50 worst movies of 2020
With the proliferation of streaming services and the increased access to digital filmmaking equipment, there's come a bottomless well of content on both the supply and demand side of the chain. Throw in a global pandemic and the demand for streaming content soars even higher, so much so that WarnerMedia plans to release a number of its upcoming tentpoles to streaming through HBO Max. Ideal for home viewers perhaps, but Christopher Nolan would like a word.
As anyone with a streaming subscription can attest, the ever-expanding deluge of TV shows and movies has created something of an overwhelming ecosystem. Choice is everywhere, but separating the good from the bad has never been more difficult than it is at this very moment. Quality films sit next to mediocre ones on the Netflix queue and that can make everything seem equal parts watchable and disposable. One might even suggest that 2020 was the year where generally bad films were better than usual and generally good films were worse.
Did the year still bring forth its respective tiers of pure junk and reputable prestige? Of course it did, but they seem to exist on the outer fringes of the spectrum. Most of the truly terrible films have but a few hundred IMDb ratings, making them so negligible that they might as well not exist at all. By extreme contrast, the year's most acclaimed movies—at least the ones released so far—rarely strike a genuine crowd-pleasing chord. David Fincher's "Mank" might be a critical darling (more or less), but average viewers would probably rather watch "The Social Network" for the third time instead.
So where does that leave things? Well, somewhere in the middle. That is to say, this year's "worst" films with over 1,000 votes on IMDb are actually more watchable than usual. Most of them look downright professional in terms of production value, representing a far cry from the turkeys of yore. That's not to mention the presence of genuine talent both in front of and behind the camera—movies like "The Glorias" and "Ava" leap to mind. In fact, mere contrivance is the most common accusation levied against a number of the year's worst films, as is a lack of narrative cohesion. For those sitting bored at home during lockdown, some of these reportedly terrible movies might be perfectly entertaining.
Stacker thus presents the 50 worst movies of 2020. To create the list, Stacker compiled data on all 2020 movies to come up with a Stacker score—a weighted index split evenly between IMDb and Metacritic scores—ranking the bottom 50 from bad to worst. To qualify, the film had to have an IMDb score, Metascore, and at least 1,000 votes. Ties were broken by Metascore and further ties were broken by IMDb user rating.
#50. Echo Boomers
- Director: Seth Savoy
- Stacker score: 53.1
- Metascore: 37
- IMDb user rating: 5.8
- Runtime: 94 minutes
Reportedly inspired by true events (or is it?), this heist movie puts economic inequality in its crosshairs and misses the bullseye. If some reviews are to be believed, it misses the entire board. According to critic Kevin Jagernauth, a lack of fleshed-out discourse “leaves the film feeling both artificial and hysterical.”
#49. Proximity
- Director: Eric Demeusy
- Stacker score: 52.5
- Metascore: 38
- IMDb user rating: 5.6
- Runtime: 119 minutes
Out to prove he was abducted by aliens, a NASA scientist uncovers a much broader conspiracy. Director Eric Demeusy throws everything but the kitchen sink into this semi-competent, but muddled, film. The made-for-cable-style movie poster certainly doesn’t help.
#48. Love, Guaranteed
- Director: Mark Steven Johnson
- Stacker score: 52.5
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Runtime: 90 minutes
When a dating website promises love and fails to deliver, a male customer (Damon Wayans Jr.) decides to sue. He hires an earnest female lawyer (Rachael Leigh Cook) for the high-profile case, which could very well save her small firm. Anyone who’s ever seen a formulaic romantic comedy pretty much knows where it goes from here.
#47. A Nice Girl Like You
- Directors: Chris Riedell, Nick Riedell
- Stacker score: 52
- Metascore: 41
- IMDb user rating: 5.2
- Runtime: 94 minutes
Determined to improve her sex life, a violinist (Lucy Hale) creates a porn-themed to-do list in this romantic comedy. As tawdry the premise may seem, the film handles it with kid’s gloves and lands few punches. It’s based on Ayn Carrillo Gailey’s 2007 memoir “Pornology.”
#46. Ghosts of War
- Director: Eric Bress
- Stacker score: 52
- Metascore: 38
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Runtime: 94 minutes
From the director of 2004's "The Butterfly Effect'' comes this B-movie mash-up of war drama and supernatural thriller. Set in a French chateau near the end of WWII, it pits a group of American soldiers against a deadly force. Flat writing and various subgenre tropes build up to an unexpected twist.
#45. The Roads Not Taken
- Director: Sally Potter
- Stacker score: 52
- Metascore: 42
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 85 minutes
Filmmaker Sally Potter wrote and directed this meditational drama, in which a man (Javier Bardem) experiences the alternate lives he could’ve lived. Dramatic themes and solid performances clearly aim for the heartstrings. Slow pacing and a confusing plot left most audiences scratching their heads instead.
#44. Capone
- Director: Josh Trank
- Stacker score: 52
- Metascore: 46
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Runtime: 103 minutes
After the disaster known as 2015’s “The Fantastic Four,” director Josh Trank returned with this biographical drama. Starring Tom Hardy as Al Capone, it depicts the iconic gangster during his final years. Don’t call it a comeback because it was definitely not that.
#43. Spell
- Director: Mark Tonderai
- Stacker score: 51.4
- Metascore: 38
- IMDb user rating: 5.4
- Runtime: 91 minutes
A wealthy attorney crash lands in rural Appalachia and wakes up in the clutches of a Hoodoo practitioner. Director Mark Tonderai described this “Misery”-like survival story as “kind of a metaphor for the Black male psyche.” The Hollywood Reporter critic Frank Scheck called it “a mostly forgettable genre exercise.”
#42. Ava
- Director: Tate Taylor
- Stacker score: 51.4
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 5.3
- Runtime: 96 minutes
A deadly assassin (Jessica Chastain) with a guilty conscience breaks protocol and becomes a target herself. No film with this much talent should feel this generic, but the abysmal reviews and low IMDb ratings don’t lie. John Malkovich, Common, and Colin Farrell star alongside Chastain.
#41. Desperados
- Director: LP
- Stacker score: 51.4
- Metascore: 41
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 105 minutes
Remember the "Seinfeld" episode where George Costanza races to delete an awkward answering machine message? The makers of this lame Netflix comedy certainly do. At least they got a trip to Mexico out of it.
#40. Superintelligence
- Director: Ben Falcone
- Stacker score: 51.4
- Metascore: 41
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 106 minutes
Is the fourth time the charm for creative collaborators (and real-life couple) Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone? It is not, according to most reviews and audience reactions. An average woman named Carol Peters (McCarthy) becomes the subject of an AI study, which will determine the fate of humankind.
#39. Black Water: Abyss
- Director: Andrew Traucki
- Stacker score: 50.8
- Metascore: 46
- IMDb user rating: 4.5
- Runtime: 98 minutes
It’s five thrill-seeking friends versus a killer crocodile in the sequel to the 2007 Aussie cult film “Black Water.” The mayhem goes down inside a remote cave, with the water levels rising at a steady pace. Call it a step up from the standard Syfy fare but a step down from 2019’s “Crawl.”
#38. Centigrade
- Director: Brendan Walsh
- Stacker score: 50.8
- Metascore: 46
- IMDb user rating: 4.5
- Runtime: 98 minutes
Reportedly inspired by real people and events, “Centigrade” takes place in the midst of a deadly blizzard. Confined to their frozen vehicle, a married couple struggles to survive. The viewer likewise struggles to endure this surprisingly tension-free experience.
#37. The Wrong Missy
- Director: Tyler Spindel
- Stacker score: 50.3
- Metascore: 33
- IMDb user rating: 5.7
- Runtime: 90 minutes
A man (David Spade) accidentally invites the wrong woman (Lauren Lapkus) to a company retreat in this #1 Netflix comedy. Gross out humor and basic character development soon follow. Viewers pretty much knew what they were in for as soon as they saw the words “Happy Madison Productions.”
#36. Random Acts of Violence
- Director: Jay Baruchel
- Stacker score: 50.3
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 80 minutes
Actor Jay Baruchel co-wrote, directed, produced, and stars in this pulpy slasher film, which took years to develop. Based on a graphic novel of the same name, it tells a shocking story of life imitating art. What the filmmakers saw as poignant messaging, critics saw as a poor excuse to throw more blood and guts onto the screen.
#35. Body Cam
- Director: Malik Vitthal
- Stacker score: 49.7
- Metascore: 37
- IMDb user rating: 5.2
- Runtime: 96 minutes
This horror film with social elements stars Mary J. Blige as police Officer Renee Lomito-Smith. With exclusive access to her deceased partner’s body cam footage, Lomito-Smith uncovers a grave and possibly supernatural conspiracy. A stronger script could’ve elevated the screams and the themes alike.
#34. The War with Grandpa
- Director: Tim Hill
- Stacker score: 49.7
- Metascore: 34
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Runtime: 94 minutes
When young Peter is forced to share his beloved bedroom with Grandpa Ed (Robert De Niro), it means war. Originally shot in 2017, the PG-rated film bears no affiliation or resemblance to 2016’s “Dirty Grandpa” (also starring De Niro). According to critic Christy Lemire, “that other De Niro comedy looks a whole lot better now by comparison.”
#33. The Bay of Silence
- Director: Paula van der Oest
- Stacker score: 48.6
- Metascore: 44
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 93 minutes
A woman is accused of killing her son and it isn’t the first time she’s been connected to a heinous crime. Alas, the noirish thriller packs in one too many layers for its own good. It was adapted from a novel of the same name by English author Lisa St Aubin de Terán.
#32. 2067
- Director: Seth Larney
- Stacker score: 48.6
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 4.8
- Runtime: 114 minutes
Earth has become uninhabitable and one man embarks on a quest to save it. Director Seth Larney conjures his own low-rent version of “Interstellar,” complete with a time travel twist. The movie’s world-building and pathos impressed certain viewers, but the critical consensus was generally negative.
#31. The Jesus Rolls
- Director: John Turturro
- Stacker score: 48.6
- Metascore: 44
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 85 minutes
The spin-off nobody asked for became a movie almost no one saw. Reprising his role from "The Big Lebowski," John Turturro takes ex-con and avid bowler Jesus Quintana on new adventures. Turturro also co-wrote and directed, lifting a number of plot points from the 1974 French film "Going Places."
#30. The Postcard Killings
- Director: Danis Tanovic
- Stacker score: 48
- Metascore: 29
- IMDb user rating: 5.7
- Runtime: 104 minutes
A “grisly yet uninspired thriller” is how critic Dennis Harvey described this film in his review for Variety. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays tormented father Jacob Kanon, who’s determined to find his daughter’s killer. It’s based on the #1 best-selling novel by James Patterson and Liza Marklund.
#29. Inheritance
- Director: Vaughn Stein
- Stacker score: 48
- Metascore: 31
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Runtime: 111 minutes
Simon Pegg spent six months working on his physique for this dramatic thriller, in which a deceased patriarch leaves behind a shocking secret. Some critics and viewers were delighted with Pegg’s performance but dismayed by pretty much everything else. An undercooked script bears the brunt of the blame.
#28. The Binge
- Director: Jeremy Garelick
- Stacker score: 48
- Metascore: 35
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 98 minutes
Making a not-so-subtle nod to “The Purge” franchise, this Hulu comedy takes place in a world where all drugs and alcohol are illegal … except for one night a year. Geared up for the occasion, three high school seniors make a pilgrimage to the wildest party in town. It’s like every teen comedy ever, only worse.
#27. Coffee & Kareem
- Director: Michael Dowse
- Stacker score: 48
- Metascore: 35
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 88 minutes
Ed Helms and Terrence Little Gardenhigh make for an unlikely pairing in this raunchy comedy. After a prank goes awry, they’re forced to team up against a Detroit kingpin. The execution is every bit as misguided as the cheesy title would suggest.
#26. A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting
- Director: Rachel Talalay
- Stacker score: 47.5
- Metascore: 31
- IMDb user rating: 5.4
- Runtime: 98 minutes
A babysitter takes on the bogeyman and other monsters in this kid-friendly Netflix fantasy. While vividly realized by director Rachel Talalay, the story lacks tonal distinction or even a sense of purpose. It's based on an original book trilogy by Joe Ballarini, who also wrote the script.
#25. The Pale Door
- Director: Aaron B. Koontz
- Stacker score: 47.5
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 4.6
- Runtime: 96 minutes
A quote from Edgar Allan Poe sets the stage (and title) for this hybrid of horror and Western. Similar to 1996’s “From Dusk Till Dawn,” it opens as a crime saga before veering into supernatural terrain. But director “Koontz is no Robert Rodriguez, and his script ain’t Tarantino,” to quote critic Dennis Harvey.
#24. The Doorman
- Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
- Stacker score: 47.5
- Metascore: 41
- IMDb user rating: 4.4
- Runtime: 97 minutes
Ruby Rose plays a former marine turned vigilante doorman in this bland “Die Hard” knock-off. When thieves invade her building, the doorman proves to be the first and last line of defense. Director Ryûhei Kitamura sticks to a predictable formula and thereby delivers zero surprises.
#23. The Grudge
- Director: Nicolas Pesce
- Stacker score: 46.9
- Metascore: 41
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 94 minutes
This reboot of a remake anchors different storylines around a cursed house with an angry ghost. Even with producer Sam Raimi on board, the movie fails to conjure a good reason for its own existence. Stream the original Japanese classic instead.
#22. Vanguard
- Director: Stanley Tong
- Stacker score: 46.4
- Metascore: 36
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Runtime: 107 minutes
Jackie Chan squares off against a gang of mercenaries in this Chinese action flick. The martial arts legend can still throw a punch, but he’s no longer good for the kind of acrobatics that made him a star. This is his seventh collaboration with director Stanley Tong.
#21. Dolittle
- Director: Stephen Gaghan
- Stacker score: 45.8
- Metascore: 26
- IMDb user rating: 5.6
- Runtime: 101 minutes
Screen legend Robert Downey Jr. took off the Iron Man armor and picked up a Welsh accent—or at least tried to—for this family film. The last in a string of adaptations, it sends a physician who can speak with animals on a seafaring adventure. Critics are still trying to figure out how this movie even happened.
#20. Behind You
- Directors: Andrew Mecham, Matthew Whedon
- Stacker score: 45.3
- Metascore: 38
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 86 minutes
There’s a demon on the loose and he’s right … behind … you! That about sums up this painfully rote horror movie, which seems to pull its scares off a dartboard of genre tropes. A haunted mirror kicks off the action.
#19. Secret Society of Second Born Royals
- Director: Anna Mastro
- Stacker score: 45.3
- Metascore: 34
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Runtime: 99 minutes
It’s a swing and a miss for Disney+, which distributed this mouthful of a movie title. Follow royal rebel Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) to a top-secret training camp for budding superheroes. Predictable plot points ensue.
#18. The Babysitter: Killer Queen
- Director: McG
- Stacker score: 44.7
- Metascore: 22
- IMDb user rating: 5.8
- Runtime: 101 minutes
Blending horror and teen comedy, 2017’s “The Babysitter” made up for its lack of originality through genuine laughs and guilty pleasure gore. This inferior sequel brings back director McG and at least three of the main players. It cranks up the gore factor but dials down the intelligent writing, playing the same beats but with far less rhythm.
#17. Chick Fight
- Director: Paul Leyden
- Stacker score: 44.7
- Metascore: 39
- IMDb user rating: 4.1
- Runtime: 97 minutes
“Fight Club” for chicks is the only way to describe this rough-and-tumble comedy, which wraps its female empowerment theme in disposable packaging. Malin Åkerman throws on the boxing gloves and heads underground, finding catharsis and cliché. The first rule of talking to Alec Baldwin is to never mention his supporting role in this film.
#16. Infamous
- Director: Joshua Caldwell
- Stacker score: 44.7
- Metascore: 40
- IMDb user rating: 4.0
- Runtime: 100 minutes
Actor Bella Thorne has been quite busy starring in terrible movies and this romantic crime drama is no exception. Putting a social media spin on the standard fugitive fare, it follows two robbers as they become Instagram sensations. Well, there's always OnlyFans...
#15. Fatal Affair
- Director: Peter Sullivan
- Stacker score: 44.1
- Metascore: 34
- IMDb user rating: 4.5
- Runtime: 89 minutes
A remake of “Fatal Attraction” in all but name (barely), this updated version swaps the gender roles and puts in a more diverse cast. Nia Long plays the unfaithful spouse and Omar Epps her crazed stalker. People who love cheesy Lifetime movies may find something to relish—everyone else has been warned.
#14. Mortal
- Director: André Øvredal
- Stacker score: 43.6
- Metascore: 20
- IMDb user rating: 5.8
- Runtime: 104 minutes
Witness the first installment of a franchise that will probably never come to be. With powers ripped straight out of Norwegian mythology, a young man (Nat Wolff) goes on the run. Audiences appeared to like this one more than the critics did.
#13. Like a Boss
- Director: Miguel Arteta
- Stacker score: 43.6
- Metascore: 33
- IMDb user rating: 4.5
- Runtime: 83 minutes
The friendship between two business partners (Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) is put to the test when a high roller (Salma Hayek) offers to buy their cosmetics company. Crude humor and emotional themes can’t make up for threadbare plotting and lifeless direction. The film arrived in theaters in January and made just under $30 million at the worldwide box office.
#12. The Last Thing He Wanted
- Director: Dee Rees
- Stacker score: 43.6
- Metascore: 35
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 115 minutes
A journalist (Anne Hathaway) becomes the subject of her own exposé in this loose adaptation of a Joan Didion novel. High expectations made the movie’s total lack of cohesion all the more disappointing. It currently holds a paltry 5% critic score and 13% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
#11. Brahms: The Boy II
- Director: William Brent Bell
- Stacker score: 41.9
- Metascore: 29
- IMDb user rating: 4.6
- Runtime: 86 minutes
When 2016's "The Boy" made over $60 million on a budget of $10 million, it was only a matter of time before a sequel arrived. Enter this lambasted follow-up, in which a porcelain doll may or may not be a living entity. Hear that? It's the sound of a franchise dying.
#10. Survive the Night
- Director: Matt Eskandari
- Stacker score: 41.3
- Metascore: 26
- IMDb user rating: 4.8
- Runtime: 90 minutes
Another year, another home invasion movie. The tired subgenre marches along with this violent thriller, starring Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray as hostages. Survive the (admittedly tight) runtime is more like it.
#9. Death of Me
- Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
- Stacker score: 41.3
- Metascore: 31
- IMDb user rating: 4.3
- Runtime: 94 minutes
While on vacation, a couple (Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth) uncovers a video in which one of them kills the other. “Saw” franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman has himself a meaty premise, but gives viewers precious little to chew on. According to critic Roger Moore, the “confusion between reality and hallucination absolutely butchers the film’s forward momentum.”
#8. Force of Nature
- Director: Michael Polish
- Stacker score: 41.3
- Metascore: 29
- IMDb user rating: 4.5
- Runtime: 91 minutes
This disaster of a disaster film takes place in Puerto Rico during a Category 5 hurricane. As thieves search an evacuated building for valuable artwork, they come up against a policeman (Emile Hirsch) and a retired cop (Mel Gibson). Formulaic and tone-deaf, the movie fails to justify its throwback sensibilities.
#7. Artemis Fowl
- Director: Kenneth Branagh
- Stacker score: 40.8
- Metascore: 31
- IMDb user rating: 4.2
- Runtime: 95 minutes
After spending nearly 20 years in development hell, this Disney epic arrived to widespread denigration. It tells the story of 12-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw), who searches for his missing father in a fantasy world. By drifting too far from the source material, the film loses its focus and angered fans in the process.
#6. The Turning
- Director: Floria Sigismondi
- Stacker score: 40.8
- Metascore: 35
- IMDb user rating: 3.8
- Runtime: 94 minutes
Henry James' iconic novella "The Turn of the Screw" provides the inspiration for this modern retelling. Steven Spielberg spearheaded the project as early as 2016, ultimately passing due to script disagreements. The film's mishandled themes and superfluous details build to an unsatisfying climax.
#5. Fantasy Island
- Director: Jeff Wadlow
- Stacker score: 39.7
- Metascore: 22
- IMDb user rating: 4.9
- Runtime: 109 minutes
Blumhouse Productions is behind no shortage of 2020’s critical duds, including this horror adaptation of a 1970s TV show. It follows guests to a fantasy-based tropical resort, where dreams quickly turn into nightmares. Viewers will be likewise fantasizing about those sweet end credits.
#4. The Tax Collector
- Director: David Ayer
- Stacker score: 38.5
- Metascore: 22
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Runtime: 95 minutes
As the writer of “Training Day” and director of “Harsh Times,” David Ayer has proven himself adept at telling L.A.-based crime stories. But critics found this particular effort to be nothing more than a factory line of senseless violence and subgenre contrivances. Is it too late for Shia LaBeouf to get all those tattoos removed?
#3. After We Collided
- Director: Roger Kumble
- Stacker score: 36.3
- Metascore: 14
- IMDb user rating: 5.1
- Runtime: 105 minutes
What began as Harry Styles fan-fiction has become its own mini-franchise, complete with an overzealous fan base (aka “Afternators”). Following 2019’s “After,” this sequel chronicles the further romantic adventures of Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). It defied negative reviews, limited marketing, and a global pandemic to become a theatrical hit in Europe.
#2. John Henry
- Director: Will Forbes
- Stacker score: 34.6
- Metascore: 27
- IMDb user rating: 3.5
- Runtime: 91 minutes
African American folk hero John Henry is channeled into a modern setting through an ex-gang member of the same name (played by Terry Crews). To help ensure a future for two kids on the run, John must confront his violent past. Crews is up to the challenge, but the world his character inhabits is sorely underdeveloped.
#1. The Last Days of American Crime
- Director: Olivier Megaton
- Stacker score: 28.5
- Metascore: 15
- IMDb user rating: 3.6
- Runtime: 148 minutes
Action director Olivier Megaton welcomes viewers to a not-so-distant future, where crime itself is about to go extinct. That gives a gang of thieves one last chance to pull off the perfect score. In his hilarious review, David Ehrlich writes: "A braindead slog that shambles forward like the zombified husk of the heist movie it wants to be, 'The Last Days of American Crime' is a death march of clichés that offers nothing to look at and even less to consider."
