The original Police Academy was one of the best films to release of the decade, and it had audiences rolling with laughter. Naturally, fans flocked to the sequel, only to find Police Academy 2. Audiences that loved the original film were severely disappointed with this sequel to Police Academy. Reviewers immediately labeled the film twice as dumb as its predecessor but only half as fun. It didn’t help that only six cadets from the original film could return for the second. The entire dynamic was thrown out of balance, and the story suffered for it.
It has a meager Rotten Tomatoes rating of 23%. The reason Police Academy 2 may have been so bad was that the sequel was definitely just thrown together. A year after the original released, the sequel came to theaters. It definitely felt slapped together, and, in the end, it felt like a horrible cash-grab.
To preserve your image of the initial film, never ever watch this movie. Not only was this movie over a decade too late to be relevant, one of the two stars had passed away.
The thought of reviving it after John Belushi had died didn’t seem like a good idea to fans, and its reception proved as much to the minds behind it. It holds a negative 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This film’s greatest offense is what it does to the first. It starts in Detroit, where the situation is much worse than when the last film ended. This essentially makes the first film seem pointless, even though it’s a far superior movie in every way.
Robocop 2 has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 31%, compared to the original's 88% "certified fresh" rating.
Talk about a film that didn’t need a sequel in the first place. What are the chances that any one person would be involved in two passenger vehicle hijackings in such a short period of time? Regardless, Sandra Bullock’s character was apparently unlucky enough, finding herself stuck on a hijacked cruise ship this time.
By all accounts, Keanu Reeves’ decision to turn down this sequel was a wise one. As one of the lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes, it has an incredibly poor 3% rating.
What’s so supremely disappointing about this film was just how mediocre the original was. Aiming to capitalize on the financial success of the first, the studio pumped this unnecessary addition out into theaters.
If an original already has a poor Rotten Tomatoes rating (49%), it probably means you shouldn't try for a sequel. Evan Almighty came in at a paltry 23%.
While this movie isn’t a completely irredeemable film in all regards, it definitely did a huge disservice to the first film and what made it so successful. The least forgivable of all transgressions was the decision to render Neo and the opposing agents entirely in CG during a key fight sequence.
What made the first movie so compelling was the practical effects it used to make the surreal combat seem believable. Replacing the character with computer-generated models took all that charm away and gave it a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first movie was ridiculous, and no one would dispute that, but the second movie? Too ridiculous. In this film, through voodoo, the still-dead Bernie can now walk towards music whenever he hears it.
The film ends with him riding a shark into the sunset. No wonder it has a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Any Mortal Kombat film that sees Johnny Cage unalived in the opening sequence is not one that fans will appreciate. Plus, it’s not even the same Johnny Cage from the first film! What follows is a slipshod story that unbelievably had a budget one third larger than the first.
The increased budget was not enough to buy good reviews, and today the film has an approval rating of 3% on Rotten Tomatoes. That being said, this film is lucky enough to fall into the so-bad-it’s-good category, so watching it isn’t a total waste of time.
This film doesn’t have any class warfare going on, and the lead wasn’t a dancer. Why was this even considered a sequel? Probably because the storyline wasn’t original or gripping enough to stand on its own, so they had to prop it up by calling it a successor to the classic.
It has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here’s a perfect example of Hollywood’s inability to leave a good thing alone. The first film in this series was iconic and didn’t benefit at all from this second installment, which, if anything, tarnished the first. The gore was definitely amped up in the sequel, but it wasn’t just gore that had attracted audiences to the first film.
It was the drama and impact of that gore—two things this film seemed to be short on. With a 27% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it clearly missed the mark.
This is a strange entry. Sometimes, it’s clear why sequels are made: either the fans want them because there’s a story left to be told or producers see that there’s money to be made.
This is one of those rare films that didn’t seem to fit either option, as this franchise wasn’t exactly one that seemed obvious for revival, and fans of the older entries definitely didn’t want to see this origin story. It has a lowly 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
For a sequel to hold up to the original, it has to bring something new to the table while retaining its identity. No one told the writers of this sequel because it is a near-carbon copy of the first and received a negative 33% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first film was actually really good, but it definitely did not need revisiting. Still, the film was a financial success so, of course, a third one got made too.
Fortunately for fans of the original Donnie Darko, not many people even know this sequel exists. That’s likely because it came out eight years after the original cult classic and was released straight to DVD.
The few who did see it generally gave it poor reviews as it failed to capture what made the first film so gripping. The film now holds a 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Horror movies are the worst offenders of unnecessary sequels and reboots. Of all those “worst offenders,” Carrie 2 is the worst. It’s essentially the same movie, but with all the actual drama relegated to the last 10 minutes of the film.
At 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is clear no one enjoyed the retelling.
When a star doesn’t return for a sequel, it’s a bad sign. When two don’t return, it should be a sign that the movie just shouldn’t be made.
When Caddyshack II was released without its two main stars (Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield), it grossed a third of what the original did. The film now holds a 4% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
There are hardcore critics of this franchise that would argue there shouldn’t have even been a first instillation, let alone a sequel. The fact that the sequel proved to be an even worse iteration than the first didn’t help quell those criticisms.
In what proved to be a story more rife with explosions than actual drama, this sequel disappointed fans with its shallow and clunky narrative. It also has an incredibly poor 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
What’s painful about terrible sequels is what they does to the originals. It’s the thought of how perfect the initial movies would have been as standalone works if only the sequel hadn’t been made.
Luckily, Teen Wolf was able to evade this by having one of the most forgettable sequels ever. Teen Wolf Too holds an almost impossibly low 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
It never bodes well for a sequel if it gets rushed to production. It makes the whole project seem like a transparent cash-grab trying to capitalize on the popularity of the first. The creators of this sequel were obviously not concerned about that because this movie was released just a year after the initial instillation.
It follows characters who, no joke, saw the first film and wanted to investigate the mythology around it. Obviously, it doesn’t go well. Both for the characters in the film and the viewers alike. It has a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Ring, the American remake of the Japanese film, Ringu, was as smart and scary as it was successful. The sequel to that remake would prove to be none of those things.
The story was saturated with plot holes and one particular scene featured CGI deer that were so horrendous, audiences were laughing when they were supposed to be terrified. It nabbed a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Strangely enough, the original film in this franchise has been remade, and its sequel is widely hated too! Director Wes Craven himself has even denounced this film, the sequel to his 1977 hit, The Hills Have Eyes. This film has little in common with the first, featuring a surviving character from the original.
Aside from that, the elements of drama and terror that made the first so successful were absent. It has a paltry 12% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Movies based on video games rarely do well. So, to make a sequel for one is a gamble at best, and one that the creators of this sequel lost.
This installment made just over half of what its predecessor made and was received poorly by critics, earning a 24% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This movie is a perfect example of an attempted cash grab that absolutely disrespects the original film. The first Zoolander was by no means a masterpiece, but it was remembered fondly by scores of fans. This is probably why most of the original cast returned for the second film, along with some new big-name additions.
Unfortunately, fans weren’t as keen on the second installment and the film barely made back its budget, while also barely hanging onto a 23% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
The first film was produced by Steven Spielberg, but he declined to work on the sequel. Fans should have seen this as a warning, but they still showed up in droves to see this successor.
Undoubtedly, a great deal of them left disappointed, as this addition failed to live up to the expectations set by the first film and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 37%.
Certain classics should just be left alone, and Jaws is most certainly one of them. Jaws: The Revenge was the fourth and final installation in the franchise, and fans agree that all four paled greatly in comparison to the first.
Fans should have been weary when Spielberg didn’t return for any of the sequels, but they kept returning until this film put the final nail in the franchise’s casket. It has an unthinkable 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Would the original Mask movie have worked without Jim Carrey? Probably not. Still, this film was made in an attempt to capitalize on the success of the first, but failed to bring back Jim Carrey and instead focused on a new character whose son was just born with Mask powers.
So, instead of Jim Carrey, it’s a baby. Oh, and he got those powers because his father was wearing the mask while he was conceived. Weird. A 6% Rotten Tomatoes rating? Expected.
The first film was by no means a critical success, but the second installment was even less appreciated, and for good reason. The film’s portrayal of the Middle East was criticized for being problematic.
Still, the film would go on to be the highest grossing romantic comedy of the year, even with a 16% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
The initial crossover film was a unique and inspired idea, which resulted in it being hugely successful. The sequel, however, was considered a huge disappointment.
The novelty of the initial crossover wasn’t enough to bring audiences back and the film now holds a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Unless you’re going for a full-blown reboot, 14 years is too long to wait to revisit a franchise. Unfortunately, a sequel to Basic Instinct was released in 2006, nearly a decade and a half after the initial film’s release.
Unlike the original, this film failed to impress critics and audiences alike and was a failure at the box office with a 7% Rotten Tomatoes score.
2 Fast 2 Furious is the only film in the franchise to not feature Vin Diesel, who opted to instead star in xXx in 2002.
Though the film was technically a financial success, fans will agree it’s one of the weakest entries in the series, hence the 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Calling something a “loose sequel” is just a nice way of saying that it’s a film trying to capitalize on the success of the first. This loose sequel to An American Werewolf in London was not an exception to this rule.
The film holds a 7% approval rating on rotten tomatoes and only just made back its budget.
