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PODCAST

Failure to Franchise

A bi-weekly podcast devoted to infamous examples of failed film-franchise starters. In a Hollywood landscape dominated by giant tentpole movies, not all attempted franchises can succeed. Many intended first entries of a series fail to generate the planned sequels due to low box office, poor judgement, or, simply put... utter incompetence. This show is a celebration of (or perhaps a memorial for) those failures, as hosts Trev and Chris dissect what went wrong with these cinematic misfires. @F2Fpod

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:29:07

Episode 125 - Beautiful Creatures (2013)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/07/15

"Summer Surprise" rolls along, and this time around our online randomizer has chosen a film from perhaps our most dreaded cinematic genre - a "supernatural romance" YA adaptation! That's right, 2013's Beautiful Creatures was another studio attempt to cash-in on and replicate the success of Twilight, and upon its release it was roundly dismissed as such by both critics and audiences. But could this Southern Gothic tale of love and witchcraft possibly work its magic on us? If nothing else, will we

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01:41:54

Episode 124 - Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/07/01

"Summer Surprise," our annual event where an online randomizer picks our slate of summer movies, kicks off with 1988's attempt to turn the iconic TV horror hostess Elvira into an iconic big screen star...which, obviously, didn't quite work out. But why? With Elvira-mania in full swing in the 80s, what kept the spooky and goofy comedy of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark from connecting with movie audiences? We investigate that question, and also explore the history of the Elvira character and fascinating

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01:25:16

Episode 123 - Tekken (2009/2010/2011???)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/06/17

"Fighting VideoLAMES" concludes, with a look at the adaptation at one of the most popular, financially successful fighting game franchises in the world. But even that pedigree wasn't enough to save the movie from a lengthy struggle to even get released. Disregarded by many fans upset over changes to the source material, and equally disavowed by the game's creators, the Tekken movie is arguably one of the lesser-known cinematic video game adaptations. But does any of that necessarily mean it's bad

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02:06:06

Episode 122 - DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) w/ Special...

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/06/03

"Fighting VideoLAMES" continues with a look at the adaptation of Tecmo's Dead or Alive video game franchise. The games, about an international martial arts tournament put on by a mysterious, potentially sinister corporation, are known not only for their fast-paced hand-to-hand combat and colorful roster of characters, but also for their focus on beautiful, badass female characters and, controversially, the "jiggle physics" animation that is used to bring them to life (most infamously seen in

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01:31:12

Episode 121 - Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li...

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/05/20

For the latest installment of "Fighting VideoLAMES," we're looking at Capcom's second attempt to bring their beloved Street Fighter II to the big screen. Far from the silly, colorful spectacle of the JCVD/Raul Julia version, this time around Capcom opted for a more grounded, dramatic take, focusing primarily one single Street Fighter character in hopes of kicking off an MCU-like string of sequels ultimately culminating in a big team-up movie. But even with Kristen Kreuk, a hot TV star of the time,

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01:41:16

Episode 120 - Street Fighter (1994)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/05/06

We're kicking off "Fighting VideoLAMES," a four-episode series covering cinematic adaptions of fighting video-games, with the first of two movies based on one of the most iconic, popular fighting games of all time: 1994's Street Fighter. With an all-star cast including Jean Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia (in his final onscreen appearance), produced by the very company that made the video game, and released while Street Fighter II mania was at a high, the movie seemed like a can't-miss proposition

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01:25:53

Episode 119 - Spenser Confidential (2020)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/04/22

"Mark WahlTURD & the Yucky Bunch" concludes, as the singer-turned-actor-turned-business-mogul and his frequent collaborator, director Peter Berg, leave behind the growing unpredictability of theatrical box office for the apparent comfort and safety (and big paydays) of the streaming world. But even there, you're not entirely safe from the perils of a failed franchise starter, as you'll hear when we discuss 2020's Spenser Confidential, the cinematic adaptation of a popular series of detective novels

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01:21:54

Episode 118 - Mile 22 (2018)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/04/08

The third installment of "Mark WahlTURD & the Yucky Bunch" jumps ahead 15 years to 2018, where Mark Wahlberg, now very much a movie star, is looking to team up with director Peter Berg, his recent favorite collaborator, for a new espionage action thriller. But it's a rocky road to get there, as the movie in question was originally developed as a potential star vehicle for a totally different performer. Why did Mile 22 evolve into something else entirely? How did Wahlberg's "James Silva" go from

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01:42:17

Episode 117 - The Italian Job (2003)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/03/25

"Mark WahlTURD & the Yucky Bunch" rolls along into 2003, when a much-in-need-of-a-comeback Mark Wahlberg decided to hop on the then popular trend of remaking classic '60s heist movies, with a modern update of the beloved Michael Caine crime caper The Italian Job. Here, Wahlberg and a crew of fellow eccentric thieves (a "funky bunch," if you will) seek to pull off a heist as revenge against a former compatriot who has done them wrong. The movie's action scenes undeniably started a Mini Cooper

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01:59:59

Episode 116 - Planet of the Apes (2001)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/03/11

Here at Failure to Franchise, we don’t like making fun of actors. So trust us when we say our new theme, “Mark WalhTURD and the Yucky Bunch,” dedicated to four failed franchise starters from Boston rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg, is, uh, a tribute. First up, 2001’s Planet of the Apes remake, which was meant to be Wahlberg’s first foray into mega-blockbuster leading man territory. Helmed by beloved Hollywood weirdo Tim Burton, and featuring incredible makeup effects by Rick Baker, the film seemed

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01:37:36

Episode 115 - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/02/25

"FebruaRYAN" concludes with a look at 2014's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Twelve years after The Sum of All Fears failed to reignite the Jack Ryan franchise, Paramount tried once again to tell a new Ryan origin story, with a new "hot young star of the moment" leading man in the role. But this particular Ryan movie arrived in a post-MCU world, when the importance of "IP" had become even more evident, and the concept of - say it with us - "cinematic universes" had become all the rage. How did that

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01:42:34

Episode 114 - The Sum of All Fears (2002)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/02/11

It's out with January, and in with "FebruaRYAN." That's right, this month we're taking a look at Tom Clancy's beloved CIA analyst turned reluctant hero, Jack Ryan. After the successes of The Hunt for Red October, with Alec Baldwin as Ryan, and Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, which saw Harrison Ford take over the role, Paramount Pictures were sure they had a long-running, bulletproof spy-thriller franchise on their hands. And yet, two subsequent attempts to reboot the series were both

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01:31:08

Episode 113 - Mutant Chronicles (2008)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/01/28

"The Mutant GENEuary" wraps up with a movie that is very much not a YA adaptation. In fact, Mutant Chronicles is the long-awaited cinematic adaptation of a popular table-top RPG and video game franchise. After several abandoned attempts to make a big budget studio version of the property, starting in the 90s, fans were finally delivered an independent film adaptation in 2008 that adopted the green-screen aesthetics of recent box-office hits Sin City and 300. Would fans feel forgiving of, or even

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01:46:37

Episode 112 - The New Mutants (2020) w/ Days of...

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/01/14

It's a new year, and a new theme! We're transforming - or should we say "mutating" - the month of January into "The Mutant Gene-uary!" That's right, a month dedicated to mutants, and we're kicking it off with 2020's The New Mutants, the last film released from the original regime of the 20th Century Fox X-Men franchise. Based on a popular X-Men spin-off comic, The New Mutants was meant not only to expand the horizons of what a superhero movie could be, by taking a more horror-based approach, but

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01:49:26

Episode 111 - Power Rangers (2017)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/12/31

"It's Poddin' Time! We're closing out "Failure to Franchise presents Trev & Chris-tmas" with Trev's gift to Chris - a chance to revisit 2017's big-screen blockbuster reboot of Power Rangers. With a team of up-and-coming young actors as the titular heroes, and a couple Hollywood heavy hitters backing them up in supporting roles - including one with an interesting prior connection to the franchise - it sure seemed like Power Rangers was well-suited to cash in on the overall success of the superhero

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01:33:23

Episode 110 - Monster Trucks (2017)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/12/17

It's once again the most holly, jolly time of the year - "Failure to Franchise presents Trev and Chris-tmas," when we gift each other movies off our long F2F list that we might otherwise not be getting to anytime soon. First up, Chris gifts Trev a notorious box-office and critical flop that Trev has nonetheless always wanted to see ever since it first half-heartedly sputtered into theaters. But...why? Perhaps it has something to do with the film's bizarre origins. After all, how many would-be

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01:29:51

Success to Series #5 - Final Destination

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/12/03

In the return of our "Success to Series" spin-off show, we're taking a look at one of the most popular and unique horror franchises of the 2000s, Final Destination. What is it about the series' pitch-black humor and overly-elaborate death scenes that we find so amusing? We try to get to the bottom of this question, while also exploring the original film's surprising TV origins, sharing our favorite deaths from each installment, ranking the individual films, and paying tribute to the late, great Tony

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01:48:31

Episode 109 - The Bone Collector (1999)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/11/19

"Noyce-vember," our month-long tribute to journeyman director Phillip Noyce, concludes! So how did Noyce follow up the disappointment of 1997's The Saint (which we looked at last time), you ask? Simple - by recruiting one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Denzel Washington, teaming him with a young starlet on the brink of mega-stardom named Angelina Jolie, and putting them together in an adaptation of a recent hit crime-thriller novel. Sounds like a good plan, right? Except he ended up with another

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01:31:35

Episode 108 - The Saint (1997)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/11/05

Here at Failure to Franchise, we love a dependable journeyman. And that's why we're kicking off "Noyce-vember," a one month tribute to one of Hollywood's (well, technically, Australia's) most unsung journeymen directors, Phillip Noyce. First up, his 1997 adaptation of The Saint, a popular vigilante character who had already graced the world of literature, radio, film, and - most notably - a beloved '60s television series starring Roger Moore. For this wannabe movie blockbuster version, Noyce

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01:31:06

Episode 107 - The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/10/22

An iconic character, beloved around the world. A fairly successful box-office haul. And a creative team including Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Kathleen Kennedy, Peter Jackson, and Steven freakin' Spielberg!! What the hell is this movie doing on our show?! That's what we're here to figure out, as "Animation (3D)evastation" concludes with a look at The Adventures of Tintin. Sought after as a movie project by Spielberg as early as 1983, it may have taken over three decades to finally make

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