While sequels and franchise movies have been dominating thebox officefor years now, 2024 may be signaling a change, as these 11 franchise movies from2024 made less than their predecessors at the box office. There have been plenty of franchise successes in 2024, likeBeetlejuice Beetlejuice,Dune: Part Two,Wicked, andDeadpool & Wolverine. However, there have been even more franchise disappointments, with each of these films being a decline when compared to their previous installments at the box office.
2024 has been a big year at the box office, with every movie in thetop 15 highest-grossing films of the yearso far being part of a pre-existing franchise. However, some of these franchises have set such a high bar that it has become impossible to pass, leading to a lot of these movies making less than their previous installments.
Despicable Me 4
Cast
The infamous (and kind-hearted) not-super villain Gru returns in Despicable Me 4, the fourth entry in the long-running movie series from Illumination Entertainment. The fourth film also sees the return of Gru’s wife, Lucy, portrayed again by Kristin Wiig, and introduces their son.
TheDespicable Mefranchise is thehighest-grossing animated franchise of all time, with the four mainline movies and twoMinionsspinoffs having grossed over $5.5 billion in total. Despite this, 2024’sDespicable Me 4grossed less than its mainline predecessor, 2017’sDespicable Me 3. At the worldwide box office,Despicable Me 4made $969.2 million on a budget of $100 million, whileDespicable Me 3made $1.035 billion on a budget of $80 million.
WhileDespicable Me 4made less than its mainline predecessor, the fourthDespicable Memovie actually did make more than its franchise predecessor.Minions: The Rise of Gruwas the lastDespicable Memovie to release beforeDespicable Me 4, with it making $940.2 million on a budget of $100 million.Despicable Me 4beatMinion: The Rise of Gruby a slight margin, and while both of these films came in belowDespicable Me 3, they were all massive box office successes.
Venom: The Last Dance
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
Venom: The Last Danceis the third and seemingly final film in Sony’sVenomfranchise, and despite it being the big conclusion to the trilogy, it actually wasn’t as successful as its predecessor. 2024’sVenom: The Last Dancemade $472.9 million on a budget of $120 million, while the franchise’s second filmVenom: Let There Be Carnage$506.8 million on a budget of $110 million.
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BothVenom: The Last DanceandVenom: Let There Be Carnagefailed to live up to the box office success of 2018’sVenom, which kicked the franchise off by making $856.1 million on a budget of around $116 million.Venom: The Last Dance’s box office performanceproves that the trilogy’s box office history has been a downward trend, with each film doing worse than the last.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Bad Boys: Ride or Die continues the action-packed saga of Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The film follows the duo as they face new threats and personal challenges, blending intense action scenes with the camaraderie fans have come to love in the Bad Boys series.
Bad Boys: Ride or Dieis the fourth entry in the belovedBad Boysfranchise, with it continuing the series' revival after 2020’sBad Boys for Life. The original twoBad Boysmovies were big successes, but after going on a hiatus for 17 years,Bad Boys for Lifeproved that the franchise could still be a success.Bad Boys for Lifemade $426.5 million on a budget of $90 million, while the sequelBad Boys: Ride or Diemade $404.2 million on a budget of $100 million, with the fourth film being a slight decline.
Interestingly,Bad Boys: Ride or Diewas still a massive improvement from the original twoBad Boysfilms. The originalBad Boysmade $141.1 million on a budget of $23 million, whileBad Boys IImade $273.3 million on a budget of $130 million. So, whileBad Boys: Ride or Diemay have been a disappointment compared to its predecessor, it was still a big success for the franchise.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.
The modernPlanet of the Apesfranchise finally returned in 2024, withKingdom of the Planet of the Apescontinuing the epic post-apocalyptic saga.On a budget of $160 million, 2024’sKingdom of the Planet of the Apesmade $397.2 million. This was a significant drop from the previous film, 2018’sWar for the Planet of the Apes, which made $490.7 million on a budget of $190 million.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes(2014)
War for the Planet of the Apes(2017)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes(2011)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes(2024)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes(1970)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes(1972)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes(1973)
$8 Million
AlthoughKingdom of the Planet of the Apesmade less than any of the other modernPlanet of the Apesmovies, it still made more than any of the originalPlanet of the Apesmovies or the 2001Planet of the Apesremake. So, whileKingdom of the Planet of the Apesmay not have been a massive hit, it is still consistent with the previous performances in the franchise.
Twisters
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
A legacy sequel to the classic disaster movieTwisterwas also released in 2024, withTwistersbeing the second film in the franchise.Twisterswas a box office success that had a huge cultural impact,with the film making $371 million on a $155 million budget. However, this was a significant box office decline when compared to the 1996 original, withTwistermaking $495.7 million on a budget of $92 million.
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Despite making less than its predecessor,Twisterswas a box office success, with the film surpassing the initial box office projections for its opening weekend. On top of that,Twistersnow holds the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a natural disaster film, surpassingThe Day After Tomorrow.
A Quiet Place: Day One
A Quiet Place: Day One is a spin-off of the A Quiet Place franchise conceived by John Krasinski. The film is set at the beginning of the invasion as humanity scrambles to survive, before the events of the original film, with Lupita Nyong’O leading the cast, directed by Michael Sarnoski.
After two successful mainline films in theA Quiet Placeseries, the franchise got its first spinoff in 2024 in the form ofA Quiet Place: Day One.TheA Quiet Placeprequel made $261.8 million on a budget of $67 million, with the previous filmA Quiet Place Part IImaking $297.4 million on a budget of $61 million.
When compared to the originalA Quiet Placemovie, both of these films made less.A Quiet Placemade $341 million on a budget of $17 million, with the film making significantly more on a significantly smaller budget. So, whileA Quiet Place: Day Onewas a critical success, it is thelowest-grossing movie in theA Quiet Placefranchise.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
The highly-anticipated sequel to 2019’sJokerwas finally released in 2024, withJoker: Folie à Deuxhitting theaters. The development ofJoker: Folie à Deuxwas incredibly interesting to follow, with it being notable for being a musical and adding Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Despite the hype,Joker: Folie à Deuxmade only $206.4 million on a budget of $200 million, which is a massive decline when compared toJokerhaving earned $1.079 billion on a budget of $70 million.
The reasons forJoker: Folie à Deux’s box office failureare still a mystery, with bad word of mouth being one of the leading theories. SinceJoker: Folie à Deuxonly made slightly above its budget, it most likely lost money, as the $200 million budget doesn’t account for marketing or overhead costs.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire continues the story of a new generation of ghost hunters composed of Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Podcast (Logan Kim), who received help from the original team in the previous movie. Paul Rudd returns as Gary Grooberson and franchise co-creator Ivan Reitman returns to write and produce.
The massiveGhostbustersfranchise also returned in 2024, withGhostbusters: Frozen Empirefinally releasing.Ghostbusters: Frozen Empirefollowed up onGhostbusters: Afterlife, and despite the box office performances of both films being similar,Ghostbusters: Frozen Empiredid see a slight decline.Ghostbusters: Frozen Empiremade only $201.9 million on a budget of $100 million, whileGhostbusters: Afterlifemade $204.3 million on a budget of $75 million.
This isn’t far off from the otherGhostbustersmovies, with each of them being within the $200 million range. The originalGhostbustersmade $296.6 million on a budget of $30 million,Ghostbusters IImade $215.4 million on a budget of $40 million, and 2016’sGhostbustersreboot made $229 million on a budget of $144 million.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
Despite being one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2024,Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagawas a big box office disappointment, with it making fans question if there will be moreMad Maxmovies in the future.Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagamade $173.8 million on a budget of $168 million, which is a decline when compared toMad Max: Fury Road, which made $380.5 million on a budget of $185.2 million.
$100 million
$36 million
$380.4 million
$173 million
Despite being a box office disappointment,Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagais still the second-highest-grossingMad Maxmovie.Mad Maxmade $100 million,Mad Max: The Road Warriormade $36 million, andMad Max: Beyond Thunderdomealso made $36 million, withFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga’s performance being relatively impressive.
Smile 2
Smile 2 is the sequel to the 2022 psychological horror film by director Parker Finn that centers on a therapist who witnesses a patient’s suicide, leading to a series of terrifying supernatural events. The sequel will see the return of Finn as director, with Paramount continuing distribution.
After the success of the originalSmilehorror movie, 2024 saw the release ofSmile 2, with the sequel continuing the story of the original film from a new perspective.The story of Skye Riley managed to gross $138.1 million on a budget of $28 million, while the originalSmilemade $217.4 million on a budget of $17 million.
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Cinema has changed a lot over the last century, and each decade saw new films dominate at the box office as audiences and tastes evolved with it.
WhileSmile 2did have a bigger opening weekend than the originalSmile, the first film in the franchise managed to have legs in a way that the sequel didn’t. However,Smile 2was still a box office success, with moreSmilefilms being expected in the future.
