While sequels and franchise movies have been dominating the 2024 made less than their predecessors at the box office. There have been plenty of franchise successes in 2024, like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Dune: Part Two, Wicked, and Deadpool & Wolverine. However, there have been even more franchise disappointments, with each of these films being a decline when compared to their previous installments at the box office.

2024 has been a big year at the box office, with every movie in the top 15 highest-grossing films of the year so far being part of a pre-existing franchise. However, some of these franchises have set such a high bar that it has become impossible to , leading to a lot of these movies making less than their previous installments.

11 Despicable Me 4

Made Less Than Despicable Me 3

The Despicable Me franchise is the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time, with the four mainline movies and two Minions spinoffs having grossed over $5.5 billion in total. Despite this, 2024's Despicable Me 4 grossed less than its mainline predecessor, 2017's Despicable Me 3. At the worldwide box office, Despicable Me 4 made $969.2 million on a budget of $100 million, while Despicable Me 3 made $1.035 billion on a budget of $80 million.

While Despicable Me 4 made less than its mainline predecessor, the fourth Despicable Me movie actually did make more than its franchise predecessor. Minions: The Rise of Gru was the last Despicable Me movie to release before Despicable Me 4, with it making $940.2 million on a budget of $100 million. Despicable Me 4 beat Minion: The Rise of Gru by a slight margin, and while both of these films came in below Despicable Me 3, they were all massive box office successes.

10 Venom: The Last Dance

Made Less Than Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Venom: The Last Dance is the third and seemingly final film in Sony's Venom franchise, and despite it being the big conclusion to the trilogy, it actually wasn't as successful as its predecessor. 2024's Venom: The Last Dance made $472.9 million on a budget of $120 million, while the franchise's second film Venom: Let There Be Carnage $506.8 million on a budget of $110 million.

Both Venom: The Last Dance and Venom: Let There Be Carnage failed to live up to the box office success of 2018's Venom, which kicked the franchise off by making $856.1 million on a budget of around $116 million. Venom: The Last Dance's box office performance proves that the trilogy's box office history has been a downward trend, with each film doing worse than the last.

9 Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Made Less Than Bad Boys For Life

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is the fourth entry in the beloved Bad Boys franchise, with it continuing the series' revival after 2020's Bad Boys for Life. The original two Bad Boys movies were big successes, but after going on a hiatus for 17 years, Bad Boys for Life proved that the franchise could still be a success. Bad Boys for Life made $426.5 million on a budget of $90 million, while the sequel Bad Boys: Ride or Die made $404.2 million on a budget of $100 million, with the fourth film being a slight decline.

Interestingly, Bad Boys: Ride or Die was still a massive improvement from the original two Bad Boys films. The original Bad Boys made $141.1 million on a budget of $23 million, while Bad Boys II made $273.3 million on a budget of $130 million. So, while Bad Boys: Ride or Die may have been a disappointment compared to its predecessor, it was still a big success for the franchise.

8 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Made Less Than War For The Planet Of The Apes

The modern Planet of the Apes franchise finally returned in 2024, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continuing the epic post-apocalyptic saga. On a budget of $160 million, 2024's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes made $397.2 million. This was a significant drop from the previous film, 2018's War for the Planet of the Apes, which made $490.7 million on a budget of $190 million.

Although Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes made less than any of the other modern Planet of the Apes movies, it still made more than any of the original Planet of the Apes movies or the 2001 Planet of the Apes remake. So, while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes may not have been a massive hit, it is still consistent with the previous performances in the franchise.

7 Twisters

Made Less Than Twister

A legacy sequel to the classic disaster movie Twister was also released in 2024, with Twisters being the second film in the franchise. Twisters was a box office success that had a huge cultural impact, with the film making $371 million on a $155 million budget. However, this was a significant box office decline when compared to the 1996 original, with Twister making $495.7 million on a budget of $92 million.

Despite making less than its predecessor, Twisters was a box office success, with the film suring the initial box office projections for its opening weekend. On top of that, Twisters now holds the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a natural disaster film, suring The Day After Tomorrow.

6 A Quiet Place: Day One

Made Less Than A Quiet Place Part II

After two successful mainline films in the A Quiet Place series, the franchise got its first spinoff in 2024 in the form of A Quiet Place: Day One. The A Quiet Place prequel made $261.8 million on a budget of $67 million, with the previous film A Quiet Place Part II making $297.4 million on a budget of $61 million.

When compared to the original A Quiet Place movie, both of these films made less. A Quiet Place made $341 million on a budget of $17 million, with the film making significantly more on a significantly smaller budget. So, while A Quiet Place: Day One was a critical success, it is the lowest-grossing movie in the A Quiet Place franchise.

5 Joker: Folie à Deux

Made Less Than Joker

The highly-anticipated sequel to 2019's Joker was finally released in 2024, with Joker: Folie à Deux hitting theaters. The development of Joker: Folie à Deux was incredibly interesting to follow, with it being notable for being a musical and adding Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. Despite the hype, Joker: Folie à Deux made only $206.4 million on a budget of $200 million, which is a massive decline when compared to Joker having earned $1.079 billion on a budget of $70 million.

The reasons for Joker: Folie à Deux's box office failure are still a mystery, with bad word of mouth being one of the leading theories. Since Joker: Folie à Deux only made slightly above its budget, it most likely lost money, as the $200 million budget doesn't for marketing or overhead costs.

4 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Made Less Than Ghostbusters: Afterlife

The massive Ghostbusters franchise also returned in 2024, with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire finally releasing. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire followed up on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and despite the box office performances of both films being similar, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire did see a slight decline. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire made only $201.9 million on a budget of $100 million, while Ghostbusters: Afterlife made $204.3 million on a budget of $75 million.

This isn't far off from the other Ghostbusters movies, with each of them being within the $200 million range. The original Ghostbusters made $296.6 million on a budget of $30 million, Ghostbusters II made $215.4 million on a budget of $40 million, and 2016's Ghostbusters reboot made $229 million on a budget of $144 million.

3 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Made Less Than Mad Max: Fury Road

Despite being one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2024, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was a big box office disappointment, with it making fans question if there will be more Mad Max movies in the future. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga made $173.8 million on a budget of $168 million, which is a decline when compared to Mad Max: Fury Road, which made $380.5 million on a budget of $185.2 million.

Despite being a box office disappointment, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is still the second-highest-grossing Mad Max movie. Mad Max made $100 million, Mad Max: The Road Warrior made $36 million, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome also made $36 million, with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga's performance being relatively impressive.

2 Smile 2

Made Less Than Smile

After the success of the original Smile horror movie, 2024 saw the release of Smile 2, with the sequel continuing the story of the original film from a new perspective. The story of Skye Riley managed to gross $138.1 million on a budget of $28 million, while the original Smile made $217.4 million on a budget of $17 million.

While Smile 2 did have a bigger opening weekend than the original Smile, the first film in the franchise managed to have legs in a way that the sequel didn't. However, Smile 2 was still a box office success, with more Smile films being expected in the future.