Random Movie Sequels Came Out So Long After Original That No One Cared Anymo (13 items)

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  (#6) The Two Jakes

  • Jack Nicholson, Tom Waits, Madeleine Stowe, Harvey Keitel, Eli Wallach, Meg Tilly, Richard Farnsworth, Rubén Blades, David Keith, Frederic Forrest

  Sequel to: Chinatown (1974)

  Year released: 1990

  Gap: 16 years

  Jack Nicholson directed and starred in a sequel to Chinatown named The Two Jakes - but who has heard of it? Critics regard Chinatown as one of the best neo-noir films and one of the best screenplays ever written. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and received nominations for 10 others.

  Chinatown featured one of Nicholson's most memorable performances, so it's easy to understand why he wanted to reprise the role. But returning to a beloved character creates a chance to taint its legacy. While not panned, the film didn't earn the same critical acclaim, box office success, or awards as the first film.
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  (#13) Tron: Legacy

  • Olivia Wilde, Jeff Bridges, Cillian Murphy, Serinda Swan, Michael Sheen, Garrett Hedlund, Yaya DaCosta, Beau Garrett, James Frain, Christine Adams, Bruce Boxleitner, Donnelly Rhodes, Thomas Bangalter, Jack McGee, Jeffrey Nordling, Edie Mirman, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Belinda Montgomery, Brent Stait, Patrick Sabongui, John Reardon, Ron Selmour, Michael Teigen, Conrad Coates, Mi-Jung Lee, Steven Lisberger, Matt Ward, Dan Joffre, Owen Best, Dean Redman, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Mike Ching, Shaw Madson, Dawn Mander, Elizabeth Mathis, Aaron Toney, Christopher Logan, Kofi Yiadom, Dale Wolfe, Anis Cheurfa, Shafin Karim, Rob Daly, Joanne Wilson, Kate Gajdosik, Kis Yurij, Amy Esterle, Allen Jo, Thomas Bradshaw, Odain Watson, Darren Dolynski, Sheldon Yamkovy, Cody Laudan, Will Erichson, Zoe Fryklund, Michael Logie, Kim Do Nguyen

  Sequel to: Tron (1982)

  Year released: 2010

  Gap: 28 years

  While Tron's story didn't reinvent the wheel, it was a landmark work for computer animation. The long-awaited sequel premiered and suffered from the same problems as the original: amazing visuals, lackluster story. Though the sequel brought in $400 million at the box office, the reported budget was $170 million. While the film earned back its budget, the box office performance was underwhelming.

  Unfortunately, in the 28 years it took to make the sequel, the creators' ability to develop characters or deliver a compelling plot didn't improve. Even if the visuals are phenomenal, audiences generally want some sense of a story.
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  (#10) The Odd Couple II

  • Jack Lemmon, Christine Baranski, Amy Yasbeck, Walter Matthau, Jean Smart, Jonathan Silverman, Jay O. Sanders, Barnard Hughes, Myles Jeffrey, Rex Linn, Liz Torres, Mary Beth Peil, Ellen Geer, Doris Belack, Lou Cutell, Lisa Waltz

  Sequel to: The Odd Couple (1968)

  Year released: 1998

  Gap: 30 years

  The Odd Couple was a huge critical and box office success, becoming the fourth highest-grossing picture in 1968. The film's success spawned ABC's The Odd Couple, which ran for five seasons. So this was a franchise that worked on the big and small screen at the time. Thirty years later, the franchise did not work.

  In 1998 The Odd Couple II, which broke the standing record for the longest time between an original film and a sequel starring the same cast, came out to reviews stating it was a flat reunion and a weak showing at the box office. With 30 years between, the original and the sequel were in theaters for different generations.
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  (#5) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

  • Charlie Sheen, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, Michael Douglas, Josh Brolin, Oliver Stone, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Vanessa Ferlito, Austin Pendleton, Natalie Morales, John Bedford Lloyd, Julianne Michelle, Erin Wyatt

  Sequel to: Wall Street (1987)

  Year released: 2010

  Gap: 23 years

  Wall Street seemed to embody the high-energy, high-stakes mood of New York City's Wall Street in the '80s. While 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street replicated this, too, it would be hard for a film to feel as authentic as 1987's Wall Street. The film had mostly favorable reviews and a good box office showing, but Michael Douglas's performance (which scored him an Academy Award) is the film's most memorable aspect.

  The 2010 sequel received mixed reviews, with many critics deeming it unnecessary. But what proved especially tricky for the sequel was the social climate had dramatically changed. After 2008's Great Recession, Gordon Gekko's "Greed is good" motto didn't have the same ring to it.
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  (#9) The Strangers: Prey at Night

  • Christina Hendricks, Martin Henderson, Bailee Madison, Lewis Pullman

  Sequel to: The Strangers (2008)

  Year released: 2018

  Gap: 10 years

  Very loosely based on the Manson Family murders, 2008's The Strangers effectively scared the pants off audiences by featuring a group of masked murderers who preferred to torture their victims - a couple at a secluded cabin - through slow-paced scare tactics before finally and quite brutally murdering them. Though the body count was low for a horror film, the game of cat and mouse brought terror and dread to audiences through casting the murderers in shadows and playing a country song on repeat. With a budget of $9 million, the film made more than $82 million at the box office.

  The sequel bucked the quiet, slow-building horror of the first film for an '80s-style slasher movie that made a measly $27 million at the box office and disappointed critics and fans of the original's tact.
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  (#1) Zoolander 2

  • Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson

  Sequel to: Zoolander (2001)

  Year released: 2016

  Gap: 15 years

  Hot off his Meet the Parents success, Ben Stiller directed and starred in Zoolander. The film received mixed reviews, as is the case with many comedies, but favorable critics praised the satire for being a purposely silly film that knew how to have fun with itself. It performed well at the box office, and Stiller's "Blue Steel" pout was a genuine pop culture moment.

  However, Zoolander 2 wasn't able to achieve the same purposely dumb fun, even with a slew of celebrity cameos. The film's failure showed at the box office - it was barely able to make back its budget.

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