“Sa-a-a-d movies always make me cry,” sang Sue Thompson back in 1961. Okay, but what do bad movies do? They make us cringe, nod off, guffaw (when we’re not supposed to), and sometimes just walk out of the theater.
Some bad movies, of course, attain a kind of iconic, ironic “so bad, it’s good” status. People will watch such critical bombs as “Showgirls,” “Anaconda,” “Sharknado,” and the celebrated “Plan 9 from Outer Space” just to laugh at them, or to bask in their deficiencies.
To determine the worst movies of all time, 24/7 Tempo created an index using data from the Internet Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes. The index is based on the average critic and audience rating from Rotten Tomatoes, as well as the average user rating from IMDb.
Most truly awful examples of the cinematic arts aren’t worth even that kind of attention, though. They’re just stinkers. Even many biopics, which are a Hollywood staple, sometimes don’t find favor with audiences and critics alike. These are the 50 worst movies based on true events.
Click here to see the 25 worst movies of all time
What makes movies bad? Weak story lines, incompetent direction, poor technical quality, and of course, amateurish performances among other factors. But many bad movies boast first-rate actors.
In the list below, you’ll find revered old-school thespians like Michael Caine, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton, as well as such younger stars as Emma Stone, Renée Zellweger, and Ben Affleck. And big-name directors can be involved, too. For instance, M. Night Shyamalan, John Boorman, and Sidney Furie are all represented here.
What critics seem to single out time and again in lambasting bad movies is their lack of originality — their derivative story lines, clichéd dialogue, and rote performances.
It’s probably no accident that many of the bad movies listed here are inferior sequels to critically acclaimed and/or commercially successful predecessors — cynical or at least creatively bankrupt attempts to cash in on somebody else’s success. Here are the 50 worst movie sequels ever made.
To determine the 30 worst movies of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the Internet Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes. We created an index based on the average critic rating from Rotten Tomatoes, the average audience rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and the average user rating from IMDb. We only considered feature films with at least 5,000 Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews, 10 Rotten Tomatoes critic reviews, and 10,000 IMDb user reviews. All data is for the most recent period available. Data was collected February 2021.
25. Furry Vengeance (2010)
> Genre: Comedy, Family
> Director: Roger Kumble
> Starring: Brendan Fraser, Brooke Shields, Ricky Garcia, Eugene Cordero
> Gross: $17.6 million
Brendan Fraser plays a developer of a subdivision in Oregon who meets his match when woodland creatures rally to thwart the project. Critics gave this environmentally sympathetic flick a 7% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Writing for Time Out, critic Lisa Rosman said, “The lone saving grace of the film was that the animals don’t talk.”
24. Ouija (2014)
> Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
> Director: Stiles White
> Starring: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Bianca A. Santos
> Gross: $50.9 million
“Ouija” follows several friends who contact an ancient spirit while playing an antique board game. “There are rent prices in Monopoly that are more frightening,” according to Josh Goller of the Spectrum Goller. Only 6% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a positive review.
23. Scary Movie V (2013)
> Genre: Comedy, Horror
> Director: Malcolm D. Lee, David Zucker
> Starring: Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan
> Gross: $32.0 million
The Wayans brothers developed The Scary Movie franchise, which parodied the horror film genre and included cameo appearances by stars. But the comedy formula was spent by the film’s fifth iteration, which holds a 4% Rotten Tomatoes Freshness rating. The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus pillories “Scary Movie 5” as “juvenile even by Scary Movie standards.”
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22. The Emoji Movie (2017)
> Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
> Director: Tony Leondis
> Starring: T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph
> Gross: $86.1 million
The animated movie, starring the voices of T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, and Maya Rudolph, is little more than a commercial for an app. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph said the film was “around nine tenths product placement, at least 15 tenths abysmal, and pulsates with molten cynicism on every imaginable level.” His critic colleagues agreed, and “The Emoji Movie” has a 7% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie has a 3.3 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.
21. The Last Airbender (2010)
> Genre: Action, Adventure, Family
> Director: M. Night Shyamalan
> Starring: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel
> Gross: $131.6 million
“The Last Airbender” was not the best effort from director M. Night Shyamalan, who wrote the screenplay about a boy who is humankind’s last hope to bring harmony to a world in chaos. The film, which cost $150 million, didn’t resonate with critics, who said the plot was “incomprehensible,” according to Critics Consensus, and gave the movie a 5% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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20. Movie 43 (2013)
> Genre: Comedy
> Director: Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Brett Ratner, Jonathan van Tulleken, Bob Odenkirk
> Starring: Emma Stone, Stephen Merchant, Richard Gere, Liev Schreiber
> Gross: $8.8 million
Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes called this one a “star-studded turkey,” the stars including Josh Duhamel, Kristen Bell, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Kate Winslet, Terrence Howard, Liev Schreiber, and Halle Berry, among many others, and only 5% of critics delivered positive reviews. This raunchy comedy “is utterly disgusting throughout,” according to Entertainment Weekly. Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News described it as probably the worst movie she’d seen in 15 years.
19. Piranha 3DD (2012)
> Genre: Comedy, Horror
> Director: John Gulager
> Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Ving Rhames, David Hasselhoff, Matt Bush
> Gross: $380000.0 million
“Piranha 3DD” increases the gore and self-parody of the earlier “Piranha 3D” to disappointing effect. The result is a horror-comedy that few find either scary or funny. On Rotten Tomatoes, only 14% of critics and 22% of audiences gave the 3D movie — which was nominated for numerous worst movie awards — positive reviews.
18. Fantastic Four (2015)
> Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
> Director: Josh Trank, Stephen E. Rivkin
> Starring: Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell
> Gross: $56.1 million
The four actors playing the fantastic four were already established actors when they filmed the Marvel sci-fi movie. Critics cited on Rotten Tomatoes have called “Fantastic Four,” in which four people travel to an alternate universe where they acquire superpowers and try to save Earth, dull, a profound mess, and laughably cheesy.
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17. Jack and Jill (2011)
> Genre: Comedy
> Director: Dennis Dugan
> Starring: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino, Elodie Tougne
> Gross: $74.2 million
This Adam Sandler film in which he plays both titular characters received 10 Razzie Awards. Even the presence of Katie Holmes and Al Pacino couldn’t save it. The movie currently has a 3% positive critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It holds a 3.3 rating out of 10 among IMDb users. Critic Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly opined that “Jack and Jill” is “the worst Adam Sandler picture yet, which is saying something.”
16. The Devil Inside (2012)
> Genre: Horror
> Director: William Brent Bell
> Starring: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama
> Gross: $53.3 million
“The Devil Inside” combines two of the horror genre’s most popular trends at the time of its release — found footage and a plot involving an exorcism. The results disappointed critics, however, who found it “a cheap, choppy, unscary mess” with “one of the worst endings in recent memory,” according to Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. Only 6% of critics delivered positive reviews on the site, and 22% of audiences liked it.
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15. I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
> Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
> Director: Chris Sivertson
> Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, Bonnie Aarons
> Gross: $7.5 million
Lindsay Lohan stars as Aubrey Fleming — as well as Dakota Moss — in this 2007 serial killer mystery. The Critics Consensus for Rotten Tomatoes called the movie “a career nadir for all involved.” Only 9% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked the movie, which has a rating of 3.6 out of 10 among IMDb users. The movie received eight Razzie Awards, including two for Lohan for each character she played.
14. One Missed Call (2008)
> Genre: Horror, Mystery
> Director: Eric Valette
> Starring: Edward Burns, Shannyn Sossamon, Ana Claudia Talancón, Ray Wise
> Gross: $26.9 million
French director Eric Valette remade the popular Japanese movie about people who receive phone calls from the future in which they hear themselves murdered. There wasn’t a single positive review from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics on the site agreed the movie was uninspired and lacked terror. Twenty-nine percent of audiences liked the movie.
13. The Apparition (2012)
> Genre: Horror, Thriller
> Director: Todd Lincoln
> Starring: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill
> Gross: $4.9 million
“The Apparition” made the worst mistake a horror film can make — it wasn’t scary. Only 3% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked the film. Perhaps Entertainment Weekly critic Keith Staskiewicz summed up the general sentiment best by saying, “Might give you a restless night, but only because you fell asleep in the theater.”
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12. Daddy Day Camp (2007)
> Genre: Comedy, Family
> Director: Fred Savage
> Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant, Tamala Jones
> Gross: $13.2 million
Two men with little knowledge of the outdoors take over a deteriorating summer day camp in this cringe-worthy sequel to “Daddy Day Care” that combines humor about bodily functions and mawkish sentimental scenes about parent-child bonding. The movie, directed by “Wonder Years” actor Fred Savage and starring Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Best Supporting Actor for “Jerry Maguire”), got a 1% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated for five Razzie Awards and “won” for Worst Prequel or Sequel.
11. Left Behind (2014)
> Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
> Director: Vic Armstrong
> Starring: Nicolas Cage, Lea Thompson, Cassi Thomson, Chad Michael Murray
> Gross: $14.0 million
The fourth movie based on the religious fantasy novel “Left Behind” — which imagines the effects of the biblical Rapture — earned a 1% Rotten Tomatoes Freshness rating and inspired critic Bilge Ebiri of New York Magazine and Vulture to denounce it as “biblical in its silliness.” Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes awarded the movie a 38% approval score. The film title might apply to Nicholas Cage’s once-storied career.
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10. The Darkness (2016)
> Genre: Horror, Thriller
> Director: Greg McLean
> Starring: Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, David Mazouz, Lucy Fry
> Gross: $10.7 million
“The Darkness” is an “odd fusion of psychodrama and supernatural hokum,” according to Scott Tobias from Variety, a low-rent “Poltergeist” that was widely panned for being derivative with few scares. Starring Kevin Bacon, the film managed to earn just a 3% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics, and a positive rating from only 19% of audiences.
9. Stan Helsing (2009)
> Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
> Director: Bo Zenga
> Starring: Steve Howey, Diora Baird, Kenan Thompson, Desi Lydic
> Gross: $0.0 million
Abraham Van Helsing was the fictional vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s classic horror novela “Dracula.” Stan, his descendant, is a video-store clerk who fights a host of famous movie monsters and assorted fiends. Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film a “shockingly bad movie.” It was liked by just 14% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
8. Vampires Suck (2010)
> Genre: Comedy, Family, Horror
> Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
> Starring: Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Diedrich Bader, Chris Riggi
> Gross: $36.7 million
“Vampires Suck” is one of four movies on this list from the filmmaking team Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. It is primarily a spoof of the Twilight franchise. Though many critics believe that Twilight is indeed spoof-worthy, “Vampires Suck” fails to bring the intelligence and humor needed to do the job properly. Philip French of the Observer (UK) found the film to be a “witless, slavish pastiche of the series of romantic dramas based on Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight novels.” The film found favor with only 4% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
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7. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)
> Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
> Director: Uwe Boll
> Starring: Jason Statham, Ron Perlman, Ray Liotta, Leelee Sobieski
> Gross: $4.5 million
Directed by the fiercely independent and oft-chided filmmaker Uwe Boll, “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale” is inspired by the Dungeon Siege video game series. The movie features major starpower with Jason Statham, Ron Perlman, Ray Liotta, and Claire Forlani. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says the movie features “mostly wooden performances, laughable dialogue, and shoddy production values.” Just 4% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked the film.
6. Fifty Shades of Black (2016)
> Genre: Comedy
> Director: Michael Tiddes
> Starring: Marlon Wayans, Kali Hawk, Fred Willard, Mike Epps
> Gross: $11.7 million
“Fifty Shades of Black” is director Michael Tiddes and funnyman Marlon Wayans’ spoof of the erotic romantic drama “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Even though Wayans had success with send-ups of the horror genre, “Fifty Shades of Black” fell flat, with only 7% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes giving the movie a thumbs up. J.R. Jones of the Chicago Reader said, “The movie’s mean-spiritedness becomes even more painful than the dippiness of the source material.”
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5. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)
> Genre: Action, Crime, Fantasy
> Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
> Starring: Kristin Kreuk, Neal McDonough, Michael Clarke Duncan, Chris Klein
> Gross: $8.7 million
Based on the video game series of the same name, “Street Fighter” the film is too campy for its own good. Action film star Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in the movie, which has a 10% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics. The movie was the last feature film appearance of Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor Raul Julia before he died of a stroke.
4. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)
> Genre: Comedy
> Director: Tom Brady
> Starring: Nick Swardson, Don Johnson, Christina Ricci, Stephen Dorff
> Gross: $2.3 million
“Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star” — about a Midwestern man who goes to Hollywood to follow in his parents’ footsteps and become an adult film star — was unleashed by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions the same year as his similarly bad comedy “Jack and Jill” (No. 43 on this list). Not a single critic gave the movie a positive review among those reported on Rotten Tomatoes, with Time Out’s Matt Singer calling it “dire, soul-crushing stuff.”
3. Meet the Spartans (2008)
> Genre: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
> Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
> Starring: Sean Maguire, Kevin Sorbo, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian
> Gross: $38.2 million
“Meet the Spartans” is yet another spoof from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the filmmaking team behind “Epic Movie” (2007) and “Date Movie” (2006), among other send-ups. Goofing on flicks such as “300” (2006), the comedy with eye candy Kevin Sorbo and Carmen Electra is described by Rotten Tomatoes as a “tired, unfunny, offensive waste of time.” Just 2% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a positive score, and the movie has an IMDb user rating of 2.8 out of 10.
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2. The Hottie & the Nottie (2008)
> Genre: Comedy, Romance
> Director: Tom Putnam
> Starring: Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, Christine Lakin, Johann Urb
> Gross: $30000.0 million
The cringe-inducing title — and the fact that the film stars Paris Hilton — should be warning enough. Time Out called this “an execrable Z-grade eugenics parable,” while critic Richard Roeper said the film was “excruciatingly, painfully, horribly, terribly awful.” The film has a 6% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics, and 31% of audiences liked the gross-out, sexist comedy.
1. Disaster Movie (2008)
> Genre: Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
> Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
> Starring: Carmen Electra, Vanessa Lachey, Nicole Parker, Matt Lanter
> Gross: $14.2 million
“Disaster Movie” is yet another crude parody movie from the filmmaking team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. If nothing else, the movie’s title can be regarded as truth in advertising. In addition to being panned by critics and audiences alike — it received positive reviews from 1% of critics and 21% of viewers on Rotten Tomatoes — the movie garnered six Razzie nominations for its incompetence, including Worst Supporting Actress for Kim Kardashian West who made her feature film debut in this widely hated lemon.
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