Top 30 Movies That Caused Massive Backlash

This movie faced backlash before it was even released, thanks to the actions of its star, Ezra Miller. “The Flash” finished filming in late 2021. In 2022, Miller was accused of all kinds of nasty behavior, including assaulting and harassing several people and multiple thefts. They were arrested and many people speculated that they were dealing with some mental health issues. Of course, all of this affected Warner Bros.’ ability to market the film, and turned off a lot of people from going to see it. Although it received decent reviews – especially for a DCEU film – it barely made back its massive budget at the box office.

How do you ruin an adaptation of a beloved manga? By making a cheap, boring movie that’s totally unfaithful to the source material, and casting a bunch of white people in the lead roles. Everyone hated this movie. It has a dismal 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, and “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama[a] disliked it so much, he said he couldn’t even call it “Dragon Ball.” The hate for this movie was so intense that years later, both the screenwriter, Ben Ramsey, and lead actor Justin Chatwin actually apologized for messing it up so badly.

This film was the surprise hit of the summer and was generally well received by fans. However, Blake Lively’s marketing of the movie was a different story. “It Ends with Us” deals with some dark themes centering around domestic violence, and even features a few scenes that can be hard to watch. Yet Lively promoted the film more like a light-hearted rom-com. Many people also criticized her for using the press tour to sell her hair care products and beverage line, rather than bringing attention to the problem of intimate partner violence. In interviews, Lively even blew off questions about how survivors might react to the film. It’s led many to question whether she actually understands the seriousness of her own movie.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Ben Platt looks way too old to be playing a high schooler. He was about 27 at the time of filming, and he somehow looks even older than that on screen. It doesn’t help that his co-star, Kaitlyn Dever, looks much younger, making their romantic scenes together a little creepy. Many critics and viewers also weren’t fans of how the movie portrayed mental illness, with some calling it shallow, cringey, and even harmful. There seems to be a pattern here. If you’re going to make a movie dealing with dark themes, you need a deft touch, and some filmmakers just don’t have it.

It’s hard to believe how much outrage this movie generated before it was even released. Many people thought that “Joker” glorified violence and might even inspire people to commit acts of violence after seeing it. Some movie theaters brought in extra security for opening weekend, while others refused to show the film at all. Ultimately, these fears proved to be unfounded. The 2024 sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” faced a different kind of backlash: People just didn’t like it very much. Reviews were mixed at best, and it massively underperformed at the box office, leaving the future of the franchise uncertain.

This classic satire follows an ordinary man who’s born next door to Jesus and later gets mistaken for the Messiah. Of course, religious comedies often inspire a lot of outrage, but the backlash to “Life of Brian” was extreme. Many town councils in the U.K. banned the film before they even saw it. Some of them didn’t even have movie theaters in their jurisdictions, meaning the ban was a purely symbolic act. It was also banned in Ireland and Norway, and some religious groups called it blasphemous. They particularly blasted the ending, arguing that it made light of Jesus’s crucifixion. The controversy has continued into the 21st century, with some Christian groups criticizing others for promoting the film.

This movie’s biggest crime is that it’s just terrible. The plot is nonsensical, the acting is wooden, the editing is awful, and the effects look extremely cheap, despite the $150 million budget. Critics and fans alike hated it, with many calling it one of the worst movies ever made. The decision to cast white actors in two lead roles also didn’t help. To make matters worse, the TV show that it’s based on is universally beloved. While the live-action movie does everything wrong, the cartoon gets everything right, with well-developed characters, strong themes, and exciting storylines. Although writer-director M. Night Shyamalan claimed to be a fan of the show, he absolutely mangled the adaptation.

One of the most polarizing films of 2022, this fictional account of Marilyn Monroe’s life seems to dig up the deceased star just to exploit her. Her real life was filled with tragedy, but “Blonde” is downright brutal in its portrayal. It includes scenes of assault and other horrifying incidents that never actually happened, inviting the viewer to gawk at Monroe’s suffering. Although Ana de Armas’s performance was widely praised, many criticized the depiction of Monroe as dehumanizing, one-dimensional, and misogynist. The other characters, including President John F. Kennedy, don’t fare much better. Regardless of your opinion on the film, we can all agree that it’s not an easy watch.

Sometimes, the backlash to a violent film is unreasonable. But in the case of “A Clockwork Orange,” it’s a little more understandable. Both the movie and the book on which it’s based are extremely violent – and not just by 1970s standards. It’s made worse by the fact that the perpetrators are teenagers, and the film often depicts their brutal actions as lighthearted and fun. It was banned in multiple countries and even blamed for some copycat crimes, including a murder committed by a 16-year-old who claimed he was inspired by the film. Stanley Kubrick’s wife reported that she and her husband had been the target of threats over the movie. As a result, it was removed from British cinemas at the director’s request.

When viewers walk away from a movie wondering what the creators were thinking, you know something has gone very wrong. Aside from the fact that it’s just plain bad, “Music” was criticized in practically every corner of the internet for its portrayal of autism. Writer-director Sia chose to cast a neurotypical person, Maddie Ziegler[b], to play the role of a nonverbal autistic girl. The portrayal was slammed as stereotypical, exaggerated, and even dangerous. Perhaps worst of all, Ziegler herself was afraid of offending autistic people with the film – but Sia talked her into going through with it. This is one movie that really never should have been made.

Although “Brokeback Mountain” seemed preordained to win the 78th Academy Award for Best Picture, a select group of people were rooting for Paul Haggis’ ensemble drama about racial tension to pull an upset. Well, the little movie that could ultimately crashed the Oscars and its supporters immediately jumped ship. Now when people discuss the most unworthy Best Picture winners, “Crash” is typically the easy answer, with many calling it “Traffic” for dummies. If you’re one of those few people that stand by the Academy’s choice, though, we won’t judge you.

On paper, “Aloha” is seemingly a huge hit. It’s written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars a slew of A-listers that would otherwise guarantee butts in seats, including Bradley Cooper, Bill Murray, and Rachel McAdams. But things did not turn out that way. The writing and directing did not work well, but most of all, it faced a significant amount of controversy for its whitewashing. The brunt of the criticism was aimed at the casting of Emma Stone, who plays a one-quarter Hawaiian, one-quarter Chinese pilot named Allison Ng. Some argued that Stone’s poor casting was intentional, including Stone herself, who stated, “The character was not supposed to look like her background” – though she has also expressed regret. Nevertheless, it was fiercely criticized and openly mocked at the 2019 Golden Globes ceremony.

This film starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy was a huge success in 1989, grossing nearly $150 million and earning nine nominations at the 62nd Academy Awards. It also set a few Oscar records; Tandy became the oldest Best Actress winner, it’s the most recent PG movie to win Best Picture, and it’s one of just five Best Picture winners to have not received a Best Director nomination. Perhaps that speaks to the controversy of its win. Many people believe that “Driving Miss Daisy” was undeserving of Best Picture – including the members of the Academy. When The Hollywood Reporter polled members in 2015, many admitted that the award should have gone to “My Left Foot” instead.

After Stephenie Meyer’s bestseller got the big screen treatment, half of the human population rejoiced – while the other half was indifferent. The more attention “Twilight” got and the more MTV Movie Awards it won, the more annoyed people became. That annoyance quickly turned to anger that was so strong it was as if the films in the series were the spawn of Satan. While even once diehard fans are starting to admit “Twilight” received more success than it deserves, it’s also possible we’ve given it more hate than it deserves.

Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!” is one of the most divisive movies of the decade, and that was made readily apparent during its premiere at the Venice Film Festival when it was simultaneously applauded and booed. Some hated the film’s overt religious metaphors and Biblical allegories, perhaps expecting a more straightforward home invasion story. But the worst offense was the graphic violence on display. “Mother!” was viciously criticized for its degree of violence, which includes constant mistreatment of Jennifer Lawrence’s Mother and a horrific event involving her newborn baby. Many people can stomach barbarity in film, but this was crossing a line.

As well intentioned as this movie may have been, “Ghostbusters” is just one of those movies you do not remake. It’s an all-time classic, and nostalgic fans who hold it close to their hearts were not happy. The all-female cast also drew a large amount of backlash, as did Leslie Jones’s performance, which some perceived as a loud and stereotypical African American character. The trailer quickly became the most disliked on YouTube, and this only fueled more backlash. Some saw the hostile response as misogynistic and an example of the ongoing culture war, and people involved in the movie began actively defending themselves on social media. It was just a huge mess from all directions.

The story of “The English Patient” is obviously beloved. The movie received twelve Oscar nominations, and the novel it is based on took home both the Booker Prize and the Governor General’s Award. However, both received a fair amount of criticism and debate regarding the ethics of rewriting history. The titular Patient is based on László Almásy, a man who helped the Axis powers during World War II. Almásy died of dysentery in 1951, whereas in the movie he is given a fatal overdose of morphine after a fiery plane crash. Ethics aside, the movie has also received backlash for “Fargo” being snubbed at the Oscars and was famously mocked on an episode of “Seinfeld.”

This European film was warmly received by critics and won numerous industry awards, but controversy was there from day one. Director Abdellatif Kechiche received a lot of heat for the reported unfavorable working conditions, both from the crew and the lead actresses. Kechiche himself later expressed hesitation about releasing the film, believing that the negative publicity had tarnished its reputation. The movie was indeed released but only fueled more backlash, as many people took issue with its more intimate scenes. Some thought that they were too graphic, and those belonging to the LGBTQ+ community found them both unrealistic and exploitative.

While Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” was an impeccably made film, it also received a ton of negative feedback that has undeniably marred its legacy. The film quickly found itself caught up in the 2012 Presidential election thanks to many outspoken Republicans who accused it of supporting Obama’s re-election. Some even believed that Bigelow and her team were given classified information by the Obama administration while crafting the story. Others, including the director of the CIA, fiercely and publicly criticized the movie’s seeming pro-torture leanings, with some calling it both propagandistic and historically inaccurate. Finally, the families of some 9/11 victims attacked the film for including voice recordings of their deceased loved ones without consent.

Despite strong critical praise, “Juno” immediately found itself the target of movements that were anti-abortion and those that were for abortion rights. Some believed that the movie displayed strong anti-abortion themes, as Juno briefly flirts with the idea before actively deciding against it. It doesn’t help that “Juno” was released in the same year as both “Waitress” and “Knocked Up,” two comedies with similar storylines. The movie was further blamed for a series of teenage pregnancies in Massachusetts, resulting in what was termed “The Juno Effect.” Finally, the movie’s political background was brought up yet again in 2019, when writer Diablo Cody claimed that she wouldn’t have written “Juno” today owing to the “hellish alternate reality that we now seem to be stuck in.”

Although most of us knew “The Hobbit” didn’t need to be three movies, we were just excited to revisit Middle-earth and went along on Bilbo’s unexpected journey. At first, it was fun to see Gandalf and Gollum again. After sitting through the trilogy’s following chapters, however, Peter Jackson was officially trying our patience. Because “The Hobbit” began as a relatively short children’s novel, many believed this drawn-out adaptation had more filler than a never-ending soap opera. Perhaps a director’s cut or, better yet, a fan cut is in order. What was also unexpected was the mixed result over the new 48 frames-per-second tech used, with many moviegoers finding it less than an improvement.

It’s possible for a movie to become too successful, “Titanic” being an evident example. The film broke all kinds of records at the box office and Oscars, but James Cameron’s unsinkable hit didn’t stop there. For the longest time, it was impossible to go anywhere without seeing “Titanic” being referenced. Once the world finally got sick of it, they really, really got sick of it. Be that as it may, chances are you saw “Titanic” in theaters multiple times. Any film that accomplishes that must have done something right.

Scarlett Johansson is a great actress, but was Motoko Kusanagi the right role for her? A lot of people don’t think so. Being an adaptation of a Japanese manga, “Ghost in the Shell” received a lot of pre-release publicity owing to the casting of Johansson, with many people calling it an example of whitewashing. It received further backlash when it was reported that the filmmakers were going to use CGI to make Johansson appear Asian. However, many others – including the director of the anime films and the “Ghost in the Shell” rightsholder – defended the casting and heaped praise upon Johansson. It was also widely reported that many Japanese natives and fans of the manga were not upset nor that surprised with Johansson’s casting.

The bigger the movie, the bigger the backlash. Between 2009 and 2019, “Avatar” was the highest-grossing film ever. While it was briefly overtaken by “Avengers: Endgame,” it retook the top spot in 2021 thanks to a Chinese reissue. Unsurprisingly, the epic sci-fi has suffered a behemoth backlash unlike any other throughout this time. Paralleling “Titanic,” “Avatar” has gone from reigning at the box office to being the most heavily criticized entity online. Bloggers and commenters alike can’t stand the notion that a movie with such simplistic themes and a clichéd story made over two billion dollars. Regardless, there are still plenty of pro-blue people who proudly defend the film, which is fortunate, considering how many sequels are set to be released in the 2020s!

Martin Scorsese has often received backlash for the degree of violence in his films. In this case though, it was for depicting Jesus Christ getting personal with Mary Magdalene. While the movie includes a disclaimer stating that it is “not based on the Gospels,” that didn’t stop some Christians from getting upset. Many Christian groups protested and boycotted the movie’s release, and a few theater chains caved to the pressure and refused to show the movie. Scorsese reportedly received death threats, and the film was outright banned in several countries. But the worst came on October 22, 1988, when a Paris cinema showing the film was set on fire by a group of Christian fundamentalists. Fourteen people were injured in the attack.

This Larry Clark-directed coming-of-age drama was originally given the rare NC-17 rating owing to its explicit content. Shot in a quasi-documentary format, “Kids” received immediate criticism owing to its graphic nature, with some even calling it exploitative and bordering on illegal. Not only was the content itself controversial, but many of the main characters were deemed abhorrent and unlikable. One scene – which we will not show – continues to draw immense criticism, both for its horrific content and the unflinching manner in which it’s filmed. Very few people saw any artistic merit within the film, instead calling it provocation for provocation’s sake.

If the hullabaloo around “The Interview” taught us anything, it’s that people will absolutely cater to the demands of North Korea. The movie immediately drew criticism in the totalitarian country for its depiction and on-screen killing of Kim Jong-un. Sony Pictures Releasing was hacked prior to the release of the film, and the hackers – who had North Korean connections – threatened future attacks if the release went ahead as planned. Following the threats, Sony pulled “The Interview” from wide release – a move that was fiercely criticized by critics and actors alike. Even President Obama decried the move, saying, “We cannot have a society in which some dictator in some place can start imposing censorship in the United States.”

This is the debut of French director Maïmouna Doucouré, and it was not a great first impression. Netflix absolutely bungled the release of this film by unveiling a controversial poster depicting scantily-clad young girls. While the movie criticizes this type of hypersexualization in pre-teens, Netflix subscribers and organizations found the poster extremely inappropriate and demanded the cancellation of the film. Numerous American politicians publicly condemned the movie through social media and even opined that its release broke federal laws and constituted criminal behavior. But despite the very prominent backlash, Netflix continues to defend the film and claims that it is misunderstood.

Directed by the ever-provocative Lars von Trier, “Nymphomaniac” is about a woman named Joe regaling a stranger about her wild personal life. With the uncut version running a patience-testing five and a half hours, “Nymphomaniac” received criticism both for its indulgent runtime and explicit content. In fact, the lower body parts of various adult entertainers – who acted as body doubles – were superimposed over the actors’ in the movie. As such, the film features incredibly graphic shots that some find highly uncomfortable to watch, and it faced some backlash regarding the unrestrained nature of the visuals. This is certainly not one to watch with your parents.

Really, anything involving Jesus is bound to be controversial. While an enormous success and obviously well made, Mel Gibson’s Biblical epic was relentlessly crucified by the media. Some argued against the Biblical accuracy of the film, but one of the biggest claims was that the movie was antisemitic. However, many of these claims were made prior to release, and many prominent movie critics praised the film and argued against its supposed antisemitic themes. Others focused on the extent of the graphic violence and compared it to a snuff film. Not only was the violence hard to watch, but some also argued that the movie missed the story’s teachings by focusing solely on its brutality.


Which movies do you think deserved the backlash? Let us know in the comments below.

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