Top 10 WORST Sci-Fi Movies

When director Roland Emmerich made “Moonfall” in 2022, he wasn’t new to the genre of sci-fi disaster movies. After all, this is the guy that brought us “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012” back in the aughts. And while both of those films deserved consideration for this list, it was “Moonfall” that made the cut. Trying to explain the overcomplicated plot about the moon falling towards earth, an alien swarm, and an ancient artificial intelligence would take too long. But needless to say this one failed with both critics and audiences, scoring a paltry 35% on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ CinemaScore. As for the scientific accuracy of it all… scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson find it laughable.

A science-fiction movie written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Doug Liman, and starring Tom Holland about a planet of men who can hear each other’s thoughts definitely sounds intriguing. However, after numerous rewrites by other authors, disappointing test screenings, and a bunch of reshoots, what we got with “Chaos Walking” was less intriguing and more just plain bad. Viewers criticized its shallow characters and weak story, and many commented on the missed opportunities in such a seemingly interesting premise. Knowing what could have been makes watching it even more painful.

It seems like the most popular word in Hollywood over the last decade or two has been “reboot.” Just about every studio is looking for a franchise and blockbuster to build around, and seems to fear anything brand new without a bankable IP attached to it. As we saw in 2015, “Terminator” was no exception. “Genisys” was supposed to be the first in a trilogy and launch a television series. The film did bring in over $400 million, but that was less than what was hoped for. Add to that the mostly disappointing reviews, and the studio said “hasta la vista, baby” to both sequels and the TV show.

Not to be confused with Joey's quickly-canceled TV show on “Friends,” “Mac and Me” is a terrible 1988 film about an alien who makes friends with a boy after escaping from NASA agents. If you’re thinking it sounds a little like an “E.T.” rip-off, you’re not alone. One critic went so far as to call it “an amazingly bald-faced copy” of the Spielberg classic. As bad as it is, it did get some laughs in a running joke where Paul Rudd trolled Conan O'Brien with clips of the film during his appearances on Conan’s shows. So, at least something good came out of it.

As the masterminds behind the “Matrix” movies, the Wachowskis have rightfully earned their sci-fi credentials. However, given how bad “Jupiter Ascending” was, we don’t hold it against anyone who would ask them to give those credentials back. You’d think a story about a space warrior and a maid with a destiny beyond our planet would be sci-fi gold in the Wachowskis’ hands. But while most agree that this 2015 space opera looks great, the critical consensus was that the writing, acting and confused storyline make it - to quote Rotten Tomatoes - a “visually thrilling misfire.”

Let’s welcome director Roland Emmerich back to the list with this awful flick, which got the worst reviews of any American “Godzilla” movie, by far. In fact, it’s one of the worst reviewed movies out of the entire “Godzilla” franchise, which includes more than 30 Japanese films. Emmerich is always good at giving us big special effects and action, but often his movies feature nothing much beyond that. Even the film’s producer and co-writer Dean Devlin admitted years later that the script wasn’t very good and they “screwed up” the movie. We agree.

We could start by telling you what the story is about, but honestly it doesn’t matter. Or at least, that’s what it feels like the filmmakers said to themselves when they made this piece of junk. Pretty much the only good thing anyone had to say about this secret agent sci-fi thriller is that it’s action-packed from start to finish. Beyond that, it’s an unwieldy, incompetent mess with an equally clumsy title. “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” has the distinction of being the worst reviewed movie in Rotten Tomatoes’ history and so far, the only film with over 100 reviews and a 0% critics’ score.

Although these days this film is the poster child for “so-bad-it's-good” movies, it was not intended to be. Director Ed Wood had big story ideas for the film with the goal of making a great science-fiction epic. But alas, his budget was not epic and, along with other issues that befell the production, what we got was a truly bad movie, one that some critics have even called the “worst film ever made.” But it has since built up a cult following, and even earned a place in “Seinfeld” history as part of the classic “Chinese Restaurant” episode.

If you made $7.1 million you’d be super psyched, right? But, what if you’d already invested $100 million dollars? That’s exactly what happened to the studios and investors on Eddie Murphy’s 2002 box office bomb, “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.” The script for this movie went through numerous rewrites over its lifetime, partly because Murphy kept rejecting the many revisions sent his way. Unfortunately for him, though, he eventually said yes to one of them. The film is a science-fiction action comedy with very little action and even less comedy. And Eddie Murphy seems about as happy to be in it as we are to be watching it.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

Even the Film’s Producer Admitted That This One Nearly Killed the Franchise

The Attempt at a Twist Ending to Match the Original Fell Horribly Flat

James Cameron’s Directorial Debut Was a Titanic Failure

The World Will Be Better in the Future If No One Has to Watch This Movie

This Smith Family Outing Crashed & Burned Harder Than A Spaceship Hitting Earth

Based on a book by L. Ron Hubbard – yes, that L. Ron Hubbard – “Battlefield Earth” stars famed Scientologist John Travolta as a member of the Psychlos. This race of humanoid aliens rule Earth in the year 3000. The film was a pet project of Travolta’s for years, and he was finally able to secure independent financing and get the thing made – which is unfortunate for everyone who’s had to sit through it. Acting, directing, screenplay, special effects, plot… they’re all bad. Even actors who are great in other movies somehow give inexplicable, over-the-top performances in this travesty. The only good thing about “Battlefield Earth” is that it was so bad, they canceled plans to make a sequel.