There’s nothing Hollywood loves more than milking a good thing until the udders fall off. They take a blockbuster hit, turn it into a franchise, and then keep going until the magic runs dry—or actually, far beyond that point. At first, it’s exciting! Sequels, spin-offs, prequels—we eat it all up. But then we reach a moment when everyone (except the studio execs) collectively asks, “Wait… why are we still doing this?”
Some franchises just don’t know when to call it a day, and instead of bowing out gracefully, they keep coming back for more—like that one party guest who didn’t realize the music stopped two hours ago. Here are a few that need to take the hint and retire before they embarrass themselves further.
1. Jurassic Park
“Life finds a way,” Jeff Goldblum famously said. But he forgot to mention that Hollywood’s capitalistic tendencies also find a way—and that’s how we landed with Jurassic World: Rebirth. Yep, another Jurassic Park movie is on the horizon, complete with (presumably) more CGI dinosaurs running amok in increasingly ridiculous scenarios.
Now don’t get me wrong; the original Jurassic Park is a masterpiece. Spielberg gifted us a terrifying-yet-wonderful adventure with groundbreaking effects and enough dinosaur-induced trauma to last a lifetime. It should have been left as a timeless classic. But no. We got The Lost World (meh), Jurassic Park III (dinosaurs with family drama?), and then the reboot-slash-continuation Jurassic World.
I’ll admit the first Jurassic World was fun—nostalgia will do that to you—but by Jurassic World: Dominion, things took a nosedive. Locusts? Mutant dinosaurs underground? Whatever they were trying to do, it wasn’t working. With Jurassic World: Rebirth, it feels like they’re digging up old dino bones just to flog them again—figuratively, of course. Maybe it’s time for this franchise to go extinct, before audiences do a collective Velociraptor screech and run for the exits.
2. The Fast and the Furious
Ah, the Fast & Furious series—a franchise that’s somehow managed to stretch an action movie about illegal street racing into a space-time-continuum-defying saga featuring global heists, cyberterrorism, and yes, literal space travel.
What started as a fun, adrenaline-fueled tale of family (because Dominic Toretto will remind you it’s all about family) has now spiraled into a ridiculous spectacle where physics is more of a suggestion than a rule. By the time we reached F9, they were strapping cars to rockets. Cars. To rockets. And don’t even get me started on the 10th installment (Fast X), where we’re supposed to believe Dom can still drag race while dodging explosions at his tenth family barbecue of the series.
We get it, Universal—you’ll ride this series all the way to Fast & Furious 157: Retirement Home Drift if it keeps bringing in cash. But at this point, maybe it’s time to hit the brakes and park the franchise permanently.
3. Transformers
If Michael Bay’s Transformers movies were a person, they’d be that guy at the bar who talks way too loudly and keeps dropping things to see if you’re paying attention. The first one? Cool. The CGI effects were shiny, the action sequences chaotic (in a fun way), and we were treated to Shia LaBeouf screaming at robots. What’s not to love?
Then they made another… and another… and another. Each one louder, longer, and more incoherent than the last. Did Transformers have a plot? Probably. Were we all too distracted by the three-hour robot fistfights to follow it? Definitely. Last year’s Rise of the Beasts felt like a halfhearted attempt to revive the series, and it only proved that maybe this franchise has run out of fuel.
Yes, Bumblebee is adorable, and Optimus Prime will always be iconic—but no amount of giant robots smashing each other is worth enduring another overwrought sequel. Pack it up, Autobots. Time to roll out for good.
4. The Purge
The original Purge movie had an intriguing premise. What if, for one night a year, all crime—including murder—became legal? Creepy, unsettling, and a fascinating lens on human nature when societal rules vanish. Cool concept. Then came four sequels and a prequel.
How many times can we watch a bunch of people terrorize others under the guise of releasing their inhibitions? By the time we reached The Forever Purge, the franchise started feeling less like an exploration of our dark impulses and more like a lazy excuse for over-the-top violence. Instead of feeling thought-provoking or groundbreaking, it’s turned into just another way to cash in on audiences’ need for chaos. It’s time for this series to sit out the next Purge Night.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean
Ahoy, mateys! Jack Sparrow might have swaggered his way into our hearts back in 2003, but Disney has been trying to squeeze every last doubloon out of this franchise for way too long.
The first Pirates of the Caribbean was a delight—Johnny Depp’s eccentric pirate, swashbuckling adventures, and an actually coherent plot. But then the sequels got progressively more convoluted, dragging us through maelstroms of cursed pirates, love triangles, and sea monsters until nobody knew what was happening anymore. By Pirates 5, it felt like even Captain Jack was phoning it in.
Rumors swirl that Disney might revive the series (because of course they will), but honestly? They should bury this franchise where the treasure lies and walk away. Savvy?
6. Star Wars
Okay, before you come at me wielding a lightsaber, hear me out. The original trilogy? Iconic. The prequels? Divisive, but at least they had a vision. By the time we got to the sequel trilogy, though, things started feeling… uneven. From The Force Awakens (essentially a flashy remake of A New Hope) to The Last Jedi (polarizing, to put it lightly), and finally The Rise of Skywalker (somehow a mess and rushed at the same time), it’s been a bumpy ride.
And then there’s the seemingly endless parade of spin-offs, TV shows, and anthology movies. Yes, The Mandalorian is great, and Rogue One had its moments—but how much Star Wars content do we actually need? Sometimes less is more. At this rate, they’re going to make a movie about Yoda’s grocer.
7. The Conjuring Universe
Remember when The Conjuring came out in 2013 and scared us all half to death? What a masterpiece of horror! But somewhere along the way, it morphed into (cue spooky voice)… a cinematic universe. Spin-offs like Annabelle, The Nun, and numerous sequels to the spinoffs have diluted whatever magic the original had.
By now, it’s hard to even keep track of which cursed doll or haunted relic we’re supposed to care about. Yes, The Conjuring kicked off an entire genre revival, but maybe it’s time to turn out the lights and close the door on this series for good.
8. Saw
Oh, look, another torture device. We get it already! The Saw franchise felt fresh when it started—gritty, gruesome, and a psychological thriller underneath all the gore. But by the 10th installment (yes, TENTH), it’s become more of a grotesque parody of itself than anything innovative.
The constant twists, nonsensical timelines, and increasingly ridiculous traps make the newer films feel like they’re ticking boxes rather than delivering actual scares. Jigsaw’s reign of terror is over—can the producers just admit it?
Wrap It Up Already!
At the end of the day, some movie franchises are like fine wine—they age beautifully. Others are like expired milk sitting in the back of the fridge—nobody wants them to stick around any longer than they absolutely have to.
Hollywood may never stop churning out sequels and spin-offs, but as movie fans, we can at least dream of a world where some of these franchises gracefully take their final bow. Until then, I’ll be counting down to Jurassic World: Rebirth with a skeptical side-eye. Because, really, hasn’t this dino party gone on long enough?