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List of films considered the worst

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File:Plan 9 poster.JPG
Plan 9 from Outer Space, considered "so bad it's good" by some; widely regarded as the first contender for "Worst Movie Ever Made".

Although taste and judgment are subjective, the films listed here have achieved a significant level of infamy through critical and popular consensus. The films listed have either been cited by a combination of reputable sources as the worst movie of the year, or been on such a source's list of worst movies. Examples of such sources include the Golden Raspberry Awards ("Razzies"), Roger Ebert's list of most hated films, and the Internet Movie Database's "Bottom 100" list.

What makes a film "worst ever?"

Of films that have been "considered the worst ever", some of them may be the targets of hyperbole rather than critically claimed to be "the worst ever". There are also productions in existence which did not receive major (or any) distribution, which were therefore not expected to be successful, and in turn have been excluded from this list.

The movies listed here are not simply box office bombs, although many of them are; rather, they are films which spectacularly failed to meet critical and commercial standards set by advance publicity or the weight of expectations or have become well known by the general public for their poor quality. Although a movie usually achieves infamy by being badly written, directed, or acted, it can become notable for other factors, such as an excessive amount of hype, or a backlash against overexposed celebrities. Examples of this are Battlefield Earth, which starred A-lister John Travolta, and the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez vehicle Gigli.

Reasons for failure

When panned, many films can be filed as having failed for specific reasons. Some of these are deliberately poor effort ("B-Movies"), problems with leading actors, attempting to build on an already successful film, extremely loose conversion from a different medium, poor fit within its film genre, or over-reliance on "shock value". Some of these films fall into more than one of these categories.

B-movies

While B-movies are not generally presented or accepted as fine cinema in the first place, some of the films from this genre have become known for being easily worse than their already expected mediocrity. Some of these are the result of filmmakers who cannot perceive their own incompetence, or whose creative vision outstrips their technical or financial resources. Popular examples are the movies of Ed Wood, Coleman Francis and Roger Corman, and most of the obscure films featured on the television spoof show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which, in its 10-year run on television, brought extremely obscure, poorly-made films into the public consciousness.

However, some B-movies have become cult classics, partly as a result of their peculiarities. Fans of low-budget cult films often use the phrase "so bad it's good" to describe movies that are so poorly made that they actually become an entertaining comedy of errors. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films actually develop an ardent fan following who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the bevy of errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere.

Glen or Glenda (1953)
A semi-autobiographical quasi-documentary, starring and directed by Ed Wood about transvestism. After a nightmarish dream sequence, Glen undergoes psychotherapy to help cure his affliction. Bela Lugosi appears in this film, as he did in several other Wood films during the twilight of his career. Many of Wood's fans and Leonard Maltin—who actually thought it was the worst movie ever made—insist that this was far worse than Plan 9 from Outer Space. In his book Cult Movies 3 author Danny Peary suggests that the film is actually a radical, if ineptly made film, that presents a far more personal story than is contained in films by more well-respected auteurs. This film was included in the 2004 DVD documentary, The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
File:Manos-dvd cover.jpg
Manos: The Hands of Fate has an opening nine-minute sequence in which nothing happens but endless driving through the countryside, due to the credits being left out. [54]
"Manos" The Hands of Fate (1966)
A no-budget horror film made by El Paso fertilizer salesman Hal Warren. The film gained cult popularity by being featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It has held the #1 movie on the IMDb Bottom 100 repeatedly. Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino owns a rare 35 mm copy of the film, and has stated that it is his favorite "comedy".[1] It also has a 10% rating at Rotten Tomatoes [55], and the one positive review linked on Rotten Tomatoes is for its Mystery Science Theater appearance rather than the film itself (which the reviewer, Mike Bracken, calls "unwatchable"). [2]
Monster A Go-Go (1965)
A Herschell Gordon Lewis-directed film – a more mundane horror film than his Blood Feast and The Gore-Gore Girls. The film was begun as Terror at Halfday by Bill Rebane, who would later go on to make The Giant Spider Invasion (another infamous bomb); the film was left incomplete, then it was purchased by Lewis, who reportedly needed a second film to release on a double bill, and who shot some additional footage. The picture consists mostly of men sitting around drinking coffee and talking; the ending consists of a long speech by the narrator informing us that "there was no monster." Allmovie.com calls the film a "surreal anti-masterpiece" [3]. At one time it held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100. Also featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1956)
Generally regarded as the first film even to get people thinking about what could be the worst movie ever. It was officially labeled the "Worst Film Ever" by the Golden Turkey Awards, as well as earning two Razzies (one for Worst Director Ever and one for Worst Movie Ever). This Ed Wood classic is the last film appearance of Bela Lugosi. Wood idolized Lugosi, and before Lugosi's death, he shot several minutes of Lugosi extemporizing. This was then placed in the movie (and repeated several times!). Lugosi's character was then played by Tom Mason, the chiropractor of Wood's wife at the time, who played his scenes holding the cape in front of his face. Wood was apparently undeterred by the numerous other physical differences—such as height and build—that distinguished Mason from Lugosi; i.e., that Mason was nearly bald while Lugosi retained a full head of hair until his death (Years later, one video distributor made light of this, adding the blurb "Almost Starring Bela Lugosi" on the tape box). Due to difficulty in finding a willing distributor, the film was not released until 1959. The film has played almost annually at the New Orleans Worst Film Festival. Also included in the 2004 DVD documentary, The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
Robot Monster (1953)
An Ed Wood-style science fiction film featuring an actor dressed in a gorilla suit and a diving helmet. The film is listed in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time among "The Baddest of the B's". It also made it into The Book of Lists' 10 worst movie list, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and the 2004 DVD documentary, The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. It featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and was a childhood favorite of horror author Stephen King.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
When Martian children get to see Santa Claus only on TV, their parents decide to abduct Santa to make them happy. Famous in the "so bad it's good" category, it has been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and holds a spot in IMDb's worst 100. Also cited on a 10-worst list in The Book of Lists, The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and the 2004 DVD documentary, The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. It features an early screen appearance by 1980s film icon Pia Zadora. The Canadian TV channel "Space: The Imagination Station" airs this bomb every Christmas as a salute to bad sci-fi. KPTS in Wichita, Kansas aired this on Christmas Eve 2005 as family-friendly entertainment.
Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam ("The Man Who Saves The World", but almost always referred to by the nickname "Turkish Star Wars") (1982)
A 1982 Turkish "sci-fi" film made on a shoe-string budget which ripped off special effects, music, and scenes from Star Wars and other well-known films of the West. The creators have said that it was meant to be a serious attempt to prove that Turkey can make science-fiction films. It has become a cult classic among ordinary Turks and bad film lovers around the world.

Stars

Generally speaking, major film stars become so by acting in popular and/or well made movies, which often leads fans to expect them to always take part in enjoyable films. Sometimes movies are made where the featuring of a particular star or pairing/grouping of stars alone is expected to be a box office draw. Meanwhile, for differing reasons, the film itself ends up as critical and/or box-office dud. Some examples:

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
This action movie, starring Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas, was universally panned by critics, earning a rare 0% rating (with 97 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes. [4] Critics variously described the film as "A picture for idiots," "Boring to an amazing degree," "A fine achievement in stupidity and dullness," "It's dreadful," "Gives new meaning to the word incoherent," and "the film is bad on just about every level." One critic even called it "Simplistic: Bullets Vs. Humans." An early script, significantly different from what was filmed, was used for the generally well-received Game Boy Advance video game Ecks vs. Sever - despite many rumors, the movie was not based on the game, although the game was released first (due to a delay in the release of the movie). The movie has been credited with significantly slowing down Lucy Liu's career.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Based on the first half of L. Ron Hubbard's thousand-page novel of the same name, starring John Travolta. Heavily hyped by the Church of Scientology (of which Travolta is a leading member; indeed, he had been trying for years to get this film made), it had the third worst 3,000-theater-plus opening weekend up to that time. More than one reviewer gave their review as simply "Travolting"; Rob Vaux called the film a "crime against celluloid" ([56]) Several describe the pain experienced while watching it. [5] It has a 3% Rotten Tomatoes rating (listing 3 positive reviews out of 96). [6] The film won seven Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. [7] In 2005, an eighth Razzie (for Worst "Drama" of Our First 25 Years) was awarded to the film [8]. The film also seriously hurt Travolta's career, causing his box-office clout to become significantly weakened in the film's aftermath.
Gigli (2003)
A movie featuring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck that was declared by many to be the worst movie of 2003. Originally a very dark comedy with no romantic subplot, the producers demanded script rewrites throughout filming, hoping to cash in on the Lopez-Affleck romance that was very big news in celebrity-watching publications of the time such as Us and People. This film only grossed $6 million, causing it to be one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Many especially avoided it because they thought that it was just a vehicle for the Lopez-Affleck relationship. Some reviewers dubbed the film "The ultimate turkey of all time," referring to Lopez's character's sex talk to Affleck's character inviting him to perform an act of oral sex: "It's turkey time." "What?" "Gobble, gobble." This film is also said to have been a factor in the break-up of the engagement between its two stars.[citation needed] Winner of 7 Razzies (including 2005's Worst "Comedy" of Our First 25 Years [9]).
Inchon (1982)
Although the movie had a cast of prominent stars, including Laurence Olivier (during the twilight of his film career, in which he'd taken many critically panned roles), this war epic "won" four Razzies: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Olivier), Worst Director (Terence Young), and Worst Screenplay. It was named Worst Movie of the Year by Esquire. This movie was also criticized for being financed and produced by the Unification Church, and Sun Myung Moon was a "Special Advisor" to the film. It has never been released on video or DVD.
Glitter (2001)
A semi-autobiographical movie about Mariah Carey in which she plays Billie Frank, a very thinly-veiled Carey-like performer. Critics universally panned it for seeming to be a vanity film intended only to enhance Carey's singing career. Carey had pushed for the project as early as 1997, but its 2001 release, coupled with the poor reception of Carey's next album (her first since signing a $100 million recording contract), not only damaged Carey's career, but may have been a factor that drove her to a physical breakdown.[10] One reviewer said, "Only Mariah Carey could mess up a film about Mariah Carey." Metacritic.com gave it a 14 out of 100 [11] Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 7% rating [12], and it earned five nominations [13] and one "win" for Carey as Worst Actress [14] at the 2001 Golden Raspberry Awards.
Swept Away (2002)
After director Guy Ritchie won critical acclaim for back-to-back British gangster flicks Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, he went on to cast his wife, Madonna, as the female lead in a remake of 1974's Swept Away. It has a 6% rating at [15] Rotten Tomatoes, an 18 out 100 on Metacritic.com [16], and won five Razzies: Worst Movie, Worst Director, Worst Actress (tied with Britney Spears in Crossroads), Worst Screen Couple (Madonna along with Adriano Giannini) and Worst Remake or Sequel. [17] It also went direct-to-video in the UK (Ritchie's home country and Madonna's adopted home.) [18]
""If there is one thing worse than a Guy Ritchie movie, it's a Guy Ritchie movie with Madonna in it." (Rex Reed, The New York Observer)
"No yacht was harmed during shooting. It's the movie that's the shipwreck." (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).

Bad crossover

Sometimes stars in other fields, such as music, will attempt a movie career. If this works well enough the star can have a dual career in both fields, or move on exclusively to a film career. Other times, this turns out to have been a mistake and they often stop after the first try.

The hastily-made movie From Justin to Kelly spent only two weeks in the theaters.
From Justin to Kelly (2003)
American Idol finalists Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini star in this movie musical. It stayed in theaters for only two weeks before being released to stores on DVD six weeks later. It is clear that the film was rushed into production to capitalize on the popularity of the TV series American Idol. When asked about why she did the film, Clarkson told Time Magazine, "Two words: Contractually obligated!" [19] On Metacritic.com, it has a score of 14/100 points [20]; Rotten Tomatoes lists only 5 positive reviews out of 57 in total [57]; it also "topped" IMDb's bottom 100 movies for several months in 2003, with a rating of 1.5 out of a possible 10. The film was awarded a special Razzie (for Worst "Musical" of Our First 25 Years) in 2005. However, it was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards.[21]

"...for the panting masses of American Idol fans who imagine winning and going to live happily ever after in Lotusland, the message couldn't be clearer. You, too, might one day end up starring in the motion picture equivalent of Cheez Whiz." (Stephen Holden of The New York Times[22])

Honest (2000)
Britpop group All Saints sought to boost their careers by starring in a feature film. Directed by ex-Eurythmics member Dave Stewart, Honest was a black comedy set in swinging London in the late 1960s. The All Saints girls play three street wise sisters who head 'up West' to rob and generally cause trouble.
Despite being promoted heavily at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, the film flopped in its opening week in the U.K., earning only $168,000 on more than 200 screens in its opening weekend (compared with $4.4 million for Gladiator in its third week), resulting in it being pulled from most UK cinemas barely a week into its release. It received blistering reviews, with one critic remarking, "It is the worst kind of rubbish, the kind that makes you angry you have wasted 105 minutes of your life." It has a total of 18 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; 4 negative, 14 unrated. Due to featuring both of the Appleton sisters of All Saints dropping their tops, Honest has also been dubbed "The All Saints Exposing Their Boobs Movie". All Saints split acrimoniously the following year.

Sequels, prequels and remakes

Often, an attempt is made to capitalize on the popularity of a successful film by making a sequel (or prequel), or if the film is old enough, remaking the movie altogether. These films often do not live up to their predecessor. Some factors resulting in poor performance are:

  • Budgetary constraints
  • The film may not feature the same stars
  • The film may not be made by the same filmmakers
  • A lack of interest in furthering the story of the predecessor

While they are usually considered simply inferior to the original, others end up being poorly done movies in and of themselves and in this way sometimes taint the very film they were meant to emulate or continue.

3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998)
The fourth 3 Ninjas movie--and universally considered the worst of the series--starred none of the original actors, excluding a near-cameo role by Victor Wong, and was directed by tween-friendly director Sean McNamara. The film also starred Hulk Hogan and Loni Anderson. The movies has zero positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoes [23], is the 7th worst movie (with a score of 1.9 out of 10) as rated by the users of IMDB [24] and grossed only $375,805 domestically [25].
Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
The prequel to 1994's Dumb & Dumber starred neither of the original leads and was even more panned by critics than the first film. It stands at 10% at Rotten Tomatoes [26], a 39 out of 100 on Metacritic.com [27] and inspired Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures to say he "[couldn't] hate this film enough."
Son of the Mask (2005)
This sequel to the Jim Carrey movie The Mask (but without Jim Carrey this time) was #14 on the IMDb Bottom 100 list as of August 2006, and had a 4% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[28] Some reactions to the film:
"Son of the Mask is an irredeemable mess, a computer-animated Punch and Judy show without wit, heart or a single memorable performance." (Dana Stevens, The New York Times)
"It's astonishing how dull a movie that packs so much visual overstimulation into its frames can be." (Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times).
"Doing a sequel to "The Mask" without Jim Carrey sounds like a really bad idea. As "Son of the Mask" proves, it is." (Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun)
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
The fourth and final film in the Jaws series completely ignores the events of the preceding and more successful Jaws 3-D, and instead uses a plot involving a shark seemingly plotting to murder the surviving members of the Brody family. At the end, the shark is heard to "roar" (which is physically impossible) before being hit with a boat driven by Sheriff Brody's wife and exploding. It was nominated for the Worst Picture award in the 1987 Golden Raspberry Awards, and won an award for "Worst Special Effects." It has a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[29]
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Sequel to Speed, starring Sandra Bullock (reprising her role from the previous movie), Jason Patric, and Willem Dafoe and notably not starring Keanu Reeves of the original film. Speed 2 was both a critical and box office flop. It received a "BOMB" rating from Leonard Maltin; in his Movie and Video Guide, Maltin comments "Did anyone read the script before signing on for this one?" The film was nominated for eight Razzies and won for Worst Remake or Sequel. It currently has a 23 out of 100 rating on Metacritic.com [30] Sandra Bullock herself later admitted that the film was awful.
Staying Alive (1983)
Sequel to Saturday Night Fever, directed by Sylvester Stallone and starring John Travolta. Panned by critics despite bringing in $68 million at the box office, the film was ranked the Worst Sequel Ever by Entertainment Weekly [31] and it has a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes [32] The film was nominated for two Razzies, including Worst Actor (Travolta) and Worst New Star (Finola Hughes).
SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
Although the original movie was not well received, this sequel inspired many critics to add it to their list of the worst movies ever. It was '#1' on the IMDb bottom 100 for a few months (as of July 2006, it has moved down, or maybe up, to #6), and had a 0% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [33] Some reactions to the film:
"Unspeakably ghastly sequel to the merely ghastly original" (Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal)
"The most perversely unnecessary sequel in recent memory" (Nathan Rabin, The Onion A.V. Club)
"Spectacularly awful" (Lou Lumenick, New York Post)
"May quite easily put an end to any discussion of what is the worst theatrical release of 2004" (Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times).
Batman & Robin (1997)
The fourth installment of the Warner Bros. franchise that began with 1989's Batman and the lowest-grossing of the film series. This film is often billed as the worst superhero movie of all time, even to the point that star George Clooney said he would refund people's money if they stopped him on the street and said they had paid to see it. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Clooney claims he played Batman as a homosexual. [34] The director Joel Schumacher apologized for the film on its commentary track for the 2005 Special Edition DVD, despite earlier statements that he believed it is a good film. Batman & Robin earned the nickname "Batman on Ice" for a scene in which the titular heroes have retractable skate blades hidden inside their boots. The film was mocked for the poor script, over-extending the campy attitude of the previous installment Batman Forever, the poor casting of other "big-name" stars Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the addition of Alicia Silverstone's poorly portrayed Batgirl. Critics derided the film and pointed out that the very expensive star salaries only ballooned the budget. No more Batman movies were made for nearly eight years. A sequel titled Batman Triumphant was planned with Clooney and Schumacher but was quickly cancelled before Batman and Robin left theaters. The next Batman film, 2005's Batman Begins, was a reboot of the franchise.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
The fourth Superman film to star Christopher Reeve was hampered by a poor script and even worse special effects. The Salkinds, who had produced the first three films, had bailed on the series by this point, and when it was over even Reeve had had enough. Another Superman movie wouldn't hit screens again for 19 years.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
A follow up to the 1999 sleeper Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Rob Schneider reprises his role as the seemingly nerdy gigolo who travels to Amsterdam to see his friend, Antoine. The critically reviled film just broke even on its $22 million budget at the U.S. box office before bombing overseas. Given a non-existent storyline, crude script and overacted performances, the film became the subject of a heated debate between star Schneider and movie critic Patrick Goldstein, who wrote an article about studios producing terrible movies, citing this film as one of its examples. Schneider took an ad out in The Hollywood Reporter stating "Most of the world (has) no idea of your existence. Maybe you didn't win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven't invented a category for 'Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter'. I can honestly say that if I sat with your colleagues at a luncheon, afterwards they'd say, 'You know, that Rob Schneider is a pretty intelligent guy' ... whereas, if you sat with my colleagues, after lunch, you would just be beaten beyond recognition." Film critic Roger Ebert responded to Schneider by saying in his review of the film, "As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks." Rob Schneider alluded to a third installment of the Deuce Bigalow series set in Australia, but later recanted in an issue of Empire Magazine, presumably due to the poor performance of European Gigolo.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
This is considered to be the weakest sequel to Star Trek film franchise. The creator of the franchise, Gene Roddenberry, considered this movie to be "apocryphal at best", regarding it as non-canon. This movie managed to win 1989 Razzle Award for Worst Picture, beating The Karate Kid Part III and Road House (1989 film).
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
This was the first sequel for the successful Highlander film that released in 1986. Apart from being inconsistent with the 1986 original's storyline, audiences found the conflict between the rebellion and General Katana to be too reminiscent of the conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire featured in Star Wars. Critics and audiences alike pointed out that the characters suffered from a lack of motivation. An example often cited is that no reason was provided for Katana's sudden interest in Connor after apparently losing contact with him for 506 years. Connor's insistence on killing his old enemy while he could wait for him to die without outside interference is also often noted. Also, the two 'alien' Immortal protagonists on Zeist, have their Scottish and Spanish names that they will have on Earth. It is considered by many fans of the Highlander stories to be by far the worst out of all.
Highlander II's apparent failure has been seen by some as a result of the producers' interference with the work of director Russell Mulcahy, who personally hated the final product so much he walked out of the film's world premiere after viewing its first 15 minutes. For similar reasons, Christopher Lambert threatened to walk out of the project when it was nearing fruition, but he didn't, due to contract obligation. Mulcahy later made a director's cut version known as Highlander II: The Renegade Version. The film was reconstructed largely from scratch, with certain scenes removed and others added back in, and the entire sequence of events changed. All references to the Immortals being aliens from another planet were eliminated. This version is generally considered a major improvement on the theatrical release, and obtained a far more favourable reception. Nevertheless, the events of both versions were generally ignored by the subsequent films and series. Film critic Roger Ebert said in his review of Highlander II that it was "almost awesome in its badness."

Poor comedy

Some comedic films fail because they are simply not funny. Sometimes they fail due to poor writing or acting, or because they just "try too hard." Other times they fail because of an attempt by a comedic actor to try something different or a non-comedic actor to attempt comedy. Finally, some "comedy" films cross into bad taste in their attempt.

Zoom (2006)
Former superhero Jack (Tim Allen) is called back to work to transform an unlikely group of ragtag kids into superheroes at a private Academy. Though The Film Is Not On The IMDb, It Has A Bad Rating Of 2.2/10. And At Rotten Tomatoes Currently As Of August 2006 The Film Has A 0% Rating At Rotten Tomatoes [35]. The Film Is Also Considered A Flop In The Box Office.
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
Larry the Cable Guy, a Southern health inspector, is assigned a new rookie partner, Amy Butlin (Iris Bahr), by his boss, Bart Tatlock (Tom Wilson). Together, Larry and Amy work to solve a series of food poisonings at four-star restaurants. The movie's climax is at an Iron Chef-style cooking tournament. The film, which was not screened for critics before its release, was universally panned by critics and avoided by moviegoers alike. Three days following its release, the film was ranked #1 on IMDb's Bottom 100, and as of July 29, 2006, it is ranked #14 in the Bottom 100, with .com for Murder in the #1 spot. It also currently retains a 7% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes [36].
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
This infamous Eddie Murphy film had its origins in the mid-1980s. The script went through numerous revisions and when filming was completed, the film sat unreleased for two years (until August 2002). The movie cost $110 million to make and market, but earned just $2.9 million. A majority of critics lambasted the awful acting, terrible dialogue, and lack of humor. It was nominated for the Razzie Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Murphy), and Worst Director (Ron Underwood). [58] Murphy did not promote the film upon its release. Pluto Nash has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [37]
Bio-Dome (1996)
Based on the Biosphere 2 project and starring Pauly Shore, it has an average critical score of 1 out of a possible 100 at Metacritic, meaning not only is it the worst-reviewed movie on that site, it is the worst-reviewed item in any category. [38] It also earned Shore his second Razzie (after 1995's Jury Duty) for Worst Actor, tying him with Tom Arnold for Big Bully, Carpool, and The Stupids. Shore has repeatedly apologized for the film. The film was famously referenced in the "Weird Al" Yankovic song Albuquerque when he complains about how his plane ride was absoultely terrible, one of his complaints was that "the in-flight movie was Bio-Dome with Pauly Shore".
Dirty Love (2005)
Written by and starring Jenny McCarthy, it "won" four Razzie awards, for Worst Picture, Worst Director (John Asher), Worst Screenplay and Worst Actress (Jenny McCarthy).[39] It also has a score of 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.[40]. Roger Ebert said in his review, "On the basis of Dirty Love, I am not certain that anyone involved has ever seen a movie, or knows what one is," and on star Jenny McCarthy, he wrote, "I feel sorry for her." [41]
Freddy Got Fingered.
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Of this Tom Green comedy vehicle, which he gave zero out of four stars, Roger Ebert wrote:

"This movie doesn't scrape the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't the bottom of the barrel. This movie isn't below the bottom of the barrel. This movie doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels... The day may come when Freddy Got Fingered is seen as a milestone of neo-surrealism. The day may never come when it is seen as funny." [42]

Tom Green was awarded five Razzies, including Worst Picture, for this film [43]; he accepted the awards in person, and used his acceptance speech to scorn the audience.
Going Overboard! or Babes Ahoy! (1989)
Before Adam Sandler was a household name, he starred in this low budget film about an aspiring stand-up comedian who works as a waiter on a cruise ship. Some have described the film not so much as a comedy, but more of a painful endurance test. Billy Zane makes a quick appearance as well.
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot! (1992)
A comedy starring Sylvester Stallone along with Golden Girls star Estelle Getty, about a cop whose elderly mother meddles in his life, to the point of going on raids and chases with him. The film won three Razzies; one each for Stallone and Getty, as well as for Worst Screenplay. It also has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [44]

"Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot is one of those movies so dimwitted, so utterly lacking in even the smallest morsel of redeeming value, that you stare at the screen in stunned disbelief." (Roger Ebert)

Gratuitousness

Filmmakers sometimes try to use the overuse of censor-worthy content as a means to draw in curious film-goers (an example of the marketing technique commonly known as shock value). When executed poorly, this method can backfire. To wit:

Blood Sucking Freaks (1976)
A controversial and violent horror movie; the group Women Against Pornography convinced the MPAA to refuse to rate the film. It was later edited somewhat heavily to receive an R-rating but the distributor Troma Entertainment (famed for countless intentionally bad comedies) decided to slip the original unrated cut into theaters as if it was the R-rated version. When the MPAA discovered this they sued for misuse of their "Rated R" trademark. In the movie, the main character, Master Sardu (played by Seamus O'Brien) runs a theatre of the macabre, specializing in S&M and killing people on stage, while pretending it is only a trick that is part of the show. Containing a mix of naked women, midgets, excessive torture, and women eating ears, it appeared in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.
Showgirls (1995)
A large amount of hype was put behind promoting the sex and nudity in the film, but the results were critically derided. [45]. Most of the hype revolved around the film's main character, played by Elizabeth Berkley, who had only two years before been one of the stars of the teenage sitcom Saved By The Bell. The film won seven of the thirteen Razzie Awards for which it was nominated. It is widely considered to have ruined the career of Elizabeth Berkley and the writer, Joe Eszterhas, has had difficulty living down the embarrassment as well. The film's male lead, Kyle MacLachlan, walked out of the première, during which he was allegedly heard exclaiming, "I thought this was an art movie." [citation needed] The film however, has garnered a cult following over the years, and has been playing to movie houses during midnight.

Immediate additions

While it may be immediately obvious that a film is bad or simply 'not that great', it generally takes time for a film to 'establish' itself as a worst ever. However, this is not always the case, and some films are dubbed among the worst ever almost immediately.

Alone in the Dark (2005)
When this Uwe Boll directed movie — loosely based on a series of video games by Infogrames/Atari — was released in January 2005, critics panned it for a variety of reasons, including poor script and production values, overuse of slow-motion and quick cuts to optimize the gory content, almost no connection to the game, and bad acting. One review said the movie was "so poorly built, so horribly acted and so sloppily stitched together that it's not even at the straight-to-DVD level." [46] This movie received 1% at Rotten Tomatoes [47] and is regularly on the IMDb Bottom 100 [48]. Critic Rob Vx states that this movie is so bad that "the other practitioners of cinematic drivel can rest a little easier now; they can walk in the daylight with their heads held high, a smile on their lips and a song in their hearts. It's okay, they'll tell themselves. I didn't make Alone in the Dark." [49]

Disowned by the makers

After going to the time, trouble, and expense to create a movie, some filmmakers and actors have taken the bold step of willingly warning viewers that it would be best to avoid the film. Sometimes the reason is creative differences regarding what the film should be, but most often they have just been able to form an objective opinion of the film and realize that it's bad. While some give warning ahead of time, others only admit to the film's lack of quality after the critical and popular backlash has ensued.

An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
Worst Picture of the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards. [59] It tells the story of a director who wants to credit Alan Smithee (formerly the Directors Guild of America's official pseudonym for directors who feel their work has been mutilated by studios) as director of his latest film but cannot as his name really is Alan Smithee. In one of Hollywood's great ironies, the director of this movie, Arthur Hiller, protested the handling of the film by the studio by refusing to accept credit for the movie, resulting in the Alan Smithee credit being used - although many suspect that this was done intentionally by the makers of the film to create just such irony. It has a 0% freshness rating at Rotten Tomatoes. [50]
Caligula (1979)
Much like Showgirls sixteen years later, Caligula was hyped up to be a serious morality tale, which would also bridge the gap between mainstream cinema and pornography, but was completely changed by script re-writes, re-shoots and re-editing. Writer Gore Vidal and director Tinto Brass completely disowned it, going as far as suing to have their names removed from the credits and left the film's stars Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren publicly apologizing for the film.
Catwoman was one of the most critically panned movies of 2004.
Catwoman (2004)
Ostensibly based on the DC Comics character and starring Halle Berry in a film that resembles next to nothing of its source material. In the movie Catwoman has super powers, which she lacks in the comics. Her lycra suit was replaced with slashed leather pants, a bra and a mask-cap, and she leaps from rooftop to rooftop in spike heels. As the movie character differs so widely from her comic source, the character has been cited as "Catwoman In Name Only".[51] It has a 9% rating at Rotten Tomatoes [52], and was declared "arguably the worst superhero film ever made" by the Orlando Sentinel. The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) put it more bluntly: "Me-ouch!" Winner of four Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director (Pitof), and Worst Screenplay. [60] In a rare move, Berry sportingly accepted her Razzie in person, and in her acceptance speech she said, "First of all, I want to thank Warner Brothers. Thank you for putting me in this piece of shit, God-awful movie... It's just what my career needed." Her statement was received with great applause and laughter.[53]
The Conqueror (1956)
A Howard Hughes-funded box-office disaster featuring John Wayne as Genghis Khan and the redheaded Susan Hayward as a Tatar princess. The movie was filmed in Utah downwind from an atomic testing range in Nevada and is often blamed for the cancer deaths of many of the cast and crew, including Hayward, Wayne and Agnes Moorehead [54]. However, according to an A&E Network Biography episode, Wayne typically smoked five packs of cigarettes a day. The film appears in Michael Sauter's book The Worst Movies of All Time and made the ten-worst list in The Book of Lists. Hughes thought the movie was so bad that he bought up every copy (which cost him about $12 million) and he refused to distribute the film until 1974, when Paramount reached a deal with him. This would be the last film that Hughes would produce.
Howard the Duck (1986)
One of the biggest box office bombs in cinema, starring Lea Thompson and Tim Robbins. Executive producer George Lucas disowned it shortly after its release. In his Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin calls the film a "hopeless mess of a movie." The film was also among Siskel and Ebert's picks for the "Worst Films of 1986." It also has a rating of 24% at Rotten Tomatoes.[55]
Leonard Part 6 (1987)
So bad that writer and star Bill Cosby appeared on various talk shows denouncing the movie and warning people against wasting their time or money on it. About Leonard, Scott Weinberg at DVD Talk said, "Movies this bad should be handled with Teflon gloves and a pair of tongs." Won three Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and Worst Screenplay. Cosby accepted the awards in person, on the condition that they be made from 24-carat (100%) gold and Italian marble.[56] This film was also one of Cosby's last forays into feature films before his semi-retirement from the silver screen.
Parnell (1937)
A biopic starring Clark Gable as Irish parliamentary leader Charles Stewart Parnell. Despite the fact that the only thing Gable and Parnell had in common was a mustache, he was chosen to play him after being named the "King of Hollywood" in an Ed Sullivan poll, and Myrna Loy was similarly miscast as his lover, having been named the "Queen of Hollywood." It only grossed $1.6 million upon release and it was critically slated, and in 1978 made Michael Medved's list of The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. Gable's wife Carole Lombard teased him about it by placing Parnell publicity stickers throughout their home, and have leaflets printed out to be handed to passers-by reading, "If you think Gable is the world's greatest actor, see him in Parnell. You'll never forget it." Gable was utterly ashamed of it, and required a great deal of persuasion before he agreed to play Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.

IMDb User Polls

According to the IMDB's polls, as of August 2006, the top ten worst movies ever are:

References

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See also

External links

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