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And 2019 has already given us a bevy of them.
Last weekend,Men in Black: InternationalandShaftboth openedwell shy of expectations.
Things look even worse forDark Phoenix, which seems likely to lose$100 million.
MaysGodzilla: King of the Monstersalso underperformed compared to its precursors.
Could we be in for a long season of the dreadedsequel fatigue?
Whatever this years flops have in common, its not that theyre sequels.
It cant just be that theyre bad either, because,well.
Theyre not so much sequels as they arestep-sequels part of the family but also kind of not.
Spreadsheet-generated sequels are not a new occurrence.
It seemed a sign that a franchise could be rebooted with minimal connection to what came before.
Lets start withDark Phoenix.
(Judging by theirvisibly bored expressions, some in the cast seemed to return the sentiment.)
It would be like if Marvel had madeCaptain America: Civil WarbeforeThe Avengers.
Im not sure you could say the same thing aboutMen in Black:International.
Like Jean Grey, theMiBuniverse by itself was not enough of a draw.
In the immortal words ofone Sony exec: The movie needed a greater reason to be.
Still, its not all doom and gloom for the summers step-sequels.
