30 Movies That Tanked, and No One Was Surprised
Some films are bound to be doomed before they ever hit theaters. Bad marketing, strange casting, or ideas that sound like pranks can give away the ending long before the credits roll. Here are 30 examples that landed exactly where everyone expected.
Cats (2019)
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The first trailer gave audiences a preview of the problem: unsettling “digital fur” effects turning Idris Elba, Judi Dench, and Taylor Swift into strange humanoid cats. Tom Hooper’s adaptation removed the charm of the stage musical and replaced it with incoherent editing and awkward performances. Critics described it as a surreal misstep, and even an updated version with “fixed” effects failed to change its fate.
Jack and Jill (2011)
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Adam Sandler’s dual roles as twins were stretched into a full-length holiday comedy with little to offer beyond the gimmick. The humor relied on recycled gags and excessive product placement. Al Pacino’s baffling self-parody became the film’s most talked-about element, though not in a flattering way. It went on to win every single category at the Razzies.
Morbius (2022)
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Sony’s vampire antihero project promised a darker corner of the superhero world. Jared Leto’s lifeless performance, clunky pacing, and dated CGI quickly drained that potential. Internet memes briefly boosted its profile and prompted Sony to re-release it in theaters. It flopped again, thus managing to fail twice in the same year.
The In Crowd (2000)
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This film was promoted as a steamy thriller in the style of Wild Things, but it fell far short of that promise. The story follows a young woman who leaves a psychiatric hospital and becomes involved with a wealthy, glamorous social circle, only to uncover their darker intentions. It was marked by stiff acting, slow pacing, and predictable twists. Rather than building suspense, it ended up resembling an overextended soap opera.
The Emoji Movie (2017)
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An animated feature about emojis journeying through apps was met with instant skepticism. The story relied on corporate branding, with Candy Crush, Dropbox, and others taking center stage. Patrick Stewart’s casting as the Poop emoji became the lasting punchline. Even younger audiences lost interest, and critics compared the entire experience to watching a two-hour commercial.
The Happening (2008)
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M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller follows a mysterious force driving people to take their own lives. The twist, that the culprit was airborne plant toxins, leaves audiences laughing instead of frightened. Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel’s stiff line delivery only makes things stranger. Dialogue misfires and odd pacing turn what could have been tense into one of the most meme-worthy misfires of the 2000s.
Madame Web (2024)
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This Spider-Man spin-off never settled on what it wanted to be. Dakota Johnson’s performance felt disconnected from the material, and the plot was bogged down in exposition. Sydney Sweeney and Isabela Merced’s characters lacked substance. Without engaging action or meaningful ties to Marvel’s bigger picture, it quickly faded from conversation despite a high-profile cast.
Artemis Fowl (2020)
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Disney’s adaptation stripped away Eoin Colfer’s morally complex protagonist by turning him into a generic child hero. Rushed exposition buried Ferdia Shaw’s debut, while Judi Dench and Josh Gad struggled through awkward dialogue. Released straight to Disney+, the film quickly faded from public attention as book fans voiced loud criticism over the drastic changes to the source material.
Borderlands (2024)
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With Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black on board, this video game adaptation looked like a wild ride. The tone jumped from slapstick to drama to sci-fi action without finding balance. Jamie Lee Curtis barely registered in her role, and Ariana Greenblatt’s standout performance was buried under noise. Many critics felt that the glossy visuals couldn’t hide the lack of depth.
Disaster Movie (2008)
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From the same team behind Date Movie andEpic Movie, this spoof tried to mash together every major pop culture moment from the mid-2000s by tossing in celebrity lookalikes, movie parodies, and constant gross-out gags. The scattershot approach left no time for setup or payoff, and most jokes expired before the credits rolled. Even Kim Kardashian’s cameo, heavily featured in marketing, did nothing to elevate the material. Critics blasted it as lazy and grating, and audiences largely skipped it.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
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The bestselling book series stormed into theaters riding a wave of hype, but the spark between Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan never showed up, which turned steamy moments into awkward pauses. Awkward lines turned serious moments into laughs, and the slow pace drained the suspense. The movie drew big crowds, but critics still panned it, which left it remembered as a hit at the box office that fell flat creatively.
The Last Airbender (2010)
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Fans spotted trouble before release when trailers revealed mispronounced character names and questionable casting. M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation stripped away the humor and diversity that made the animated series beloved. Flat visual effects and joyless action sequences kept it from connecting with audiences.
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
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This sequel drowned its basketball storyline in Warner Bros. brand placement and endless cameos. LeBron James, while a legend on the court, struggled to carry the uneven plot. Moreover, Don Cheadle’s enthusiastic villain was buried under chaotic pacing. Even kids found the mix of Looney Tunes and pop culture overload more exhausting than entertaining.
Twilight (2008)
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Based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling novel, Twilight introduced Bella Swan, a human teenager, and Edward Cullen, a brooding vampire, whose romance ignited a cultural phenomenon. While fans devoured the love story, early reviews pointed out awkward acting, stiff dialogue, and questionable relationship dynamics. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson’s chemistry flickered inconsistently, and the film’s persistent blue tint gave it a cold, washed-out look. Despite critical snubs, it struck a chord with its target audience and launched a billion-dollar franchise and years of pop culture debate over its merits and flaws.
Rebel Moon (2023)
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Zack Snyder’s long-anticipated space saga delivered lavish visuals but sidelined character development. Sofia Boutella and Ed Skrein gave committed performances, yet the film focused heavily on lore at the expense of story momentum. Action sequences looked slick but repetitive. Unfortunately, viewers compared it to a collage of other sci-fi properties without much original spark.
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
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Adam Sandler’s Netflix western parody made headlines for offensive jokes and prompted Native American actors to walk off set. Even with a stacked cast, it relied on tired stereotypes and lazy humor. It became known more for the production controversy than for anything in the script, and audiences outside Sandler’s core fanbase stayed away.
Pixels (2015)
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The movie took a nostalgic premise about arcade characters attacking Earth and buried it under thin writing and flat jokes. Adam Sandler, Peter Dinklage, and Josh Gad failed to spark any real chemistry, and critics noted the humor felt outdated even in 2015. The special effects leaned on 1980s video game nostalgia but skipped fresh ideas. Gamers expecting a clever homage instead got a shallow action-comedy that ignored its own potential.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)
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When word got out that Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet would be reimagined as horror movie killers, the internet exploded with curiosity. The hype, however, didn’t survive the first viewing. The kills lacked imagination, the scares barely registered, and the cheap-looking costumes pulled viewers out of the moment.
The Room (2003)
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Tommy Wiseau’s self-financed drama strings together baffling dialogue, glaring plot holes, and storylines that disappear without explanation. Scenes drift along with a surreal lack of logic, while Wiseau’s lead performance manages to be both bewildering and impossible to forget. The line “You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!” became a pop culture punchline for fans of so-bad-it’s-good cinema.
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
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Following the massive success of Speed, the sequel swapped the breakneck pace of a runaway bus for the slow drift of a hijacked cruise ship. Sandra Bullock returned, but Keanu Reeves opted out, which left the chemistry and tension of the original behind. Willem Dafoe chewed the scenery as the villain, yet even his manic performance couldn’t make up for the sluggish pacing, uninspired set pieces, and a story that seemed to undercut its own stakes.
Battlefield Earth (2000)
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John Travolta brought L. Ron Hubbard’s sci-fi novel to theaters with big ambitions and an even bigger budget, but the result never came together. Scenes tilted endlessly with Dutch angles, performances went over the top, and the story felt like a jumble of half-formed ideas.
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
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This movie doubled down on a premise few wanted more of by delivering an even weaker follow-up to the original flop. This time, the diaper-clad geniuses got tangled in a spy adventure with Jon Voight hamming it up as the villain. The humor felt recycled while the action barely registered. The novelty wore off almost instantly.
Gotti (2018)
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John Travolta took on the role of New York mob boss John Gotti in a crime drama that aimed to chronicle his rise and fall but struggled to find its footing. The film jumps between Gotti’s early days, his role in the Gambino crime family, and his later years behind bars, often skipping over key events and relying on awkward time jumps. Rotten Tomatoes slapped it with a rare zero percent rating.
One Missed Call (2008)
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The American remake of the Japanese horror hit swapped the original’s slow-burning tension for a string of predictable jump scares and lifeless performances. The story follows characters who receive voicemails foretelling the exact time of their deaths, a concept brimming with potential, but the execution felt like a paint-by-numbers genre exercise. Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns couldn’t lift the material above its clichés.
The Love Guru (2008)
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After years away from the spotlight, Mike Myers introduced Guru Pitka, a self-help guru hired to reunite a hockey star with his estranged wife so he could win the Stanley Cup. The premise might have worked with sharper writing, but the movie leaned on broad stereotypes, crude innuendo, and sight gags that felt decades out of date.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
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Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas headlined an action thriller loaded with gunfights and explosions. While that plot sounded promising, it lacked a coherent story. Critics cited it as an example of pure noise without substance.
The Master of Disguise (2002)
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This film set out to showcase Dana Carvey’s knack for impressions but stumbled into a series of weak gags and paper-thin storytelling. Instead of a cohesive plot, it played like loosely connected skits built around costumes and accents, many of which landed with a thud. The much-memed “turtle club” scene became its most famous moment—for all the wrong reasons.
Dark Tide (2012)
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Halle Berry’s star power couldn’t salvage this slow-moving shark thriller. The premise, a diver facing her fears, was sound, but the pacing dragged on, and the tension eventually evaporated. Moreover, the visual effects failed to add excitement.
Meet the Spartans (2008)
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This spoof of 300 tried to ride the wave of pop culture humor but relied on references that were already stale by the time it hit theaters. The jokes went for crude over clever, and relied on shock value instead of sharp writing, and the rapid-fire gags dated the film almost instantly.