6. Alien
Another franchise that started strong before promptly nose-diving into cinematic inadequacy, it’s Alien. After Ridley Scott’s Alien redefined both the sci-fi and the horror genres with its cutting-edge special effects and atmospheric scares, Aliens came along and – according to many – improved upon the original. What followed was the subsequent decline of the franchise until most fans’ passion for the sci-fi horror films had all but gone.
After crossing over with the Predator franchise for 2004’s Alien vs. Predator (which received generally negative reviews), it seemed that the Xenomorph had jumped the shark. Despite having had a few more successful outings in recent years in the video game industry, Alien is a franchise that has almost entirely lost its cinematic appeal.
2012 prequel Prometheus gave fans answers to questions that no-one had ever asked, and despite more positive reviews, the follow-up, Alien: Covenant, wasn’t quite able to win audiences back, significantly underperforming at the box office.
There are still those who fervently defend the franchise to this day, but it’s long since become a shadow of its former self, and that’s what earns it a spot on this list.