List of movies that have been considered the worst ever
Obviously, due to the subjective nature of "good" and "bad" judgments, there can be disagreement about what constitutes an "extremely bad movie". A movie usually garners an extremely bad reputation not merely for simply failing as drama, but failing to a degree out of all proportion to popular and critical expectation. Sometimes, excessive pre-release hype surrounding a film can build up expectations in viewers to an unrealistic degree; an example might be the Star Wars prequels, which, while performing extremely well at the box office, have caused great argument among fans of the series. And sometimes, audiences who are tiring of an overexposed celebrity will heap vilification upon a film starring that celebrity if it is in any way dramatically flawed; an example of this would be the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez vehicle Gigli or Guy Ritchie's Swept Away, starring his wife, pop music diva Madonna.Among fans of low-budget cult films, the term "so bad it's good" is popularly used to refer to movies made by filmmakers who are either too inept or untalented to pull off their intentions (and seem clueless about their shortcomings), or who, despite possible latent talent, simply try too much with too limited a budget. An obvious example would be the filmography of Ed Wood or Coleman Francis, or any of the myriad obscure films featured on the television spoof show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Unlike more mundane bad films, these bad films actually develop an ardent fan following who love them because of their poor quality.
Motion pictures that are frequently cited by some as among the worst movies ever made include:
| Table of contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
B
- Battlefield Earth (2000): Based on L. Ron Hubbard's books of the same name, starring John Travolta, incorporating Scientology. Many reviewers of this movie describe the pain experienced while watching. Rotten Tomatoes lists 5 positive reviews out of 98. This one is not "so bad it's good."
- Blood Feast (1963): Pioneering, if not the first film in the "gore" genre. Called worst movie of the year by Time magazine. Only with the passage of time, now that the shock has worn off, can we fully appreciate just how bad the acting really was.
F
- From Justin to Kelly (2003): American idol finalists Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini star in this movie musical that stayed in theaters only 2 weeks, and was out on DVD 6 weeks thereafter. Rotten Tomatoes lists the film as getting only 5 positive reviews out of 57 listed, as well as being a strong member of IMDB's bottom 100 movies[1].
G
- Gigli (2003): A movie featuring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck that, while having a somewhat decent concept, was so odd, irrational, and badly written that it was immediately declared the worst movie of 2003.
H
- Heaven's Gate (1980): At the time, the biggest and most expensive Hollywood box-office flop of all time; its failure resulted in the sale of the United Artists studio to MGM.
I
- Ishtar (1987): Would-be comedy starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman that failed at the box office, losing $42 million; very near, but not currently in, IMDb's Bottom 100.
M
- (1966): no-budget horror film made by an El Paso fertilizer salesman which gained cult popularity from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television show. Has topped the IMDb "Worst Film" list.
N
- North (1994): high-profile Rob Reiner movie with numerous celebrity parts and cameos, about which Roger Ebert famously said, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it."
P
- Plan 9 from Outer Space (1956): the first film even to get film fans thinking of "worst ever" movies when it was officially labelled the worst by the Golden Turkey Awards.
S
- Showgirls (1995): Won seven of the thirteen Razzie Awardss it was nominated for.
- The Silver Chalice: the motion picture debut of Paul Newman: he has described it as the worst movie of the 1950s.
T
- Titanic (1997): In many ways Titanic is the most successful film in history - it took eleven Oscars, a joint record, and pulled $1.6bn in box office receipts - a record. Perhaps because of this success though, the film has suffered a backlash. Six years after the films release, perhaps an ideal period of time for a backlash, viewers of the BBC's Film 2003 programme voted Titantic the worst ever.
Y
- You Got Served (2004): Dance film went to the top of IMDb's worst 100 film list in the immediate aftermath of its release.