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45 of the worst movie sequels of all time, ranked by how awful they were
Hollywood has long been in the business of pursuing sequels to successful movies, and the results have often been disastrous in the eyes of film critics.
From bad sequels to classic movies like "Jaws" and "Caddyshack," to some even more terrible follow-ups to films that were already panned, the sequels on this list are all historically awful.
We compiled this list by referencing an extensive, crowd-sourced Ranker community list of the all-time "worst sequels." We then chose the worst films and ranked them by their critical scores on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (we used audience scores to break any ties).
Here are the 45 worst movie sequels of all time, ranked from bad to worst, according to critics:
45. "Home Alone 3" (1997)
Critic score: 30%
Audience score: 27%
Sequel to: "Home Alone" (1990)
What critics said: "Twice the bad guys, half the laughs." — USA Today
44. "Dumb and Dumber To" (2014)
Critic score: 29%
Audience score: 35%
Sequel to: "Dumb and Dumber" (1994)
What critics said: "I wish I could put as little thought into writing about 'Dumb and Dumber To' as the Farrelly brothers did in making it." — Time
43. "The Final Destination" (2009)
Critic score: 28%
Audience score: 35%
Sequel to: "Final Destination" (2000)
What critics said: "Since not even 3-D can put your eyes out, our only hope is that this time, the title is a promise and not a tease." — The New York Times
42. "Rocky V" (1990)
Critic score: 28%
Audience score: 31%
Sequel to: "Rocky" (1976)
What critics said: "Whereas the first and far superior Rocky had real heart, this tries and fails to have brains." — Time Out
41. "The Fly II" (1989)
Critic score: 27%
Audience score: 23%
Sequel to: "The Fly" (1986)
What critics said: "It's got nothing on Cronenberg's original - or the Vincent Price classic" — Sunday Times
40. "Friday After Next" (2002)
Critic score: 26%
Audience score: 75%
Sequel to: "Friday" (1995)
What critics said: "The jokes are sophomoric, stereotypes are sprinkled everywhere and the acting ranges from bad to bodacious." — San Francisco Chronicle
39. "Terminator Genisys" (2015)
Critic score: 26%
Audience score: 53%
Sequel to: "The Terminator" (1984)
What critics said: "It is mechanical in the worst way." — Minneapolis Star-Tribune
38. "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" (2000)
Critic score: 26%
Audience score: 33%
Sequel to: "The Nutty Professor" (1996)
What critics said: "Bloated by empty, unhealthy and unnecessary calories." — Houston Chronicle
37. "Superman III" (1983)
Critic score: 26%
Audience score: 23%
Sequel to: "Superman" (1978)
What critics said: "Putting its emphasis on broad comedy at the expense of ingenious plotting and technical wizardry, it has virtually none of the mythic or cosmic sensibility that marked its predecessors." — Variety
36. "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1" (2011)
Critic score: 25%
Audience score: 60%
Sequel to: "Twilight" (1975)
What critics said: "By any normal standard, this is a terrible movie, with stilted dialogue and leaden pacing." — Slate
35. "Evan Almighty" (2007)
Critic score: 23%
Audience score: 52%
Sequel to: "Bruce Almighty" (2003)
What critics said: "It's a paper-thin alleged comedy with a laugh drought of Biblical proportions." — Ebert & Roeper
34. "The Hangover Part III" (2013)
Critic score: 21%
Audience score: 44%
Sequel to: "The Hangover" (2009)
What critics said: "The first movie left you with an exhilarating rush. All that Part III leaves is, well, a hangover." — Rolling Stone
33. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009)
Critic score: 19%
Audience score: 57%
Sequel to: "Transformers" (2007)
What critics said: "Beyond bad, it carves out its own category of godawfulness." — Rolling Stone
32. "Exorcist II: The Heretic" (1977)
Critic score: 19%
Audience score: 12%
Sequel to: "The Exorcist" (1973)
What critics said: "An often astonishingly terrible and inept sequel." — Reel Film Reviews
31. "Poltergeist III" (1988)
Critic score: 18%
Audience score: 22%
Sequel to: "Poltergeist" (1982)
What critics said: "Falls right in line with its entirely underwhelming predecessor." — Reel Film Reviews
30. "A Good Day to Die Hard" (2013)
Critic score: 14%
Audience score: 40%
Sequel to: "Die Hard" (1988)
What critics said: "This is the fifth and least of the Die Hard movies." — Grantland
29. "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" (2015)
Critic score: 14%
Audience score: 27%
Sequel to: "Paranormal Activity" (2009)
What critics said: "Such a tepid failure that it triggers catcalls from paying audiences." — Time Out
28. "Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2" (2000)
Critic score: 14%
Audience score: 17%
Sequel to: "The Blair Witch Project" (1999)
What critics said: "A pale shadow of the diabolically clever piece of video hocus-focus that was 'The Blair Witch Project.'" — Philadelphia Inquirer
27. "Mannequin 2: On the Move" (1991)
Critic score: 13%
Audience score: 41%
Sequel to: "Mannequin" (1987)
What critics said: "Insipid in the extreme." — LA Times
26. "S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale" (2009)
Critic score: 13%
Audience score: 18%
Sequel to: "Donnie Darko" (2001)
What critics said: "A thick, viscous sludge of clichés, stereotypes, and poorly written dialogue." — FilmCritic.com
25. "Taken 3" (2015)
Critic score: 12%
Audience score: 44%
Sequel to: "Taken" (2009)
What critics said: "Nothing gets taken here except your ticket money." — Philadelphia Inquirer
24. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)
Critic score: 12%
Audience score: 15%
Sequel to: "Superman" (1978)
What critics said: "One of the cheesiest movies ever made." — The Washington Post
23. "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" (2001)
Critic score: 11%
Audience score: 25%
Sequel to: "Crocodile Dundee" (1986)
What critics said: "I've seen audits that were more thrilling." — Chicago Sun-Times
22. "American Psycho II: All American Girl" (2002)
Critic score: 11%
Audience score: 18%
Sequel to: "American Psycho" (2000)
What critics said: "Another stale, kill-by-numbers flick, complete with blade-thin characters and terrible, pun-laden dialogue." — FilmCritic.com
21. "Weekend at Bernie's II" (1993)
Critic score: 10%
Audience score: 41%
Sequel to: "Weekend at Bernie's" (1989)
What critics said: "If the premise of the first film was mindless and repetitive, it's doubly so this second time around." — The Washington Post
20. "Batman & Robin"
Critic score: 10%
Audience score: 16%
Sequel to: "Batman" (1989)
What critics said: "A sniggering, exhausting, overproduced extravaganza that has virtually all of the humanity pounded out of it in the name of an endless parade of stunt sequences." — Chicago Tribune
19. "Little Fockers" (2010)
Audience score: 34%
Sequel to: "Meet the Parents" (2000)
What critics said: "It may be time to try another household for laughs." — Entertainment Weekly
18. "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo" (2005)
Audience score: 33%
Sequel to: "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" (1999)
What critics said: "An unimaginative, mean-spirited gross-out that forgot to bring the funny." — Village Voice
17. "Grown Ups 2" (2013)
Audience score: 53%
Sequel to: "Grown Ups" (2010)
What critics said: "This is pap, plain and simple: scattered raunch-lite devoid of emotional resonance." — The New York Times
16. "Basic Instinct 2" (2006)
Audience score: 26%
Sequel to: "Basic Instinct" (1992)
What critics said: "Even the ice pick looks like it really doesn't want to be there." — Toronto Star
15. "The Next Karate Kid" (1994)
Audience score: 24%
Sequel to: "The Karate Kid" (1984)
What critics said: "The franchise is still kicking -- but not very high." — Variety
14. "Big Momma's House 2" (2006)
Audience score: 57%
Sequel to: "Big Momma's House" (2000)
What critics said: "The least necessary sequel this side of 'Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.'" — The AV Club
13. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" (2005)
Audience score: 57%
Sequel to: "Cheaper by the Dozen" (2003)
What critics said: "There's something pernicious about a toxic mix of sitcom and snickering sex jokes getting packaged and effectively sold as wholesome fun for the family." — Rolling Stone
12. "Son of the Mask" (2005)
Audience score: 15%
Sequel to: "The Mask" (1994)
What critics said: "No doubt extensive market research shows that there's an audience out there for movies like 'Son Of The Mask,' but it's too depressing to speculate who that might be." — The AV Club
11. "Scary Movie 5" (2013)
Audience score: 38%
Sequel to: "Scary Movie" (2000)
What critics said: "This is the sort of movie where you feel bad for Sheen and Lohan, because they hadn't actually hit rock bottom until they agreed to appear in it." — The Wrap
10. "Caddyshack II" (1988)
Audience score: 17%
Sequel to: "Caddyshack" (1980)
What critics said: "The kind of film that sends careers spiraling downward." — The New York Times
9. "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" (1997)
Audience score: 25%
Sequel to: "Mortal Kombat" (1995)
What critics said: "The video game is much more fun, of course." — Seattle Times
8. "Speed 2: Cruise Control" (1997)
Audience score: 16%
Sequel to: "Speed" (1994)
What critics said: "Frantic action, tinny dialogue, perfunctory characterization and tried-and-false plot pilferings." — The Wall Street Journal
7. "Daddy Day Camp" (2007)
Audience score: 37%
Sequel to: "Daddy Day Care" (2003)
What critics said: "A generic time-waster powered by a lazy, cynical combination of scatological kiddie humor and maudlin sentiment." — The AV Club
6. "Staying Alive" (1983)
Audience score: 38%
Sequel to: "Saturday Night Fever" (1977)
What critics said: "A sequel with no understanding of what made its predecessor work." — The New York Times
5. "The Sting II" (1983)
Audience score: 28%
Sequel to: "The Sting" (1973)
What critics said: "A clumsy counterfeit that is a real-life con game involving the ticket buyer." — People
4. "Highlander 2: The Quickening" (1991)
Audience score: 22%
Sequel to: "Highlander" (1986)
What critics said: "Leaden, laden with effects, short on imagination." — Time Out
3. "Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow" (1994)
Audience score: 22%
Sequel to: "Police Academy" (1984)
What critics said: "Lame, sloppy, cack-handed, utterly redundant - put succinctly, the very worst of the series." — Time Out
2. "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2" (2004)
Audience score: 20%
Sequel to: "Baby Geniuses" (1999)
What critics said: "It is perhaps the most incompetent and least funny comic film ever made. There aren't even any good diaper jokes." — Detroit News