There are different categories of films – absolute masterpieces for all time, just good films, one-day movies that you forget about literally the second day after watching, frankly bad movies… But there is also a separate cohort of bad films, which have so many shortcomings that they somehow grow into greatness.
Our selection today is dedicated to exactly such films, the greatest among the bad, which once failed at the box office, and were totally ridiculed by critics – but over time, acquired simply iconic status among movie lovers. So, look through the Top 25 Probably Greatest Bad Movies Ever!
More info: Reddit
#1 Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
And here’s the legend! Ron Wood made perhaps the worst movie ever made, where absolutely everything is bad. Nevertheless, within a couple of years, “Plan 9” entered folklore as the standard of bad movies – and remains so to this day.
Image source: SGL Entertainment
#2 Howard The Duck (1986)
Interestingly, the producers of “Howard The Duck” originally planned to make a full-length animated film, but decided that a movie with quite a decent cast and George Lucas in charge of special effects would be a box office hit. Well, they were dramatically wrong…
Image source: Att Se film
#3 Manos: The Hands Of Fate (1966)
A low-budget horror film made as a result of a bet between two acquaintances, it would’ve sunk into oblivion if it hadn’t been included in the popular early 90s comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000, which made fun of B-movies.
No, “Manos” never discovered any new artistic merits, but since then the film has rightfully entered the category of “Greatest Bad Movies.”
Image source: Cult Cinema Club
#4 Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)
With its primitive sets, hideous makeup, and bizarre satirical jabs at the national space program, it’s no wonder the movie was a resounding failure. Critics still consider it one of the worst sci-fi films of all time.
Image source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#5 Showgirls (1995)
Paul Verhoeven’s film was widely considered to be the worst movie of the ’90s, although many arthouse critics were already pointing out that it was actually a brilliant satire on contemporary Hollywood. Over time, “Showgirls” gained fame as a truly iconic movie, but the seven “Golden Raspberries” still remained.
Image source: HBO Max
#6 Maximum Overdrive (1986)
A script by Stephen King, a soundtrack by AСDС, Emilio Estevez in the lead role… it would seem that what could go wrong for a sci-fi horror film from the late ’70s? But as it turns out, you can be a brilliant writer, but a mediocre director and producer. Stephen King didn’t make any more films after that, concentrating on writing.
Image source: JoBlo Horror
#7 Super Mario Bros (1993)
The first ever film adaptation of the cult video game was not bad in its own way, with a good cast, excellent special effects and costumes for its time – but it was a resounding failure at the box office. Bob Hoskins, who played Mario, even later admitted that he was ashamed of this movie.
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#8 Sharknado (2013)
Incredibly, in five years, from 2013 to 2018, SyFy managed to make six Sharknado movies, turning it all into a whole franchise. All six films about how a tornado grabs sharks out of the ocean and throws them into a city (yes, the plot practically never changes) featured “Beverly Hills 90210” star Ian Ziering, and “The Big Lebowski” and “American Pie” star Tara Reid.
Image source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#9 Batman & Robin (1997)
A huge number of superstars, a colossal marketing budget, proven superheroes… as it turned out, the key figure for the entire franchise at that time was Tim Burton. Joel Schumacher’s movie turned out to be frankly bad, and even today, despite numerous attempts by Marvel and DC Comics, it is still considered one of the worst superhero movies of all time.
Oh yeah, those nipples on Batman’s suit… Why, oh why did they do that?
Image source: UltimateBatChannel
#10 Masters Of The Universe (1987)
The feature-length adaptation of the popular animated series wasn’t a hit, but it wasn’t exactly a bad movie either. The main roles here were played by Dolph Lundgren, who immediately followed up his iconic role as Ivan Drago, and Courteney Cox, who had ten years to wait for the first episode of “Friends”…
Image source: Unseen Trailers
#11 Troll 2 (1990)
A low-budget attempt to make a sequel to a fairly popular fantasy horror film of the 1980s, but with no direct plot connection to the original. The film’s low budget is also reflected in the characters’ costumes – for example, the goblins simply wear cheap plastic masks.
Image source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#12 The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)
Another terrible example of a low-budget sci-fi horror film that flopped at the box office and was brought back to life thanks to “Mystery Science Theater 3000”. However, if you want to laugh heartily – stock up on popcorn and watch it!
Image source: Discape
#13 Mac And Me (1988)
The attempt to repeat the success of “E.T.” predictably failed. But the movie already has a unique 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, got two “Golden Raspberries,” and is full of product placement – guess what corporation the alien hero of this film is named after?
Image source: Amazon MGM Studios
#14 The Wicker Man (2006)
One of the first films of the era when Nicolas Cage went absolutely wild, transforming himself from Hollywood superstar and Oscar winner into bait for producers of low-budget action films. However, this remake of a ’70s horror movie is still not as bad as many of Cage’s later films…
Image source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#15 Mommie Dearest (1981)
It’s a rare case of a successful big-budget film, a biographical drama, making it onto this list. The movie was a huge success at the box office, but critics left no stone unturned in the movie, concluding that it was one of the worst films of the decade.
Image source: British Secret Agent 007
#16 Reefer Madness (1936)
An attempt to make a propaganda film about the dangers of substance use by people who actually had little understanding of substances at all. Commissioned by a small church community in the mid-’30s, today it’s just another lame and bad movie, nothing more.
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#17 Road House (1989)
The original 1989 film was a box office success but received mixed reviews from critics. However, over time, the film has gained cult status, and a remake with Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor was also released in 2024.
Image source: Amazon MGM Studios
#18 The Room (2003)
Another legend of bad movies! Just agree, the nickname “Citizen Kane of bad movies” must be earned. However, for Tommy Wiseau, nothing was actually impossible. The picture became legendary almost immediately, and a decade and a half later, even a film about this movie was released, where Wiseau’s role was played by James Franco. Interestingly, this biopic collected six times more at the box office than the original…
Image source: PoptartedNintendo
#19 Hackers (1995)
The film received mixed reviews from critics upon its release, but the box office was merciless – with a budget of $20M, the film collected only a little over seven. All this despite a pretty good cast and a young Angelina Jolie in one of the main roles.
Image source: Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers
#20 Spice World (1998)
Yes, the film made its money at the box office and even turned a profit, but it’s worth remembering that it was 1997, when the Spice Girls were at the height of their fame and turning everything they touched into gold. As for the purely artistic component of the movie, the incoherent plot, not very good acting and failures in direction ensured that it was a critical smash.
Image source: FT Depot
#21 Birdemic: Shock And Terror (2010)
The film, shot for $10K as a kind of homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, was a complete failure. Critics point out the absolutely weak acting, terrible sets and computer graphics… on the other hand, what did they expect for $10K?
Image source: Severin Films / Intervision Picture Corp.
#22 Miami Connection (1987)
The low-budget crime thriller flopped at the box office – and would certainly have been forgotten if it hadn’t been re-released by enthusiasts in 2012. On a wave of post-irony, the movie became nearly iconic, but this still doesn’t cancel out the low quality of filming and acting.
Image source: Umbrella Entertainment
#23 Samurai Cop! (1991)
Full of cliches and unintentional humor, this movie was released straight to video and acquired classic status over time. A quarter of a century later, even a sequel was released, but it didn’t have the same “success”.
Image source: entertainmentone
#24 R.o.t.o.r. (1987)
Just imagine a low-budget mix of “Terminator,” “Robocop” and “Judge Dredd” and you have “R.O.T.O.R.” There were plenty of low-budget sci-fi action movies in the ’80s, but only a couple were successful. This one is definitely not one of them.
Image source: Shout! Studios
#25 Ishtar (1987)
The comedy with Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman started well at the box office, but then everything turned into a commercial failure. Some people say that this result is only a consequence of the directorial competition between Beatty and David Putnam, who headed Columbia Pictures that same year, and some – that the movie is just bad. If you want to form your own opinion, just watch it yourself.
Image source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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