt novels seem perfect for movies with plots that put James Bond to shame. Somehow, Hollywood just can’t make them work. 1981’s Raise the Titanic was terrible, but this 2005 film fared far worse. Matthew McConaughey was a good Pitt but he couldn't save it.

Its final budget was a stunning $241 million and it only made $120 million, making it one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Cussler himself sued Paramount to show how Hollywood can mess up a seemingly sure-fire series.

9 The Last Airbender Could Have Been The Last Adaptation

A live-action version of the smash-hit animated series should have worked. But giving directing/writing duties to M. Night Shyamalan would be its downfall. From trying to cram the entire first season into one movie, to changing the character names, to the lousy casting, Shyamalan made every wrong decision possible.

The result was one of the worst-reviewed movies of 2010 that flopped at the box office. The response from fans was even worse, with many railing on him ruining the show. The upcoming Netflix adaptation has a big task erasing the memory of this failure. 

8 A Wrinkle In Time Arrived At A Bad Time

If any movie looked like a sure-fire hit, this was it. It adapted an award-winning novel loved for decades; it was directed by Ava DuVernay; it had terrific visuals; and it starred Oprah Winfrey. Surely it would be a huge hit and adapt the sequels, right?

Wrong. Releasing this just three weeks after Black Panther killed Wrinkle at the box office. Critics weren't kind either as the film sunk without international appeal to save it. Disney lost about $130 million to prove even Oprah can't make everything a hit.

7 Wild Wild West Wasn’t Wild Enough

A Will Smith movie opening on the 4th of July should have been an enormous success. Adapting the cult TV show, Smith and Kevin Kline set off on a fun steampunk adventure under director Barry Sonnenfeld that should have kicked off a great movie series.

Not only was it trashed by critics, but audiences didn’t take to wild turns like a giant robot spider and the weak storyline. The film barely broke even internationally to mark Smith’s first high-profile box office failure.

6 Jupiter Ascending Fell To Earth

If anything is going to look like a massive hit, it’s a sci-fi epic directed by the Wachowskis. Hopes were high this would replicate the magic of The Matrix and be a terrific action franchise. The first warning sign was when the film was suddenly bumped from the summer of 2014 to February of 2015.

But few could have guessed the film would be such a disaster with laughable performances (especially Eddie Redmayne) and a baffling storyline. The film bombed hard and barely even makes “so bad it’s good” movie lists.

5 Eragon Crashed And Burned

Based on a best-selling fantasy trilogy, Eragon had all the ingredients for success. Magic, dragons, epic battles– what more could moviegoers want? Well, good writing, better actors, and sticking to the story of the books might have helped.

While not as massive a bomb as others on this list, the movie seriously underperformed at the box office. Reviews were terrible as the book fans were outraged at the changes made. The anticipated sequels never materialized, and the saga has been long forgotten.

4 Mortal Engines Marred Jackson’s Golden Touch

If anyone knows how to make a hit franchise, it’s Peter Jackson. That’s why Universal gave him a $150 million budget for this fantastic film about cities on wheels. With Jackson writing and producing, the movie could have adapted more of the novel series it was based on.

Instead, Engines became one of the biggest bombs of 2018. Universal lost nearly $175 million on it, so any hopes of a franchise died fast. Jackson couldn’t translate the golden touch of Middle Earth to this lousy flick.

3 The Golden Compass Ruined New Line

New Line thought His Dark Materials would be the next Lord of the Rings. The Golden Compass would be the opener, but it made changes to the source material. There was also the decision to cut the movie’s big finale and save it for the opening of the sequel.

That never happened as the film bombed domestically. While it was successful overseas, New Line had already sold the international profits, so it was pushed to bankruptcy. Materials became an HBO series, but this bomb is why New Line is no longer an independent studio.

2 The Mortal Instruments Worked Better As A TV Show

Based on the popular YA series, The Mortal Instruments told of a teenager finding herself in a war between demons and “Shadowhunters.” The series had just the hook to pull people in with City of Bones as the opener. Lionsgate planned to start filming the sequel just weeks after the first film’s release.

Then City majorly underperformed at the box office. The plans for the sequel were delayed and soon put off indefinitely. The property would later be turned into the Freeform TV series Shadowhunters which worked a lot better than the big screen version did.

1 Dark Universe Went Dark Fast

Universal had their "Dark Universe" all set. They released a promotional photo with Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella of The Mummy, Javier Bardem as Frankenstein, Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man, and Russell Crowe linking them all as Dr. Jekyll.

They even crafted a logo and theme! Then, Mummy underperformed at the box office which set off a chain reaction of events that included the "cast image" being photoshopped and the planned sequels dropped. This "Universe" didn't even last one entry. 

Sources: bombreport.com, imdb.com, ranker.com, variety.com, ew.com, looper.com