One of the biggest challenges face Hollywood creatives ( especially those involved in enfranchisement task ) is making three or four films within the same canon while maintaining a uniform quality . Many have try and failed , often forget audiences feeling as though the account in interrogative sentence was better without the latter instalment in all . It can even damage the report of the preceding volume as memories of it sour with the antipathy an interview can get from its sequel(s).Yet sequels remain an inevitable fixture in the movie business , especially when their predecessors do well at the box office .

With many franchises , audiences would be forgive for being unaware of generic and legacy subsequence , as they often secrete mediocre loge billet returns and lukewarm receptions . The insistence of studios capitalizing on the success of their pre - existing information processing does not demand maintain mellow - caliber storytelling , but rather that sequels contain enough buff service – which sometimes simply means beloved lineament returning – to make a gain . It ’s a narration as old as movie house itself , and with that in intellect , here are 10 picture trilogy that should only have been one movie .

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Josh Hartnett looking shocked in Fight or Flight

10Alien

Ridley Scott convincingly blended the repugnance and sci - fi genres with his 1979 classicAlien , star Sigourney Weaver as sanction ship’s officer Ellen Ripley aboard the commercial starship Nostromo . Though not the first to do so ( Stanley Kubrick’s2001 : A Space Odysseyis the true innovator of this marriage ) , Scott ’s terrific vision of an isolated crew of cosmonaut lost in blank space remains a phenomenal achievement . James Cameron ’s sequelAliens(1986 ) was sure as shooting no poor contribution to the franchise ( albeit stuff with unwarranted ‘ 80sness ) , but its following additions have been for the most part unwelcome . Alien 3has its present moment and yet can barely justify its own existence , whileAlien : Resurrectiondoesn’t warrant sing about at all .

9The Hangover

The commercial-grade and cult achiever of Todd Phillips’The Hangover(2009 ) more - or - less demanded a subsequence or two , and this is on the button what audiences beget over the course of the following four years . However , where the first succeeded with biting comedy , a compelling plot of ground , and original characters , the sequel were stagnant , insistent , and often unfunny . The Hangover Part II(2011 ) felt like a faineant rewrite of the first . ThoughThe Hangover Part IIIditched the construct of the titular katzenjammer altogether in an attempt to keep things reinvigorated , it compensated only by construct an over - the - top , distasteful thriller that was far too mad .

8Cars

ThoughCars(2006 ) is often regarded as one of the safest and most middling installments in the Disney - Pixar canon , that is not to say that it is without charm or endearment . Legendary Disney mainstay John Lasseter created an original , sometimes moving tale about involve spirit slow that was also beautifully recreate . ThoughCars 3(2017 ) for certain meliorate on its dead forgettable predecessor , Cars 2(2011 ) , up the stakes with a more Pixar - distinctive meditation on aging and existentialism , it was not enough to definitively claim that a trilogy was warranted in this universe . Its legacy remain intact , but the Cars enfranchisement remains a mediocre Pixar entry .

7The Hobbit

The lore of Middle Earth was long unexplored following the almighty success of Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy ( 2001 - 2003 ) . Filmed back - to - back and undoubtedly one ofthe few perfect trilogies in cinema history , it seemed inevitable that Jackson would be brought finally to complete another task . The Hobbittrilogy ( 2012 - 2014 ) , though commercially successful with a total of $ 3 billion at the box office , did not warrant the 474 minute that it extrapolate from a 300 - Sir Frederick Handley Page novel . With each instalment garnering halfhearted receptions , the franchise leave audience confused as to why such a trilogy was necessary in the first place , other than it being inescapably remunerative for MGM .

6Men In Black

The exploits of Agent J and Agent K in Barry Sonnenfeld’sMen In Black(1997 ) , base on the Malibu / Marvel comic series of the same name , felt like an untapped gold mine following its succeeder . Two underwhelming continuation and fifteen years after , however , interview had suffer enthusiasm . ThoughMen In Black 3(2012 ) made an impressive $ 624 million at the box office , the mixed review of its predecessor , Men In Black II(2002 ) , create an aureole of a dealership clutch at straws . Its twisting - offMen In Black : International(2019),starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson , was a critical and corner office bankruptcy , cementing an underwhelming legacy for a enfranchisement that once had a portion of hope .

5The Matrix

The Wachowski babe revolutionise science fabrication with their 1999 religious cult classicThe Matrix , a grungy , philosophical thriller that spawned two immediate follow - ups and then a bequest continuation , The Matrix Resurrections , in 2021 . The four Academy Awards thatThe Matrixwon , the revitalization of the cyberpunk subgenre of sci - fi , and its consuming cultural shock were certainly strong grounds to build up from . ReloadedandRevolutions(both 2003 ) , however , encounter mixed recap and came left a far less substantial footmark on society . Though the thematic depicted object of the franchise could easy take century of time of day to explore in any pregnant depth , it has turn up too difficult a challenge , even to the pioneering Wachowskis .

Related:10 Movie Trilogies That Should Get Fourquels , According To Reddit

4The Exorcist

The mean movie - goer is plausibly unaware of the expand Exorcist universe of discourse , which includes five sequels ( three are upcoming , set out withThe Exorcist : Believerreleasing this year ) , two prequels , and a short - be boob tube series . The impact of the originalExorcist(1973 ) , directed by William Friedkin , left little desire at the time for more . The Exorcistis justifiedly regarded as the gilded standard for revulsion and continue one of the most superimposed , worked up , and terrifying addition to the genre ’s canyon – even fifty old age by and by . Parodied to no end and iconic from start to finish , The Exorcistmight as well have been the only installment in the franchise – it ’s the only one anyone remembers .

3The Blair Witch Project

The legacy of Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez’sThe Blair Witch Project(1999 ) is almost unmatched in terms of cultural impact from a horror flick . Savvy selling and an challenging assumption revitalized the find footage subgenre , which intend that the film step by step made a huge profit of over $ 200 million at the box office . However , its subsequence , Book of Shadows , was marred by disorderly post - production . It performed poorly and was entirely disregard canonically byBlair Witch(2016 ) , which served as a new direct subsequence to the first film . Though see as an improvement onShadows , Blair Witchstill receive poor reviews and was considered a box role dashing hopes .

2Jurassic Park

Two pic trilogies have spawn from Michael Crichton ’s 1990 novelJurassic Park , which was initially conform by Steven Spielberg three long time later , and was forthwith revered as one of the auteur ’s many masterpieces . Pressure for a sequel was initially send on Crichton ’s shoulder , and when he provided one , Spielberg was signed on again to directThe deep in thought World(1997 ) . Despite an huge marketing movement , reform-minded use of computer - beget imagery , and darker themes makingThe Lost Worldone of the most anticipated releases of the 1990s , it received a mixed reception . Spielberg himself acknowledge to his own disenfranchisement and did not sign on forJurassic Park III , which again receive mixed reviews .

1Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

Mike Myers ’ brainchild , Austin Powers : International Man of Mystery(1997 ) , impact movie theater in a way that proceed to pervade . The biting mockery of the spy musical style created a specter over the administrator at MGM , who eventually had to reimagine the James Bond dealership all to escape the ridicule that hearing were now have at it . Indeed , the gritty , innuendo - light Daniel Craig epoch of Bond would unlikely have subsist were it not for the pressure level created by the Austin Powers enfranchisement . Nonetheless , mixed review for the second and third installments create question about their being , especially as it seems unlikely that the franchise would not have been so impactful without them .

In a dusty landscape Finn stares out into the distance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ben Affleck as Christian drumming his hand on the table while talking to Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s Marybeth in The Accountant 2

The Hobbit, The Hangover, Jurassic Park

Ripley with an Alien in her face in Alien 3

Phil, Stu and Alan with Carlos in an elevator in The Hangover

Lightning McQueen on the racetrack, racing against Chick Hicks and King in Cars

The hobbit bilbo and gollum

Will Smith with Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin in Men in Black 3

Keanu Reeves as Neo looking serious in The Matrix

Regan’s infamous “spider-walk” from The Exorcist.

Heather Donahue cries while holding a camera in The Blair Witch Project

Alan Grant and the T. Rex in Jurassic Park

Mike Myers as Austin Powers sings “Daddy Wasn’t There” in Austin Powers: Goldmember