History Main / TrendKiller

* Apple's [=iPod=] singlehandedly ended the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc's reign as the dominant format for popular music. With its intuitive design and ability to hold entire libraries of music at one's fingertips, it convinced music fans that they didn't even need physical music anymore. The [=iTunes=] music store also served as TheMoralSubstitute for file sharing by providing a convenient way to buy digital music. Even after physical music made a comeback in the form of the vinyl and cassette revivals, the CD never fully returned to its original popularity as a format for music distribution.

* ''Film/ComingToAmerica'''s unflattering parody of the Jheri Curl hairstyle, which was very popular among the African American community in the 1980s, is largely credited for killing off said hairstyle.

* Adult-geared sex comedies remained wildly popular for most of the 2000s, but stricter MPAA guidelines post-2010 and the Me Too movement late in the decade made it even harder to sneak more intense material. Subsequent attempts at reviving the trend, like ''Film/ProjectX'', have been widely reviled, while 2011's ''Film/BadTeacher'' and the sequels to 2009's ''Film/TheHangover'' were subject to greater scrutiny than previous works. While 2012's ''Film/{{Ted}}'' and 2014's ''Film/Neighbors2014'' gave adult comedy a shot in the arm, its reputation was affected in 2016 by ''Film/DirtyGrandpa''. It did well at the box office but received such an overwhelmingly negative response that subsequent attempts at adult comedy in the same year either became financial disappointments or outright flops. The slipping box-office numbers (aside from lack of success outside the English-speaking world) largely reduced comedy films to direct-to-video/streaming material with the odd limited theatrical release.

* The debut of the Sony Walkman in 1979 quickly killed off the 8-track tape as the premier portable music format. Compact cassettes had already been making a steady climb as a viable alternative to both vinyl records and 8-tracks thanks to advancing hi-fi technology surrounding them, their easy recordability, and their higher storage capacity, among other things being able to store many double albums on one tape each and more closely follow LP track lists than 8-tracks (which often had to ReCut albums to fit a four-program format). The 8-track was also falling out of favor due to [[TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo declining build quality]] causing cartridges to break. However, the Walkman rapidly solidified the ousting of 8-tracks by introducing an even higher degree of portability, making it possible to listen to music anywhere at any time (whereas 8-tracks could only be played at home and in car stereos). Within a few years of the Walkman's introduction, prerecorded cassettes were outselling even [=LPs=]. Vinyl held on as the format for singles until the arrival of cassette and CD singles.

* ''Film/ComingToAmerica'''s unflattering parody of the Jheri Curl hairstyle, which was very popular among the African American community at the time, is largely credited for killing off said hairstyle.

* The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/RugratsGoWild'' (2003) ended the trend of theatrically released, animated adaptations of American cartoons. This coincided with the decline of traditionally animated films in Hollywood, which is notable as most American cartoons were traditionally animated. It wouldn't be until the second ''[=SpongeBob=]'' movie, ''Sponge Out of Water'', that it was seen as viable again. Attempts at continuing this trend have been mixed -- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'' were {{Presumed Flop}}s, while ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrolTheMovie'' was a legitimate hit (earning over $100M worldwide).

* ''Film/ComingToAmerica'''s unflattering parody of the Jheri Curl hairstyle is largely credited for killing off said hairstyle.

* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' is credited with ending the trend of the NinetiesAntiHero by presenting a strong argument against the kind of cynicism and apathy that were rampant in the comic industry at the time. The bright, realistic art by Alex Ross also helped, serving as a stark counterpart to the darker and more unrefined drawing styles popularized by people like Creator/RobLiefeld. Also not helping was ''ComicBook/DeathMate'', a crossover between Creator/ValiantComics and Creator/ImageComics that showcased the worst excesses of the Dark Age ([[TooBleakStoppedCaring More bleakness and edginess than you or your grandma could handle]], ContinuityLockout, ScheduleSlip and questionable art.), taking the comic industry and small comic book shops with it. "Their love will end worlds", indeed.

* In addition to serving as a GenreKiller for the pulp-cinematic modern military shooter, ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' also served as the nail in the coffin for the NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom trope that [[FirstPersonShooter first-person shooters]] had been moving towards in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh]] generation of console games. The game was so heavily criticized for leaning so hard onto this trope (among numerous other things) that it actually made the game feel ''boring''. Since then, almost every FirstPersonShooter has tried to add more options to explore the level.

* In addition to serving as a GenreKiller for the pulp-cinematic modern military shooter, ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' also served as the nail in the coffin for the NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom trope that [[FirstPersonShooter first-person shooters]] had been moving towards in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh]] generation of console games. The game was so heavily criticized for leaning onto this trope (among numerous other things) that it actually made the game feel ''boring''. Since then, almost every FirstPersonShooter has tried to add more options to explore the level.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar and UsefulNotes/Sega32X's commercial failures and widespread negative reception are often credited by analysts with ending the "bit wars" that had dominated the home console market in the early '90s. Whereas the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16, UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, and UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem all tried to appeal to consumers by describing themselves as "16 bit" systems and their third-generation predecessors as only "8-bit," the Jaguar and 32X tried to one-up all of them by positioning themselves as 64-bit and 32-bit systems, respectively. However, journalists quickly exposed how empty Atari's claim was, and this plus the Jaguar and 32X's lack of differentiation from the competition sowed increased skepticism towards bit-based marketing. While "X-bit" distinguishers still stuck around in the public consciousness for the fifth generation (especially with the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64), they were no longer used as selling points by console makers, and come the sixth generation, "8-bit," "16-bit," and "32-bit" would only stick around as labels used by gamers to describe specific styles of games, with newer systems no longer being described in terms of bit width.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even ''[[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse The Avengers]]'' renamed ''[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Infinity War]] Part 2'' to ''[[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]]'', while ''Film/JusticeLeague2017 Part 2'' was put on the back burner and eventually QuietlyCancelled before the first movie even came out.

* ''Anime/SpaceDandy'' is often credited for ending the long-standing history of LateExportForYou when it comes to anime's and getting English dubs in the west. Previously, it was not unheard of for anime series to take a long time for any anime focused distribution company to officially release or have shows available for the western audience, and dubs would sometimes take months to come out, with very rare situations where a show would come out and quickly be dubbed or available. ''Space Dandy'' was one of the first anime to have a release and dub almost simultaneously with the original airing in Japan, proving that it was possible to do so. From there, anime dubbing and distribution companies began picking up the pace, and quickly dubs were coming out. What few shows take a long time to be given overseas releases often are ones that require some form of extra work to do so.

* The critical and commercial failure of ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' was the beginning of the end for Hollywood-produced traditionally animated films, which were already experiencing diminishing returns as audiences gravitated toward CGI films. And while efforts were made to revive the trend to its old heights with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' and ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh2011'', the relative underperformance of both films (partially as a result of competition against ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' and ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallowsPart2'') ultimately proved the final nail in the coffin. Nowadays, the only traditionally animated movies being produced for the big screen are based on TV shows, and even ''that'' is changing (e.g., ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'' are CGI movies based on the traditionally-animated ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'').

* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' is often blamed for putting the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation era where more mature, artistic animation dominated]] much of the medium throughout the late 1980s to the 1990s to its coffin. Its [[UncertainAudience inability to be defined as either a film for kids or a film for mature audiences]], along with rampant ExecutiveMeddling by Fox over budget and time constraints, [[BoxOfficeBomb cost them $100 million]] according to its supervisor, Chris Meledandri.

* The box office underperformance of the third ''Film/{{Divergent}}'' film, ''Allegiant'', and the eventual cancellation of its planned sequel, ''Ascendant'', struck a one-two blow to major trends in film adaptations of literature in the 2000s and early 2010s:

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was the nail-in-the-coffin for the NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom trope trend that {{Eastern RPG}}s had been moving toward during the UsefulNotes/{{the sixth|GenerationOfConsoleVideoGames}} and [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh]] generation of console games. The game was heavily criticized for leaning so hard into the trope that every single map felt like a "hallway" with no towns or [=NPCs=] to interact with. Every subsequent ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', as well as most other current-gen {{Eastern RPG}} games, have opted to go with a WideOpenSandbox approach.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar and UsefulNotes/Sega32X's commercial failures and widespread negative reception are often credited by analysts with ending the "bit wars" that had dominated the home console market in the early '90s. Whereas the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16, UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, and UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem all tried to appeal to consumers by describing themselves as "16 bit" systems and their third-generation predecessors as only "8-bit," the Jaguar and 32X tried to one-up all of them by positioning themselves as 64-bit and 32-bit systems, respectively. However, journalists quickly exposed how empty Atari's claim was, and this plus the Jaguar and 32X's lack of differentiation from the competition sowed increased skepticism towards bit-based marketing. While "X-bit" distinguishers still stuck around in the public consciousness for the fifth generation, they were no longer used as selling points by console makers, and come the sixth generation, "8-bit," "16-bit," and "32-bit" would only stick around as labels used by gamers to describe specific styles of games, with newer systems no longer being described in terms of bit width.

* The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/RugratsGoWild'' ended the trend of theatrically released, animated adaptations of American cartoons. This coincided with the decline of traditionally animated films in Hollywood, which is notable as most American cartoons were traditionally animated. It wouldn't be until the second ''[=SpongeBob=]'' movie, ''Sponge Out of Water'', that it was seen as viable again. Attempts at continuing this trend have been mixed -- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'' were {{Presumed Flop}}s, while ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrolTheMovie'' was a legitimate hit (earning over $100M worldwide).

* The Sony BMG rootkit scandal in 2005 played a major role in the death of copy protection in popular music. The early 2000s had seen many attempts at [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil preventing consumers from copying CDs]], all of which were highly criticized as intrusive and self-sabotaging, but Sony and BMG's attempt earned widespread condemnation for the fact that it revolved around covertly installing malware on Windows computers. Following this, copy-protected [=CDs=] would disappear from the music industry, which instead embraced the rise of digital downloads, streaming, and the Vinyl Revival as piracy deterrents.

* The 2000s J-Horror remake trend died out due to the poor receptions of ''Film/OneMissedCall'', ''Film/TheEye'', and ''Film/{{Shutter}}'' in 2008. Attempts to relaunch the trend have all failed.

* The critical and commercial failure of ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' was the beginning of the end for Hollywood-produced traditionally animated films, which were already experiencing diminishing returns as audiences gravitated toward CGI films. And while efforts were made to revive the trend to its old heights with ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' and ''WesternAnimation/WinnieThePooh2011'', the relative underperformance of both films (partially as a result of competition against ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' and ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallowsPart2'') ultimately proved the final nail in the coffin. Nowadays, the only traditionally animated movies being produced for the big screen are based on TV Shows, and even ''that'' is changing (e.g., ''WesternAnimation/{{Scoob}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOnTheRun'' are CGI movies based on the traditionally-animated ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'').

* The underperformance of ''WesternAnimation/RugratsGoWild'' ended the trend of theatrically released, animated adaptations of American cartoons. This coincided with the decline of traditionally animated films in Hollywood, which is notable as most American cartoons were traditionally animated. It wouldn't be until the second ''[=SpongeBob=]'' movie, ''Sponge Out of Water'', that it was seen as viable again. Attempts at continuing this trend have been mixed -- ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoToTheMovies'' were {{Presumed Flop}}s, while ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrolTheMovie'' was a legitimate hit (earning over $100M worldwide).

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even ''[[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse The Avengers]]'' renamed ''[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Infinity War]] Part 2'' to ''[[Film/AvengersEndgame Endgame]]'', while ''Film/JusticeLeague2017 Part 2'' was put on the back burner and eventually QuietlyCancelled before the first movie even came out.

* While the general idea of a DreamMatchGame isn't dead, its initial features of [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canonicity]] and [[NoPlotNoProblem lacking plots]] were killed when Creator/{{SNK}}, who pioneered the concept with ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters98'' and ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002'' and made a few others for [[VideoGame/FatalFury other series]] [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown of theirs]], ended up with the complete bomb that was ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXII'', which was near universally lambasted for being massively bare-bones compared to its predecessors and essentially being [[ObviousBeta an open beta]] for the canon ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIII''. While {{updated rerelease}}s of both '''98'' and ''2002'' both performed relatively well, ''XII'' ultimately caused too much damage to the initial concept -- tellingly, other dream match fighting games since then such as ''VideoGame/TekkenTagTournament2'' and ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' has had [[ExcusePlot some degree of plot]] and {{character development}}, with even SNK's own ''VideoGame/SNKHeroinesTagTeamFrenzy'' outright being LooseCanon.

* Apple's [=iPod=] singlehandedly ended the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc's reign as the dominant format for popular music. With its intuitive design and ability to hold entire libraries of music at one's fingertips, it convinced music fans that they didn't even need physical music anymore. The [=iTunes=] music store also served as TheMoralSubstitute for file sharing by providing a convenient way to buy digital music. Even after physical music made a comeback in the form of the vinyl boom, the CD never fully returned to its original popularity as a format for music distribution.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even ''The Avengers'' renamed ''Infinity War Part 2'' to ''Endgame'', while ''Justice League Part 2'' was put on the back burner before the first movie even came out.

* ''Film/SchoolOfRock'' in 2003, being a send-up of inspirational teacher movies, basically killed that trend (alongside scathing parodies from Series/MadTV1995 and WesternAnimation/SouthPark) and created a new trend where the teachers are rather useless (such as ''Film/HalfNelson'' and ''Film/BadTeacher''). Attempts at reigniting inspirational teacher movies (such as ''Film/FreedomWriters'' and ''Film/LarryCrowne'') have been critical and box office disappointments.