Hollywood loves its cash cow franchises, milking them for all their worth. For this reason, major movie studios are almost certain to follow up a successful blockbuster with at least one sequel. These films expand and further explore cinematic worlds that have already found favor with audiences. Currently, six of the 10 top-grossing films of all time are sequels.
In some special cases, sequels are even considered to be superior to their predecessor; such as is the case with Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary “The Godfather Part II.” In others, however, producers hoping to capitalize on an initial film’s success, or on a franchise’s succes, put future profits ahead of quality. This ploy rarely goes unnoticed by fans and critics.
24/7 Wall St. has identified the 50 worst movie sequels based on audience and critic ratings. We also included metrics not used in the index, such as domestic box office gross and the talent behind each film.
Click here to see the 50 worst movie sequels of all time.
Click here to see our methodology.
A majority of worst sequels belong to either the horror or comedy genres. Fans of these types of films may have higher tolerances for “bad” movies and are willing to give sequels a chance if they are in some way tied to a successful earlier film. The 17 horror movies on the list include sequels to “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.” The 25 comedies include sequels to beloved films such as “The Mighty Ducks” and “Caddyshack.”
Many of these sequels had a fraction of their predecessors’ production budgets and proceeded to flop in the domestic market. “Piranha 3DD” cost approximately one-fifth of “Piranha 3D” to make. Perhaps, not surprising, it grossed less than $400,000 in the U.S., compared to the earlier film’s $25 million gross.
Other sequels did quite well. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2,” which was near universally panned by critics, grossed $71 million, almost double its production budget at the domestic box office.
50. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
> Directed by: Michael Bay
> Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel
> Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $130.2 million
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49. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
> Directed by: Rachel Talalay
> Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt
> Genre: Fantasy, horror
> Domestic box office: $34.9 million
48. D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996)
> Directed by: Robert Lieberman
> Starring: Emilio Estevez, Jeffrey Nordling, David Selby
> Genre: Action, comedy, drama
> Domestic box office: $22.9 million
47. Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
> Directed by: John Boorman
> Starring: Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher
> Genre: Horror
> Domestic box office: $30.8 million
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46. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
> Directed by: Joe Chappelle
> Starring: Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan
> Genre: Horror, thriller
> Domestic box office: $15.1 million
45. Death Wish II (1982)
> Directed by: Michael Winner
> Starring: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia
> Genre: Action, crime, drama
> Domestic box office: $16.1 million
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44. RoboCop 3 (1993)
> Directed by: Fred Dekker
> Starring: Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Mario Machado
> Genre: Action, crime, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $10.7 million
43. Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
> Directed by: Kevin Yagher
> Starring: Bruce Ramsay, Valentina Vargas, Doug Bradley
> Genre: Horror, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $16.7 million
42. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
> Directed by: Chris Columbus
> Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
> Genre: Adventure, comedy, family
> Domestic box office: $173.6 million
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41. Basic Instinct 2 (2006)
> Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
> Starring: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis
> Genre: Drama, mystery, thriller
> Domestic box office: $6.0 million
40. Daddy Day Camp (2007)
> Directed by: Fred Savage
> Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant
> Genre: Comedy, family
> Domestic box office: $13.2 million
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39. Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
> Directed by: Mike Bigelow
> Starring: Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Jeroen Krabbé
> Genre: Comedy
> Domestic box office: $22.3 million
38. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
> Directed by: Rob Hedden
> Starring: Jensen Daggett, Kane Hodder, Todd Caldecott
> Genre: Adventure, horror, thriller
> Domestic box office: $14.3 million
37. Grease 2 (1982)
> Directed by: Patricia Birch
> Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, Lorna Luft
> Genre: Comedy, drama, musical
> Domestic box office: $15.2 million
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36. Rings (2017)
> Directed by: F. Javier Gutiérrez
> Starring: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki
> Genre: Drama, horror, romance
> Domestic box office: $27.8 million
35. Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
> Directed by: John Ottman
> Starring: Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis, Hart Bochner
> Genre: Horror, mystery, romance
> Domestic box office: $21.5 million
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34. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
> Directed by: Jan de Bont
> Starring: Sandra Bullock, Jason Patric, Willem Dafoe
> Genre: Action, adventure, crime
> Domestic box office: $48.6 million
33. Staying Alive (1983)
> Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
> Starring: John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes
> Genre: Drama, music, romance
> Domestic box office: $64.9 million
32. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
> Directed by: Troy Miller
> Starring: Derek Richardson, Eric Christian Olsen, Eugene Levy
> Genre: Comedy
> Domestic box office: $26.3 million
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31. Scary Movie 5 (2013)
> Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee, David Zucker
> Starring: Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale, Charlie Sheen
> Genre: Comedy
> Domestic box office: $32.0 million
30. Piranha 3DD (2012)
> Directed by: John Gulager
> Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Ving Rhames, David Hasselhoff
> Genre: Comedy, horror
> Domestic box office: $0.4 million
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29. A Haunted House 2 (2014)
> Directed by: Michael Tiddes
> Starring: Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly, Cedric the Entertainer
> Genre: Comedy, fantasy
> Domestic box office: $17.3 million
28. The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
> Directed by: Tim Pope
> Starring: Vincent Perez, Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks
> Genre: Action, crime, fantasy
> Domestic box office: $17.9 million
27. Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)
> Directed by: John Luessenhop
> Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tania Raymonde, Scott Eastwood
> Genre: Horror, thriller
> Domestic box office: $34.3 million
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26. Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
> Directed by: Jim Drake
> Starring: Steve Guttenberg, Bubba Smith, Michael Winslow
> Genre: Comedy, crime
> Domestic box office: $28.1 million
25. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
> Directed by: Sidney J. Furie
> Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder
> Genre: Action, adventure, family
> Domestic box office: $15.7 million
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24. Species II (1998)
> Directed by: Peter Medak
> Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger
> Genre: Action, horror, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $19.2 million
23. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
> Directed by: M.J. Bassett
> Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean
> Genre: Horror
> Domestic box office: $17.5 million
22. Death Wish 3 (1985)
> Directed by: Michael Winner
> Starring: Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, Ed Lauter
> Genre: Action, crime, drama
> Domestic box office: $16.1 million
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21. Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
> Directed by: Mic Rodgers
> Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bill Goldberg, Heidi Schanz
> Genre: Action, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $10.4 million
20. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)
> Directed by: Joe Berlinger
> Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Barker Turner, Erica Leerhsen
> Genre: Adventure, fantasy, horror
> Domestic box office: $26.4 million
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19. Major League II (1994)
> Directed by: David S. Ward
> Starring: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen
> Genre: Comedy, sport
> Domestic box office: $30.6 million
18. The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) (2011)
> Directed by: Tom Six
> Starring: Laurence R. Harvey, Ashlynn Yennie, Maddi Black
> Genre: Horror
> Domestic box office: $0.1 million
17. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
> Directed by: Andy Fickman
> Starring: Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Eduardo Verástegui
> Genre: Action, comedy, crime
> Domestic box office: $71.0 million
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16. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)
> Directed by: Kim Henkel
> Starring: Renée Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Jacks
> Genre: Comedy, horror, thriller
> Domestic box office: $0.1 million
15. Return of the Living Dead II (1988)
> Directed by: Ken Wiederhorn
> Starring: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy
> Genre: Comedy, horror, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $9.2 million
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14. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)
> Directed by: John R. Leonetti
> Starring: Robin Shou, Talisa Soto, James Remar
> Genre: Action, adventure, fantasy
> Domestic box office: $35.9 million
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13. Son of the Mask (2005)
> Directed by: Lawrence Guterman
> Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Traylor Howard, Alan Cumming
> Genre: Comedy, family, fantasy
> Domestic box office: $17.0 million
12. Cannonball Run II (1984)
> Directed by: Hal Needham
> Starring: Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin
> Genre: Action, comedy
> Domestic box office: $28.1 million
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11. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
> Directed by: Bill Duke
> Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Najimy, Maggie Smith
> Genre: Comedy, family, music
> Domestic box office: $57.3 million
10. Look Who’s Talking Too (1990)
> Directed by: Amy Heckerling
> Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Olympia Dukakis
> Genre: Comedy, family, romance
> Domestic box office: $47.5 million
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9. Caddyshack II (1988)
> Directed by: Allan Arkush
> Starring: Jackie Mason, Robert Stack, Dyan Cannon
> Genre: Comedy, sport
> Domestic box office: $11.8 million
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8. Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018)
> Directed by: Steven C. Miller
> Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Xiaoming Huang
> Genre: Action, thriller
> Domestic box office: N/A
7. Look Who’s Talking Now (1993)
> Directed by: Tom Ropelewski
> Starring: John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, David Gallagher
> Genre: Comedy, family, romance
> Domestic box office: $10.3 million
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6. Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993)
> Directed by: Robert Klane
> Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Terry Kiser
> Genre: Adventure, comedy, fantasy
> Domestic box office: $12.7 million
5. Problem Child 2 (1991)
> Directed by: Brian Levant
> Starring: John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Jack Warden
> Genre: Comedy, family
> Domestic box office: $25.1 million
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4. Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
> Directed by: Bob Clark
> Starring: Jon Voight, Scott Baio, Vanessa Angel
> Genre: Comedy, family, sci-fi
> Domestic box office: $9.1 million
3. Troll 2 (1990)
> Directed by: Claudio Fragasso
> Starring: Michael Paul Stephenson, George Hardy, Margo Prey
> Genre: Comedy, fantasy, horror
> Domestic box office: N/A
2. Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
> Directed by: William A. Graham
> Starring: Brian Krause, Milla Jovovich, Lisa Pelikan
> Genre: Adventure, drama, romance
> Domestic box office: $2.8 million
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1. The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) (2015)
> Directed by: Tom Six
> Starring: Dieter Laser, Laurence R. Harvey, Eric Roberts
> Genre: Comedy, horror
> Domestic box office: N/A
Methodology
To determine the worst movie sequels, 24/7 Wall St. created an index for every film tagged as a “sequel” on Internet Movie Database (IMDb) based on each film’s average user rating as well as average audience and critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. We considered films only with at least 10 approved Rotten Tomatoes “Tomatometer” critic reviews and 10,000 IMDb user ratings.
We averaged together the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted them by the number of votes involved. This combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating. Box office data comes from IMDb and is not adjusted for inflation.
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