Having recently covered some of cinema’s most overrated movies, it seemed only right to explore the same theme – except this time, its BIGGER.
Franchises are Hollywood’s newest and most favorite staple: they practically guarantee big box office numbers, and offset the difficulty of writing something genuinely original by reusing the same characters for multiple films.
Cynicism put briefly aside, they also allow for movies to explore their characters on a deeper level, as multiple films encourage more development, growth, and change from their heroes (and sometimes, even their villains).
Still, some franchises are absolutely idolized by their fans. We’re not talking about normal, rational enjoyment of a product, either – we’re talking about those viciously toxic fandoms that hunt down anyone who dares speak out against their beloved property.
Well, guess what? Here’s 10 such overrated franchises. Vent your rage in the comments if you must, but remember: no-one is saying that these film franchises are bad. Just that maybe they occasionally enjoy more success and loyalty than they necessarily deserve.
10. The MCU
Honestly, the MCU is kind of easy pickings, as it’s the biggest and most successful cinematic franchise in history, and it’s essentially the reason that every studio has since decided to try to start their own.
Still, despite its massive success, the MCU actually has more than a few stinkers in its ranks. While no-one (or no-one sane, at least) is defending Thor: The Dark World, the MCU is almost always looked upon with a hushed reverence far greater than it deserves.
Of course, it has delivered some massively iconic moments – The Avengers assembling for the first time or the final battle in Avengers: Endgame – but it’s also given us a great many predictable, formulaic films that really don’t differ that greatly from one another.
In truth, it only makes the cut due to the great many fans it has that refuse to listen to criticism of their favorite superhero films, because the MCU is without a doubt the template for all other cinematic franchises. Still, it’s not so great that everyone needs to try and copy it, so here it sits at number 10.