Movies & Media

Top 10 Worst Movie Sequels Ever

Kyle Pickett

10 May 2025 — 8 min read

You’d think that with a Hollywood budget, and the fact that the odds of a script being made into a movie are 1 in about 125,000, filmmakers could give movie fans what they want. But in these cases, that’s the exact opposite of what happened. Let’s take a look at the worst attempts to keep the stories going, even if they didn’t need to and/or no one asked them to be...

Note: This list is numbered 10 to 1, so the first entry is number 10 and the last entry is number 1.

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

Review: “Space Jam 2,” “Roadrunner,” and the Misplaced Hand-Wringing Over Digital Manipulations | The New Yorker

25 years of waiting doesn’t mean that a sequel will be good. The absence of Michael Jordan is unmistakable. LeBron James might be a good basketball player, but he isn’t Michael Jordan. On top of that, Pepé Le Pew was noticeably absent, due to being “canceled.” It takes wrong turns all throughout, which lead to a CGI trash pile of cameo appearances, bad life lessons, and a slew of internet phrases, such as "[The movie] is one big, witless commercial for Warner Bros. properties." It won three Razzies, including Worst Actor for LeBron James, Worst Screen Combo for him and practically any Warner Bros character, and Worst Prequel, Rip-Off, Remake, or Sequel.

Grease 2 (1982)

This one is interesting because, unlike practically every other movie on this list, it has a following of fans who will defend it. (Don’t defend it in the comments, though, if you were planning on doing that. In fact, don't defend any of these movies in the comments). The sequel stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield, and it takes place two years after Grease (1978). It also continues the story about the T-Birds and Pink Ladies of Rydell High School. The only actor (or actress, in this case) to reprise her role from the smash hit musical was Didi Conn, who played Frenchie. And that did a number (quite literally) on the movie’s box office. Some of the musical numbers like "Cool Rider" and "Score Tonight" are somewhat good and have fans, but they didn't play on the radio like the original's songs did. Pfeiffer reportedly told the LA Times "That movie was a good experience for me. It taught me a valuable lesson. Before it even came out, the hype had started. Maxwell and I were being thrust down the public's throat in huge full-page advertisements. There was no way we could live up to any of that and we didn't. So, the crash was very loud. But it did teach me not to have expectations."

Speed II: Cruise Control (1997)

Hear me out: why Speed 2: Cruise Control isn't a bad movie | Sandra Bullock | The Guardian

Sandra Bullock returned for this one, which is a sequel of 1994’s Speed, which also had Keanu Reeves. Reeves was absent this time, and maybe that’s for the best. There is no speeding bus in this one, but a somewhat fast ship. The movie sank at the box office (yes, pun intended) and won a Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel. One writer from The AV Club wrote that the sequel “fails in every way. Willem Dafoe shows up to one-dimensionally terrorize a cruise ship, and after helping out with 40 minutes of staggeringly dull exposition, Bullock is given little to do but shout in horror and be held hostage.” In addition, the YouTube channel CineBinge React said that Willem Dafoe was the only good part about it.

Kindergarten Cop 2 (2016)

Kindergarten Cop 2: Dolph Lundgren photos offer first official look at upcoming sequel

Perhaps the worst aspect about this one is the lack of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He did not participate in "Kindergarten Cop 2" because he was not interested in reprising his role, likely due to a combination of factors including his busy schedule, the lack of a compelling story for a sequel, and the fact that the original film was already considered a successful standalone project; there were no official attempts to bring him back for a sequel despite fan interest. Ultimately, this sequel resonates as nothing more than a sub-par rendition of its predecessor. The script was bad, the direction was uninspired, the villain was boring, and Dolph Lundgren couldn't navigate that space between comedy and action like Schwarzenegger could.

Caddyshack II (1988)

Eight years after the original was released came this movie. ESPN described the original as “perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made.” To say that no one said that about the sequel would be an understatement. The sequel was described by the New York Times as "the kind of film that sends careers spiraling downward." And that is correct. Chevy Chase reprised his role as Ty Webb, and he really hasn’t had any movies since the 1990s (aside from 2015’s Vacation). It won two Razzies (including one for worst picture) and is often considered one of the worst movies of all time.

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

Many thought that the sub-par special effects in Jaws 3-D (1983) were as low as the franchise could get, but those people were sadly proven wrong. For the third time (not counting her absence in Jaws 3-D) Lorraine Gary returns as Ellen Brody, who now believes that a new shark is targeting her family. The mechanical shark in this one looks even more fake than Bruce from the original, despite being made 12 years later. Another laughable aspect is that someone thought it would be a good idea to have the shark roar, like a jungle cat, even though sharks can’t actually do that. Even more painful is the fact that Michael Caine (yes, the acclaimed British actor) is in it, and he couldn’t receive his Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) because he was in The Bahamas filming this instead. Reportedly, he later said “I have never seen [the movie], but I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!” And as if this couldn’t get any more sad, it has Judith Barsi, who would tragically be murdered by her own father one year after this movie’s release.

Home Alone 3-5 (1997, 2002, 2012)

This entry is technically three movies, but they are being counted as one because all of them suck. The second one, Home Alone: Lost in New York (1992) was a good one (although in it, Kevin is 10 instead of 8 but the movie takes place one year after the original). And let’s not even try to defend the petty excuse for a remake, that being 2021's “Home Sweet Home Alone.” The third one, simply titled Home Alone 3 (1997) is considered to be the point where the series really started to change direction. None of the actors from the previous two were in this one, and many said that it was “uninspired” compared to the first two. Now, if we’re being really generous, this one might work as a rip-off, but other than that, there’s no point in trying to redeem it. Yet, the series continued, and Home Alone 4: Take Back the House (2002) is widely considered the worst of the series, with many finding it to be a poor imitation of the original and lacking the charm and humor of the earlier installments.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Perhaps the most laughable part of this is the fact that the costumes for George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell infamously had nipples. Like, since when does that happen in the comics (or any other Batman movie, for that matter)? That, combined with a badly-accented Arnold Schwarzenegger, probably contributed to its poor reviews from critics and box office failure. Why Warner Bros. let a sequel be made after the success (or lack thereof) of Batman Forever, we’ll never know. We were lucky to get Batman Returns (1992) as Tim Burton is somewhat famous for not doing sequels to his movies.

The Sting II (1983)

While the original, starring Paul Newman and Robert Shaw, won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the same could not even be remotely said for the sequel, which arrived a decade after the original. None of the original cast members returned for this one, either. As a matter of fact, even though this one is supposed to be a direct sequel, the names of the characters have changed. For example, Paul Newman's character Henry Gondorff is now called Fargo Gondorff. Robert Redford's Johnny Hooker is now Jake Hooker. All of these factors contributed to The Sting II’s 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Dishonorable mention: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

This one did not sit well with many fans, and it’s easy to see why. Cate Blanchett being given a fake Ukrainian accent wasn’t something that many fans could accept. On top of this, the defining bad moment in the movie is often considered to be the scene when Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) swings like Tarzan with an entourage of fake monkeys. Personally, I didn’t hate it the way some people do, but it didn’t have the bad, gory deaths like the first three, the storyline seemed weak, the CGI was not too great, the refrigerator blast was just too cartoonish for me, and my suspension of disbelief couldn’t handle Soviets getting onto an American base at the height of the Cold War. And don’t get me started on the aliens. Indiana Jones and aliens in the same movie? Come on, now.

Son of the Mask (2005)

And the number one worst sequel of all time? Arguably, this one. It has no Jim Carrey, no Cameron Diaz, nightmarish effects, and a completely unrelated storyline. Don’t ask me how this was supposed to be a sequel. One YouTube video by the channel Elvis the Alien even calls it “Hollywood’s Biggest Bruh Moment.” Jim Carrey very wisely refused to be cast after he read the script. Had he been in it, it likely would have ruined his career, like it did to Jamie Kennedy. Even more ironic, Kennedy made a speech about how sequels are bad in Scream 2 (1997). Son of the Mask was nominated for seven Razzies and actually won Worst Sequel or Prequel. If any good came from this abomination of a movie, it was that it made everyone appreciate the Jim Carrey original even more.