The truth is, worse movies are always more fun to talk about than the best. There’s an allure to movies with an ending as spectacular as watching them crash and burn, to where they go down in pop culture history. Whether it’s just a movie they hated but for some reason loved or an out-of-control budget bomb that became a common enemy for everyone to watch together, these train-wreck movies just won’t stay in the past. Here are ten movies that not only flopped but flopped with so much panache they just won’t stay there.
10. War of the Worlds (2025): Aliens vs. Microsoft Teams
Converting H.G. Wells’ timeless novel into a “screenlife” film was a daring move, and turning it into a 990-minute video call marathon was something beyond imagination. Amazon’s War of the Worlds remake was met with an incredibly low 3% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but somehow managed to become a must-watch bad movie cult. Featuring Ice Cube and Eva Longoria, the movie is like a Zoom meeting crash where aliens steal your data while characters throw around random catchphrases and are obsessed with an Amazon gift card. It’s not so much an invasion movie as “dad accidentally livestreams the end of the world.”
9. The Love Guru: When Comedy Royalty Fell Hard
Mike Myers was riding high after Austin Powers and Shrek, and it seemed he could do no wrong until The Love Guru. The film was torn to shreds by the critics, reflected by its 13% Rotten Tomatoes score, and a collection of severely harsh reviews, among which Roger Ebert’s likening to graffiti in the bathroom stands out. The film didn’t just bomb; it basically put a freeze on his live-action career for several years, as he was forced to turn to voice roles and projects aimed at fans of the past. It is an instance of a comedy icon who was not able to recognize his own downfall.
8. Master of Disguise: A Career Vanishing Act
Dana Carvey’s attempt to transition from sketch comedy to movie stardom hit rock bottom with Master of Disguise. With a near-unbelievable 1% Rotten Tomatoes score, the film became infamous almost instantly. Critics described it as painfully unfunny, and audiences largely agreed. What was meant to be a goofy family hit instead turned into a cautionary tale about stretching one-note comedy far beyond its limits.
7. Grown Ups: Proof Critics and Audiences Live on Different Planets
Not every notorious movie loses money. Grown Ups was a commercial success, but critics absolutely loathed it. The film’s Rotten Tomatoes scores—11% from critics versus 62% from audiences—highlight one of the biggest opinion gaps in modern cinema. Reviewers slammed it as lazy and juvenile, while moviegoers happily showed up in droves. Love it or hate it, Grown Ups became famous for proving that audience enjoyment doesn’t need critical approval.
6. Ad Astra: Gorgeous, Serious, and Shockingly Dull
On paper, Ad Astra sounds like a winner: Brad Pitt, deep space, emotional themes, and stunning visuals. Critics praised it heavily, but audiences were far less impressed. With its slow pace, heavy introspection, and story gaps big enough to swallow a spaceship, many viewers found it tedious rather than thoughtful. It’s now remembered as a prime example of a film that confused “quiet” with “compelling.”
5. Showgirls: From Career Killer to Cult Favorite
When Showgirls debuted, it was a disaster. Critics tore it apart, audiences cringed, and Elizabeth Berkley’s acting career took a massive hit. But time has been oddly kind to this neon-lit melodrama. Its exaggerated performances and bizarre tone have turned it into a beloved cult classic. What once ended careers is now celebrated at midnight screenings, proving that irony can resurrect almost anything.
4. Batman & Robin: The Movie That Froze the Franchise
Not many superhero films are recalled as negatively as Batman & Robin. The movie attracted criticism for its bright neon visuals, continuous ice puns, and notorious Bat nipples, and thus became the target of jokes in pop culture. The movie’s 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes is an indication of the film’s quality, as is the apology made by director Joel Schumacher. The movie was the source of pain not only for the actors but also for the Batman film series, which was put on hold for a while until the franchise was rebooted later.
3. The Adventures of Pluto Nash: A $100 Million Mistake
Hollywood flops don’t get much bigger than this. The Adventures of Pluto Nash cost around $100 million and barely scraped together $7 million at the box office. Critics savaged it, audiences ignored it, and Eddie Murphy himself later admitted that his early-2000s output missed the mark. The movie stands as a monument to unchecked budgets and misguided confidence.
2. The Last Airbender: How Not to Adapt a Beloved Series
Fans waited eagerly for a live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. What they got instead was one of the most criticized adaptations ever made. Accusations of whitewashing, stiff performances, and a rushed story earned the film a brutal 5% Rotten Tomatoes score. The backlash was so intense that lead actor Noah Ringer stepped away from Hollywood soon after. To this day, the movie is cited as an example of how deeply fans can be disappointed.
1. Battlefield Earth: The Ultimate Bad-Movie Benchmark
If it had a logo or a symbol for “so bad it’s good,” it would be Battlefield Earth. With its dismal 3% approval from Rotten Tomatoes, Battlefield Earth is one of the few films directed by or starring John Travolta that is remembered in cinematic history for its plethora of wrong turns. From slanted angles to bonkers plot threads and the completely over-the-top performances, the film defies logic in a manner that skirts the boundaries of both the believable and the believable-crazy.
Bad movies fade every year, but these ten refuse to disappear. Whether they’re ironic favorites, career-ending misfires, or cultural cautionary tales, they’ve earned their place in film history—not for what they did right, but for how memorably they did everything wrong.