Now, I won’t pretend to have seen every single film released this year, and anyone who makes such lists should acknowledge that. The digital age, coupled with the rise of micro-indie studios, has made it impossible for any one person to see every movie released — this year, the tally exceeds 800 titles.
In my estimation, I’ve watched around 250 new titles, and I certainly try to avoid the supposed stinkers if I can, which means this list of the 'worst' movies I’ve seen this year is obviously missing plenty of stinkers that might have made the list, or at least had me expand it to 20 — why would I subjugate myself to screening “Love Hurts,” “Playdate,” “Regretting You,” “Smurfs,” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” when I can completely avoid them?
Instead, these are ten bad movies I actually saw, which turned out to be excruciating experiences — not even the so-bad-it’s-good type of movies, more like “get me out of here, please make it stop” types of experiences.
1 – War of the Worlds
A baffling modern reimagining: Ice Cube stars as a cyber-security analyst (don’t laugh) who realizes the real danger might be internal, not extraterrestrial. The film leans heavily on Amazon—delivery trucks, drones, checkout screens, even a $1,000 gift card bribe to a homeless man—making it feel more like an ad than a movie. Shot in just two weeks during COVID with the director nowhere in sight, it comes off rushed, disjointed, and earned a deserved 2% on Rotten Tomatoes.
2 — Bride Hard
This was Rebel Wilson back in wedding territory—but this time with guns. Who thought this was a good idea? Playing a bridesmaid who’s also a secret agent, Wilson must thwart a terrorist attack mid-ceremony in a concept as awful as it sounds: “Bridesmaids” meets “Die Hard.” Directed by Simon West, who has never made a good movie in his life—well, except maybe “Con Air.” Having him direct the insufferable Wilson turns out to be a match made in hell.
3 — Hurry Up Tomorrow
A self-indulgent catastrophe. The Weeknd thought it was a good idea to write, star, and aura-farm his way through a plotless, confusing mess, even casting Jenna Ortega in the process. The film is a technical nightmare: dizzying camera spins, harsh lighting, and chaotic editing make watching it painful. Trey Edward Shults’s direction is excessive, the pacing brutal, and The Weeknd’s vanity dominates every frame. A cautionary tale of celebrity ego run wild.
4 – The Electric State
The Russos should be thanking Kevin Feige for calling them back to the Avengers franchise because “The Electric State” is a $320M debacle that would have ended any other filmmaker’s career. A coming-of-age sci-fi western adventure, it follows Millie Bobby Brown as an orphaned teen traveling the American West with a robot and a drifter (Chris Pratt) in search of her brother—but every step is interrupted by pointless detours and ridiculous characters. Visually slick but utterly directionless, the movie is a narrative mess, weighed down by endless, incoherent and bumbling subplots. It’s a high-budget slog.
5 — Kinda Pregnant
This movie is exactly what it sounds like: a Netflix original built on an absurd premise. Amy Schumer decides life would be better if she pretends to be pregnant—prosthetic belly and all. Directed by Tyler Spindel (Adam Sandler’s nephew, “The Wrong Missy,” “Father of the Year”), the film stretches a stupid gag over 90 minutes, squandering even Will Forte’s talents. Only Netflix could get away with making such a movie, and then calling it a “hit.”
6 — Snow White
Disney’s live-action ‘Snow White’ has been mocked enough. Gal Gadot is terrible as the Evil Queen, while the CGI Seven Dwarfs, especially Dopey, are nightmare fuel. Clumsy attempts to make Snow White a more active heroine, combined with the bizarre dwarfs, weigh down a film that was already decimated by Rachel Zegler’s awkward promotion. A “modern,” misguided, female-empowered take—they even purposely left out “Someday My Prince Will Come.”
7 — Captain America: Brave New World
This is the movie that handed the shield fully to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson—but it was such a failure that Marvel decided Chris Evans should be brought back for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Overstuffed with underwhelming plot threads and uninteresting callbacks, the film is directionless. In a miserable year for MCU movies, this one was the peak nadir. We’re still not entirely sure how much it cost, and it’s certainly not the $180M figure Disney kept dishing out to the trades.
8 — Wicked: For Good
Stripping away the spectacle of its predecessor, this sequel delivers a muddled, tuneless story that fails to justify its premise. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do their best, but even they can’t salvage characters who act inconsistently, a plot that crumbles under logic, or outright ugly visual choices. More sacrilegiously, it turns elements from the 1939 ‘Wizard of Oz’ into total artifice. The result is a confused, joyless slog.
9 — Lilo & Stitch
Disney’s decision to resurrect “Lilo & Stitch” in live action was purely driven by money—there was no way it could be better than the animated version. Even worse, this remake retraces the 2002 film beat for beat, recycling dialogue, gags, and even Elvis needle drops with diminishing returns. The film never lets a joke breathe; performances swing wildly between overacting and amateur hour, the human characters lack charm, and even Stitch’s trademark energy lands flat thanks to lifeless digital animation.
10 — A Minecraft Movie
What does it say about the state of moviegoing that the most successful movie of the year was also one of the worst? “Minecraft” felt cobbled together by an IP committee, leaning heavily on exposition and clichés to make it through its runtime. Director Jared Hess and a cast led by Jack Black and Jason Momoa bring over-the-top enthusiasm that keeps things moving, but the plot often exists simply to explain the world rather than build momentum or character depth. This is squarely pitched at 12-year-olds rather than a genuinely inspired adaptation.