The last few decades have seen an influx of what could now best be considered overrated franchises. In an era of cinematic universes, spin-offs, reboots, and billion-dollar Box Office earnings, franchises have become Hollywood’s favorite safety net. Unarguably, some of these franchises have delivered genuine excitement and creative evolution over the years.
However, others have become bloated, repetitive machines running on nostalgia with diminishing returns on their storylines. Interestingly, many of these franchises remain commercially profitable with a growing, dedicated fanbase. However, considering some are well past their creative prime and continue to survive on name recognition rather than storytelling substance, several have become overrated franchises. Here’s a critical look at the most overrated franchises that could desperately use a break, if not a full-on retirement.
1. Fast & Furious
What began as a street-racing action drama in 2001 has morphed into a physics-defying, globe-trotting action saga. The Fast & Furious franchise now involves everything from space missions to cybernetic supervillains. The franchise has undoubtedly delivered its fair share of fun set pieces and jaw-dropping stunts, but at this point, it has run its due course.
One of the franchise’s selling points and central themes is family and ride-or-die loyalty. Ten installments later, these themes feel rehashed, with later entries feeling more like superhero movies than car-centric action films. It’s a recurring theme that the previous villain somehow becomes a part of Dom Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) family. Fast X leaned so heavily into ridiculousness that it unintentionally became self-satire. With several spin-offs and sequels still in development, Universal Pictures is clearly milking the engine dry.
2. Jurassic Park/Jurassic World
The original Steven Spielberg-directed Jurassic Park (1993) was a groundbreaking blend of science fiction, suspense, and predatory dinosaurs. Almost three decades later, with seven films, the franchise became a collection of dinosaur chases, bad dialogue, and half-hearted nods to nostalgia. While it metamorphosed into a multimedia franchise, it was rebooted in 2015, renamed Jurassic World, and a second trilogy. However, the Jurassic World trilogy leaned more on spectacle than sci-fi or suspense.
With every installment, it expanded with increasingly absurd promises, introducing raptor whisperers, weaponized dinos, and global dino outbreaks. Although a controversial take, Jurassic Park/Jurassic World has become an overrated franchise. More now than ever, the franchise needs a break, at least to avoid being dragged through lazy scripts and undercooked plotlines, and a new appreciation for dinosaur-based movies. The 2025 Jurassic World Rebirth single-handedly holds the franchise on its shoulders, as its success or failure would ultimately break or rebuild it.
3. Transformers
With seven films in the franchise, the Transformers film series has grossed over $5.2 billion. However, at the heart of it, the franchise is a perfect definition of style over substance. While the first films had a certain charm, the recent sequels have become increasingly bombastic, incoherent, and exhausting. Although the spin-off Bumblebee received critical praise, it struggled to rejuvenate the diminishing franchise.
An essential proof of this fact was its 2023 sequel, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which bombed at the Box Office. With much respect to its fanbase, the Transformer film series has become one of Hollywood’s overrated franchises. Since there’s only so much metal-on-metal destruction that audiences can take. At this point, there’s only one option: reinvent it drastically or let the franchise rest.
4. The Conjuring Universe
The James Wan-created The Conjuring Universe has largely been a success since its first installment in 2013. While The Conjuring films have maintained a decent standard, the surrounding universe has become a collection of predictable jump scares and recycled horror tropes. What began as a genuinely chilling haunted house tale has spiraled into a convoluted supernatural franchise packed with spin-offs. From The Nun films to the Annabelle series, the franchise can take so many divergent storylines before becoming a mockery of itself. With its evil dolls and haunted nuns becoming memes for pop culture, maybe it’s time to exorcise the franchise with The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025).
5. The Hunger Games
While not as long-running as other franchises on the list, The Hunger Games has started showing early signs of overstaying its welcome. The original films ended with a strong conclusion. Its follow-up prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), which was also adapted from a prequel novel, impressed critics and audiences while securing a profit at the Box Office.
With the upcoming prequel Sunrise on the Reaping (2026), the franchise is expected to offer yet another backstory before the events of the original films. Although listed as one of Hollywood’s overrated franchises, The Hunger Games doesn’t yet suffer fatigue but is well on its path if it continues churning prequels and spin-offs. As is, The Hunger Games universe doesn’t need more prequels to stay relevant. It could use a break, considering not every dystopian tale needs to be reverse-engineered into a universe.
6. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
While a controversial entry in the list, the universe would soon be deemed overrated if the MCU doesn’t quickly retrace its steps. While many argued against it, the fate of the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) is proof of what could happen when a universe is overstretched. The MCU dominated the superhero genre for a decade, from 2008 to 2019. Since then, the MCU has struggled to find direction, even as it expands in every possible direction, from films, TV shows, multiverse, and alternate timelines. Its Phase 4 and Phase 5 entries (Eternals, Quantumania, Secret Invasion, etc.) have been met with lukewarm to mixed reception.
The MCU’s interconnected nature of the universe now feels more like homework for audiences than entertainment. While Thunderbolts* (2025) offered a glimmer of hope for the universe, everything rests on the shoulders of the upcoming Phase 6 to steer the MCU back on the right path. With already scheduled releases, the MCU has no plans to take a break. However, to avoid running aground as one of the overrated franchises, it must work on its oversaturation of superheroes and narrative fatigue. Two other notable overrated franchises that have naturally run their course are the Wizarding World and Pirates of the Caribbean.
