Top 20 Worst Movies of All Time

#20: “The Emoji Movie” (2017)

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In 1914, Winsor McCay premiered his animated short “Gertie the Dinosaur,” launching a groundbreaking art form into the mainstream. 103 years later, this art form was used to turn Sir Patrick Stewart into a talking piece of poop. McCay would be so proud! “The Emoji Movie” doesn’t even feel like a real animated feature, but rather a satire of one. Come to think of it, if smarter writers were involved, maybe this could’ve been a clever satire about product placement and Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy. Since this is a movie about a society that inhabits a device, however, it’s nothing more than a commercial, really. As Rotten Tomatoes will tell you, the whole movie can be summed up with a general prohibition sign emoji.

#19: “Fantastic Four” (2015)

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The next entry on our list is a case of tripping right out of the gate. Director Josh Trank was a relative newcomer to the scene when he was hired to helm 2015’s big budget reboot of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four” franchise. Trank had only one prior directorial credit in film to his name with 2012’s “Chronicle,” yet the writing was on the proverbial wall when Trank posted a negative tweet about his experience on the film prior to its release. This was in addition to the already poor reception “Fantastic Four” was receiving from critics, who wrote off the film as “a woefully misguided attempt to translate a classic comic series without the humor, joy, or colorful thrills that made it great”. Ouch.

#18: “Movie 43” (2013)

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Helmed by Peter Farrelly, who’d ironically go on to direct a Best Picture winner only five years later, “Movie 43” was supposed to be “Kentucky Fried Movie” meets “Funny or Die.” Instead, we got “the ‘Citizen Kane’ of awful,” as Richard Roeper put it. Comprised of several sketches, this anthology comedy enlisted a cornucopia of gifted actors and filmmakers. The selling point was a skit where Kate Winslet goes on a date with Hugh Jackman, who’s given… err, a unique neck abnormality. From there, more and more stars signed up for a comedy that ultimately produced few laughs, but plenty of groans and cringes. We dare you to find a movie released this decade that flushed more talent down the toilet.

We guess you could say that Nick Swardson was the 2010s equivalent to Rob Schneider, i.e. the guy who frequently pops up in Adam Sandler movies. Where Schneider had a few star vehicles back in the day, though, Swardson was given one shot to prove that he could carry a movie. If “Bucky Larson” proves anything, it’s that Swardson wasn’t born to be a star. Centering on a buck-toothed mouth-breather who learns his parents were adult film stars, Bucky Larson sets out in pursuit of fame. It’s basically a poorer version of “Orgazmo,” which didn’t exactly set the bar very high. Throw in Pauly Shore and you’ve got a movie that’s clearly not even trying.

There’s been no shortage of quality musical dramas in the 21st century, but this isn’t one of them. Mariah Carey has tried to blame the film’s failure on the fact it was released on 9/11, even though it was actually released on the much less traumatic 9/21. But, the fact that critics and fans alike loathed the film seems a far more likely explanation. For one, Carey’s performance as Billie Frank was so harshly criticized she ended up winning the Razzie in 2002 for Worst Actress. After just 27 days in theaters, it closed having earned back only around a quarter of its $22 million budget. All that glitters clearly ain’t box office gold.

#15: “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise (2015-18)

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Given how over-the-top E. L. James’ books are, the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy could’ve been so bad it’s good, not unlike “Showgirls.” By removing Anastasia Steele’s ridiculous narration, though, we’re left with a vanilla romance that doesn’t even deliver the eroticism the trailers promised. When you really think about it, there isn’t that much BDSM in these movies. Most of the run time is instead dedicated to beautiful people driving fancy cars, sailing yachts, flying in private planes, and essentially indulging in the one-percent lifestyle. Then when we do get to the sensual stuff, it’s kept relatively tame. It all builds to arguably the dumbest ending of the decade in which Ana and Christian live happily ever after. Fitting?

“Worst Movie” lists are usually riddled with remakes and sequels, but “North” in all honesty almost looked like heartfelt “Forrest Gump”-style Oscar-bait. Since it was directed by the brilliant Rob Reiner and featured an incredible ensemble cast, the world was shocked when they finally laid eyes on this snooze-fest. Elijah Wood stars as North, a child genius who goes searching for more suitable parents than the ones he has as he travels around the world. Even with a $40 million budget, it was impossible to sit through such boring, forced humor, with each scene seemingly rushed and incomplete. We can certainly see why one particular critic “hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie.”

#13: “Alone in the Dark” (2005)

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Especially known for his video game adaptations, Uwe Boll has built a reputation for directing some of the worst movies of all time, with most of his productions becoming critical and box office disasters. He also doesn’t care what you think. Although “House of the Dead” deserves a special mention, it’s his other video game adaptation that makes our list. In “Alone in the Dark,” Christian Slater uses his special powers to chase after demonic creatures that used to be worshiped by an extinct civilization. And it. Is. Epically bad.

Congratulations, John Travolta, you’ve made your silliest movie since “Battlefield Earth.” But, we’ll get to that one later. The script for this crime biopic reads like it was written by an A.I. bot that gathered all of its data from Italian-American stereotypes and gangster clichés. “Gotti” hits all the familiar mob movie beats, but it’s completely deprived of any humanity. When all is said and done, what do we really learn about John Gotti by watching this movie? Well, he was a mob boss, he had a family, he swore a lot… that’s about it! There’s no real insight into what made Gotti such a fascinating figure. The only thing more confused than the movie itself is the soundtrack, which includes the musical stylings of Pitbull and the theme from “Shaft.”

In a world with Sharknadoes and mutant piranhas, this movie is somehow the most laughable underwater monster movie ever. Shooting the franchise dead in the water, this fourth “Jaws” film asks the question that was on everyone’s mind: what if sharks can hold grudges and somehow stalk a family to another country? Oh, wait, that wasn’t on ANYONE’s mind? Well, it’s a movie anyway. This boring sequel expects us to believe that this shark wants revenge on the Brody family for killing the original Jaws, and swims from New York to the Bahamas, looking mechanical as hell the whole way. And to think… Michael Caine missed out on accepting his Oscar for “Hannah and Her Sisters” to shoot this disaster.

#10: “The Last Airbender” (2010)

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“The Last Airbender” lived up to its title, but not in the way that director M. Night Shyamalan intended. Shyamalan built up this film as if it was going to kick off Hollywood’s next epic trilogy. Between its rushed plot, wooden acting, over-produced special effects, unnatural dialogue, and accusations of whitewashing, though, a sequel naturally never saw the light of day. The good news is that there’s already an epic trilogy: the three-season-long animated series that inspired this cinematic travesty. That being said, the fact that “The Last Airbender” derived from such a brilliant show is what truly gets under people’s skin. A terrible movie is one thing. A terrible movie based on promising source material is just shameful.

Thanks to Bennifer 1.0, this monstrosity received way more attention than it deserved. However, that didn’t stop the movie from being among Hollywood’s most expensive bombs ever. In “Gigli,” Ben Affleck is a mobster who needs to kidnap a prosecutor’s mentally handicapped brother in order to help a crime boss - played Al Pacino - avoid prison. You all guessed right; this is clearly a romantic comedy. This movie is offensive to the mentally challenged, to lesbians, and to any audience members with eyes or ears. After winning six Razzies, it later won a seventh for Worst Comedy of the Razzies’ First 25 Years. Well deserved.

#8: “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” (1997)

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Not that the original film was a classic or anything, but it was at least guilty-pleasure fun. There is so much b-movie straight-to-video terribleness in the sequel that people were confused when they went to the movie theater. Denounced by “Mortal Kombat” co-creator Ed Boon, the video game adaptation was one of the worst reviewed films of all time. Starring another Caucasian portraying Lord Raiden, among other blatant cases of white-washing, “Annihilation”’s terrible acting, script, effects, and completely boring fight sequences make us wish they would just finish us already. At least the planned sequel was cancelled.

What’s amazing about this movie is that it’s a sequel. As in, ONE movie about cheeky superhero babies who converse in secret baby-talk apparently wasn’t enough. The effects in “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2” are awful, the plot is inane, and the dialogue is painfully bad. From start to finish, the entire movie is based on a single gimmick. Critics were united in their distaste for both “Baby Geniuses” flicks, remarking that weak one-liners don’t somehow become funny when they’re made by babies. In fact, these toddlers could’ve probably found a funnier script in their diapers.

#6: “Howard the Duck” (1986)

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When the world heard that George Lucas was finally bringing Marvel Comics to the big screen, we’re sure that nobody expected the character he’d be adapting would be “Howard the Duck.” The end result barely resembled the comics, and was such a mess that all the actors had a hard time finding work after this film. Willard Huyck never directed again. Creepy inter-species sex, duck nudity, and cheesy duck puns create an underwhelming experience that not even future Oscar-winner Tim Robbins could save, despite the sci-fi comedy flick’s now-cult status.

#5: “Catwoman” (2004)

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Here’s a movie executive board meeting we can’t imagine happening: “Hey guys, the campiness of “Batman & Robin” was such a success, let’s create the same cheesy atmosphere for this “Batman” spin-off and not use Batman at all.” Extra points to Halle Berry for agreeing to do this fresh off her Oscar win though. It won Razzies for Worst Picture, Screenplay, Actress, and Director, and everybody, even Halle Berry, agreed that this was a piece of garbage. Not only did it have barely anything to do with the DC Comics characters, but it also lacked any strong female characters, action sequences, or even a compelling plot. Where is Michelle Pfeiffer when we need her?

#4: “Batman & Robin” (1997)

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Director Joel Schumacher almost destroyed an entire genre with this campy nightmare. His previous film, “Batman Forever”, was already a huge letdown to some fans compared to the Tim Burton movies that preceded it. But “Batman & Robin” was so bad that it almost made “Forever” look good. It was as if the production team watched the old Batman show from the 60s, took a lot of acid, and just started filming. With George Clooney as the most-miscast Batman in history, and the rest of the cast hamming it up as much as possible, “Batman & Robin” was panned by critics and fans alike. In fact, it led to the fifth movie in the series, “Batman Unchained”, being cancelled by Warner Bros.

#3: “Jack and Jill” (2011)

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We’re glad that Adam Sandler closed out the 2010s with an Oscar-worthy performance in “Uncut Gems” because he kicked off the decade with a Razzie-winning performance in “Jack and Jill.” Actually, he gave two Razzie-winning performances, playing adman Jack and his unbelievably obnoxious twin sister Jill. The film even managed to win a Razzie in every category, an unprecedented… um, “achievement.” Even in a decade that brought us “Pixels” and “Grown Ups 2,” “Jack and Jill” is Sandler’s crowning achievement of lazy anti-humor. Al Pacino says it best in the final scene where he orders Jack to “burn this.” In the story’s context, he’s talking about a commercial, but it just as easily could be applied to the movie we just endured

Many of our entries can be seen as career-killers, but “Battlefield Earth” brought John Travolta to an all-time low. Although most actors are forced to take these steps-down for a paycheck, Travolta spent years bringing this movie to the world, claiming its source material was better than “Star Wars.” Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, wrote the book in an attempt to bring the religion to younger audiences, and that book serves as the basis of the sci-fi action flick. Needless to say, the world wasn’t interested. When the most horrible acting you’ve ever seen is topped by camerawork that will give you a cramp in the neck, it’s not surprising that you have a recipe for unintentional hilarity. Before we reveal our top pick, here are some dishonorable mentions: “Dragonball Evolution” (2009) For Being an Awful Adaptation of a Beloved Show “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987) For Lacklustre Special Effects & Boring Action “Cats” (2019) For Being Aimless, Uncanny & Repetitive “Loqueesha” (2019) For Being Inane & Offensive “Mac and Me” (1988) For Being a Cheap E.T. Knockoff

#1: “The Room” (2003)

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When your movie sparks a debate about film as “outsider art” and gets compared to “getting stabbed in the head”, you know you’ve done something…special. And no, we’re not talking about “Birdemic: Shock and Terror”. “The Room” was created by Tommy Wiseau, a mysterious eccentric who delivers one of the most head-scratching performances ever as the lead in this cringe-worthy romantic drama. Wiseau plays a banker in San Francisco named Johnny who’s trying to cope with the infidelities of his fiancee Lisa. From the melodramatic acting and awkward sex scenes to the nonsense plot, the movie tries to convince audiences that it's authentic and real, while somehow missing every single note. There’s a reason “The Room” has often been called the ‘best worst movie ever made’.