It’s usually impossible to predict which movies are going to be great and which are going to be terrible before actually watching them, but there have been several exceptions throughout history where films haven’t been successful in hiding their poor quality before release. Whether it’s because of a terrible idea for the story or awful casting choices, there are certain indicators that show up time and time again when a movie is destined to fail from the start.
Quality in a movie is subjective, and while there are certain aspects of these projects that audiences might enjoy, most of them made specific decisions that immediately warned viewers not to waste their money. Even the best filmmakers couldn’t have saved some of these projects, many of which are plagued by offensive storylines and terrible performances that are just beyond redemption.
10 The Conqueror
The Conqueror is a perfect example of a movie that was doomed to fail before it was even made. This was primarily because of the tasteless casting of white American actor John Wayne as the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan. This was at a time when movie stars were almost exclusively American, and that was the only real way to draw audiences to the theater, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that The Conqueror probably shouldn’t have been made in the first place. Even aside from the controversial casting, it’s one of Wayne’s worst movies due to its dull script and monotonous story.
9 Super Mario Bros.
The 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie is frequently cited among the worst video game adaptations, mostly because it’s absolutely nothing like the source material that it draws inspiration from. None of the cartoonish charm and colorful landscapes are transferred to the film, which leaves it feeling pretty lifeless and bland. Later, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a box office success thanks to its dynamic animation and lighthearted tone, which proves that a live-action adaptation without any of that eccentric style was always doomed to fail.
8 Son Of The Mask
When it comes to movies that never should have even been made, Son of the Mask ranks pretty close to the top. Absolutely nothing about Jim Carrey’s The Mask suggested that it needed a sequel, and removing Carrey from the cast was a terrible decision that killed Son of the Mask even before release. This kind of goofy comedy only worked because of Carrey’s hilarious mannerisms and understanding of visual humor. Replacing him with poor CGI removes everything that made the original so fun.
7 Avatar: The Last Airbender
M. Night Shyamalan’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is definitely the director’s worst movie to date, but that couldn’t have been predicted from the trailers alone. What could have been predicted — and was— however, was how controversial and tasteless the decision to cast only white actors would be. Avatar is a series that’s filled with interesting cultures and exotic locations, with the protagonist Aang clearly being of East Asian descent. And yet in Shyamalan’s adaptation, he’s played by a white European actor. This change was totally unnecessary and caused plenty of uproar before the movie was even released.
6 The Emoji Movie
Smiler (Maya Rudolph) in The Emoji Movie
There are certain ideas and stories that just don’t need to be made into films, and The Emoji Movie is a perfect example. The kind of concept that just makes audiences roll their eyes, the film tries too hard to be relevant and entertaining that it ultimately comes off as cringy and desperate, which plenty of viewers predicted long before release. The Emoji Movie doesn’t really understand its target audience, presenting a weird mix of humor that can never decide on a particular style and ends up being totally aimless.
5 Ben-Hur (2016)
The original Ben-Hur is one of the best gladiator movies ever made, released at a time when Hollywood epics were at their most popular and using some truly inventive practical effects to push the boundaries of the medium. When it was revealed that Disney would be making a Ben-Hur remake, many worried that it would sacrifice the charm of the original by filling itself with needless CGI and overwhelming special effects — which is exactly what it did. Perfect movies don’t need to be remade, and Ben-Hur is the definitive example.
4 The New Mutants
The New Mutants had the potential to be an interesting superhero movie, but thanks to a series of reshoots, the finished product was completely scrambled and lacked direction. It also didn’t help that it was released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that its box office prospects were essentially dead on arrival. If the studio had actually cared about this project and prevented it from unraveling itself during the countless reshoots, The New Mutants could’ve been a real cinematic event, but audiences easily saw through that.
3 Battleship
There are several great movies inspired by board games, but that doesn’t mean that all board games have the potential to be adapted into a film. Battleship ultimately failed because it had no real plot or stakes, which isn’t surprising at all given that the Battleship board game doesn’t have a story behind it. The movie proved something that plenty of audiences had suspected from the beginning: you can’t make a movie out of just anything; there has to be some kind of story ingrained into it. The decision to cast Rihanna in a lead role was the final straw, bringing a messy performance due to her lack of experience.
2 Jack & Jill
Adam Sandler has always been pretty polarizing as an actor; he’s made some fantastic comedies that have undeniably gone down as timeless classics, but he’s also been responsible for some horribly unfunny movies over the years. Jack & Jill fell into the latter category, and it wasn’t really a surprise. The movie was released at a time when Sandler’s projects were at their least popular, and the decision to cast himself in both lead roles essentially removed all emotional stakes from the story and made it impossible to take anything seriously.
1 Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood & Honey
Trying to force a beloved children’s character like Winnie-the-Pooh into a violent slasher film was a concept that was never going to work, no matter how edgy and subversive it might seem on the surface. By combining both ideas together, the movie essentially ruins both of them — it’s not family-friendly enough to be a good Winnie-the-Pooh movie, but including the character meant that it also wasn’t scary enough to be a good horror movie. Thanks to this tasteless clash of genres, the project quickly joined Rotten Tomatoes’ list of the 100 worst movies ever made.