10 Films That Saved Their Franchise

[BluLobsta]

From Spout.com-

1. Batman Begins
2. Goldeneye
3. Casino Royale
4. Halloween H20
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
7. Mission: Impossible III
8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
9. Star Trek: First Contact
10. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

P.S. Next week's Fast & Furious has a chance of doing the same...

[Rantlers]

I thought Stallone did a great job saving his franchises with his new movies as:

Rambo > Rambo III
Rocky Balboa > Rocky V

[Ferris]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

From Spout.com-

1. Batman Begins
2. Goldeneye
3. Casino Royale
4. Halloween H20
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
7. Mission: Impossible III
8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
9. Star Trek: First Contact
10. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

P.S. Next week's Fast & Furious has a chance of doing the same...

The Harry Potter franchise needed to be "saved?"

As for M:I-III, I thought II was better.

[Porkchop Express]

Originally Posted by Rantlers

I thought Stallone did a great job saving his franchises with his new movies as:

Rambo > Rambo III
Rocky Balboa > Rocky V

Those are the two movies that popped into my head when I read the thread title.

[fatediesel]

I wouldn't really count Batman Begins or Goldeneye or Casino Royale as films that saved their franchises as much as reinvented their franchises. I suppose if Batman Begins had been bad it could have caused the franchise to be reinvented again, which would have taken years.
I also didn't think Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban saved the franchise because the franchise didn't need to be saved. It took the franchise from kid's movies to more serious and adult but that's how the books went.
I also thought Mission Impossible III was the worst in the series. It wasn't horrible but if I personally liked MI1 and MI2 better.

[Darkhawk9587]

I only agree with the first three here. Harry Potter never needed saving. Mission Impossible III was a joke. And Star Wars Episode II saved the franchise!? Really? IMO, all of the newer Star Wars were terrible.

[cajmoyper]

I may be one of the few over 20 who did enjoy the new set of SW but the numbers will tell you that almost all of that list is wrong. Sure it takes a good movie to sell on the DVD market but still, all of those movies were a financial success.
EDIT: except maybe a Nightmare on Elm Street.

[naturephoto1]

Maybe not saving the Franchise, but as I recall the original Star Wars saved 20th Century Fox Studios who as I recall were in terrible financial shape at the time.

Rich

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

From Spout.com-

1. Batman Begins
2. Goldeneye
3. Casino Royale
4. Halloween H20
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
7. Mission: Impossible III
8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
9. Star Trek: First Contact
10. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

P.S. Next week's Fast & Furious has a chance of doing the same...

halloween h20...o...k.....

[Mike53421]

Batman Begins saved Batman as a movie character, but I suppose technically it's still a franchise, same with Casino Royale. Both were reinventions but still with the same core character (Batman, Bond) that really could have used saving. Spiderman 4 is on the future list here, and what about the new Friday the 13th? As well, I agree about Rocky and Rambo.

Halloween H20 at the time was good (skate to the face!) and Attack of the Clones was better than Phantom Menace, but come on, anything that came before both of these "saviour" movies was terrible, these were merely a small step up.

Begins and Casino Royale seemed so much more impactful than those two, this list probably could have been a top five.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

From Spout.com-

1. Batman Begins
2. Goldeneye
3. Casino Royale
4. Halloween H20
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
7. Mission: Impossible III
8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
9. Star Trek: First Contact
10. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

P.S. Next week's Fast & Furious has a chance of doing the same...

Wait...Trek 4 and 8 are on here, but not Trek 2? ST II: The Wrath of Kahn defines the whole idea of a sequel saving a franchise.

And Prisoner of Azkaban is to date the lowest-performing Potter film, don't see how that "saved" the Harry Potter franchise. All it did was demonstrate how pliable the series was to the sensibilities of a director who apparently put more thought into how he could move his camera through panes of glass than he did thinking about explaining why Hary's Patonus charm is a stag or taking 60 seconds to explain to the audience the identities of the 4 lads who created the Marauder's Map....all of which was crucial to the emotional kick of the book...we don't get that, but hey, thank God we've got those scenes of the Whomping Willow killing a bird. Har har. Animal death is funny, right? Can't believe people worship this film as the best of the Potter films.

[jasontkelley1746]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Wait...Trek 4 and 8 are on here, but not Trek 2? ST II: The Wrath of Kahn defines the whole idea of a sequel saving a franchise.

one movie does not make a franchise. So Star Trek II could not save the franchise because it was not considered a franchise yet. It may have started the franchise though.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by jasontkelley1746

one movie does not make a franchise. So Star Trek II could not save the franchise because it was not considered a franchise yet. It may have started the franchise though.

Of course one movie makes a frachise - Star Trek 1 was a blockbuster - but although tons of people saw it, it wasn't held with high regard. So the sequel had to be great to save the series. Star Trek II came along and restored the reputation of the brand. It saved the franchise.

[jasontkelley1746]

a franchise is considered 2 or more. so the first movie was not considered a franchise the second movie made it part of a franchise, but did not save it because one movie is not a franchise.

[thedarkangel1975]

Originally Posted by Rantlers

I thought Stallone did a great job saving his franchises with his new movies as:

Rambo > Rambo III
Rocky Balboa > Rocky V

I definetly agree on Rocky. I enjoyed all the Rambos. They were just popcorn flicks after the first one

[Chuck Norris Inc]

Great call on the Batman Begins. From cartoony crap to awesome, dark, action drama.

I know I'm the only one on the planet that feels this way... but the new Rob Zombie version of Halloween was killer.

[modano079]

Star Trek not a franchise before The Wrath of Khan??? Now that's funny!

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by jasontkelley1746

a franchise is considered 2 or more. so the first movie was not considered a franchise the second movie made it part of a franchise, but did not save it because one movie is not a franchise.

Well, that's horsepoo, because many movies are created with the sole intention of creating a "tentpole franchise" - and are considered "franchise properties" before the first mag of film rolls in the camera. Star Trek was definitely an example. See also:

Superman: the Movie
Superman Returns
Dr. No
The Rocketeer
The Phantom
The Shadow
Conan the Barbarian
Spider-Man
Batman Begins

etc. etc. etc.

[thedarkangel1975]

I disagree on Golden Eye. I never liked that movie.

I also disagree on Star Trek II. The Wrath of Kahn saved that franchise. The first one was so long and drawn out...

I believe the New Star Trek will save and hurt the franchise. The serious Trekkies will hate it and casual and newbies will en joy it (probably me).

[McKellars]

I do not agree that Star Wars II saved the franchise. Episode I is my favorite of the prequels. Episodes II and III were total letdowns to me.