22 Movie Franchises That People Believe Really Should've Stopped After The First Sequel

Y'all already KNOW Shrek is on here.

This weekend in a viral thread, redditor u/karma_hit_my_dogma asked the question, "What movie franchise should’ve stopped at two?" and people CAME THROUGH with some accurate AF answers!

Walt Disney Studios

So with that in mind, here are some movie franchises that really should've admitted that three's a crowd:

1. The Mummy

Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

"The first two focused on ancient Egyptian history and mythology, then number three suddenly took place in Asia? Huh?! The cherry on top of that shit cake was the absence of Rachel Weisz. Her absence was felt (I think she had a scheduling conflict with another movie?). Don't get me wrong, Brendan Fraser did great. I blame the writers/producers/director."

—u/B1gD1cV1rgn

2. Shrek

Dreamworks / © DreamWorks / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Shrek 2 is unironically one of my favorite movies of all time. Every single joke lands perfectly AND it has an engaging story; it's the perfect comedy."

—u/Monkeycarcass

3. Hellraiser

New World Releasing / © New World Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

"The original Hellraiser and II are amazing! The third one is okay, and IV tried something that just didn’t work. I give four points for ambition, though. All the rest were scripts for other movies that got bought and had Pinhead added in, which is why they all feel so disconnected."

—u/Nerdfatha

4. Home Alone

20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I watch Home Alone every Christmas. It's my Christmas movie and I'm 34. I love the first and second ones, and I actually once watched 3 through 5. They're like low-cost B-cast movies compared to the first two. It's not the same without Culkin, and they got different directors, writers, and a different composer. The first two had John Williams, who is a legend. Home Alone 3 through 5 kind of don't even have a theme to the music. For me, there's ONLY Home Alone 1 and 2."

—u/Angelz5

5. Child's Play

United Artists / © United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I love Chucky as a character, but the rest of them are just tropes and comedy to me, removing the spirit of it."

—u/karma_hit_my_dogma

6. The Expendables

Lions Gate / © Lions Gate / Courtesy Everett Collection

"They made the third PG-13 and not R, which really affected it overall."

—u/joe_nard_vee

7. Taken

20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

"The best joke I saw about it was, 'Taken 3 makes Taken 2 look like Taken 1.'"

—u/cockybirds

8. The Addams Family

Melinda Sue Gordon / © Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Addams Family Values was great, but the third one has almost none of the original cast. We don't talk about that one."

—u/UnRepentantDrew

9. Night at the Museum

20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

"The third movie is notable as Robin Williams' last live-action role, though."

—u/Baronheisenberg

10. The Godfather

Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / Everett Collection

"I think the third one might have a good film in there somewhere; it just needed to be edited differently."

—u/Total-Willow5165

11. The Land Before Time

Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / Everett Col

"Sorry, I'm showing my age here, LOL."

—u/Bearded_Wonder0713

12. RoboCop

Orion Pictures Corp. / © Orion Pictures Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I loved the first two, but the third was garbage. I also didn't like the remake."

—u/I_might_be_weasel

13. Beethoven

Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Replacing the entire cast for Beethoven's 3rd through 5th really didn't work. Even the premise — that Beethoven's family would ever have left him with another family — didn't make any sense."

—u/taversham

14. The Fast and the Furious

MCA / © MCA / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I mean, the third one was technically a spinoff that was all right, and then it got even more silly with the fourth and so on. But those first ones were great fun in their time, and the first is actually quite a good movie and plot!"

—u/CriticallyNormal

15. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

New Line Cinema / © New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Secret of the Ooze was fun; then they got too serious in III."

—u/pizza-chit

16. The Terminator

Orion Pictures Corp. / Orion Pictures Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"After Terminator 2: Judgment Day...was there anything better than that?"

—u/MrBroBotBrian

17. Poltergeist

MGM /  © MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Sure, they probably could've stopped after the first one, but the second had moments. After that it became a giant mess."

—u/RachelMcAdamsWart

18. X-Men

20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

"They really could’ve bowed out gracefully after X2."

—u/Chilulu3

19. Halloween

Compass International Pictures / Compass International Pictures /  Courtesy Everett Collection

"It’s what John Carpenter wanted. However, the remakes are pretty good!"

—u/BassKing69

20. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

New Line Cinema / © New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

"The first one was great and had heart, the second one was a crude repeat, and the third one was a repeat of a repeat."

—u/square3481

21. The Hobbit

Warner Bros. / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I don't care about Azog, Tauriel, the forges/gold, or even much of the battle of the five armies. The worst part is, I can see the justification for splitting the book into two movies, especially the way they cut the first two. The third is just so much unneeded filler."

—u/rpgaff2

22. And finally: The Matrix

Warner Bros / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

"An unpopular opinion maybe? Honestly, maybe they should've stopped even after the first one."

—u/izz123456

Now it's your turn! What's a movie franchise that really should've stopped after the first two films? Share your pick or picks in the comments below!

Note: Some entries have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: Reddit.