Worst movie from 50 famous franchises

"Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" (2018)
- Director: David Yates
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 52
- Runtime: 134 min

The "Fantastic Beasts" movie series came out after the original "Harry Potter" movies, but act as a prequel to the adventures of the boy wizard and his companions. While fans were initially ecstatic about returning to J.K. Rowling's universe, they were less enthusiastic after the movies began rolling out. Not only does the content in films like "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" often contradict the facts and timeline established in the "Harry Potter" series, these later movies lack all of the heart and soul fans have come to expect from Hogwarts.

On top of that, there was controversy surrounding the film's casting—after briefly appearing as Gellert Grindelwald in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" in 2016, Johnny Depp was set to headline "The Crimes of Grindelwald" amid claims that he'd verbally and physically abused his ex-wife Amber Heard. Despite the backlash, the movie went on as planned with Depp, though he was eventually let go from the franchise.

"Boo 2! A Madea Halloween" (2017)
- Director: Tyler Perry
- IMDb user rating: 3.8
- Metascore: 17
- Runtime: 101 min

For many fans, Tyler Perry's movies can be hit or miss, and "Boo 2! A Madea Halloween," the 10th installment in the "Madea" series, was a huge miss. The movie was slammed for its homophobic and sexist tones, as well as its blatant insensitivity of the Me Too movement that was unfolding around it during its production and release. As of April 2024, the movie has a dismal 5% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Francis Friel, a critic for the Mountain Xpress even went so far as to call the film a "cinematic hate crime." 

"Madame Web" (2024)
- Director: S.J. Clarkson
- IMDb user rating: 4.0
- Metascore: 26
- Runtime: 116 minutes

Early in 2024, this "Spider-Man" spin-off emerged as one of the biggest blockbuster flops of the year, booed by critics, audiences, and even its own star. Dakota Johnson plays Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic who finds herself gifted with psychic powers. The film fails to explain exactly how those powers work, however, one of the many reasons "Madame Web" floundered at the box office. On top of that, there was the overly expository dialogue, underwhelming visual effects, migraine-inducing storylines—the list goes on and on. It's little wonder that Johnson quickly distanced herself from "Madame Web" after its release, saying in a March 2024 interview that she was "not surprised" by all the bad reviews.

"Shaft in Africa" (1973)
- Director: John Guillermin
- IMDb user rating: 5.9
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 112 min

The last of the original trilogy of "Shaft" movies, "Shaft in Africa" is disliked primarily because it takes Shaft out of his natural environment and away from his regular crime-fighting tactics. Fans prefer to see the detective in his native New York City, where his knowledge of the city and savviness afford him a unique edge when it comes to fighting crime. For many, the journey to Africa was just too big of a stretch for the character. It's a rare movie on this list that fared worse with audiences than it did with critics—fans have given it a 52% compared with critics' 64% on Rotten Tomatoes as of April 2024.

"Pan" (2015)
- Director: Joe Wright
- IMDb user rating: 5.7
- Metascore: 36
- Runtime: 111 min

Since J.M. Barrie published "Peter Pan" in 1904 there has been an enormous number of additions to the franchise, including this 2015 installment called "Pan." Josh Dickey of Mashable summed up the film's awfulness when he said "Pan" was "a visually disgusting, audibly loud and obnoxious, narratively incoherent attempt at a Hollywood adventure blockbuster." The movie is supposed to provide Peter Pan with an origin story but falls far short on every level, from the script to the performances to the cinematography. One of "Pan's" biggest letdowns was the casting of white actor Rooney Mara as Native American character Tiger Lily; the actor later said she regretted being "on that side of the whitewashing conversation."

"Pledge This!" (2006)
- Directors: William Heins, Strathford Hamilton
- IMDb user rating: 1.8
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 91 min

If you were imagining that this National Lampoon tale would be similar to those from the franchise's golden era of the '70s or '80s, perhaps starring John Belushi or Chevy Chase, you'd be dead wrong. "Pledge This!" a much later installment in the series, stars Paris Hilton as the president of a sorority at the fictional South Beach University. The movie was a box-office bomb and its investors later sued Hilton for $8.3 in damages to make up for what they spent producing "Pledge This!", alleging she failed to promote it; eventually, however, a judge ruled in Hilton's favor. 

"The Curse of La Llorona" (2019)
- Director: Michael Chaves
- IMDb user rating: 5.3
- Metascore: 41
- Runtime: 93 min

Technically, "The Curse of La Llorona" exists outside the "The Conjuring" universe, but it does see star Tony Amendola reprise his role as Father Perez from "Annabelle." The movie is based on folklore like the other "Conjuring" films, but in this particular case, it's Latin American folklore. The film took a lot of criticism for the flatness with which it attempted to sell the tale of La Llorona, and for its complete lack of horror. Released in 2019, it fell especially flat when compared to other bone-chilling films like Jordan Peele's "Us," which hit the big screen around the same time.

"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989)
- Director: William Shatner
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Metascore: 43
- Runtime: 107 min

The fifth installment in the "Star Trek" film franchise, "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" was William Shatner's directorial debut. Despite its enormous budget, the film was a critical flop thanks to its forgettable storyline, horrible special effects, and boring action sequences. For many, the movie feels more like an extended episode of the TV show than a stand-alone film in the most unsatisfying way. In a March 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shatner admitted he has plenty of regrets about the movie. "It was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly," he said. "When I'm asked, 'What do you regret the most?,' I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture."

"Rocky V" (1990)
- Director: John G. Avildsen
- IMDb user rating: 5.3
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 104 min

In the fifth installment in the "Rocky" franchise, Rocky has recently retired from boxing, learned that all of his hard-won money is gone, and is forced to return to the streets of Philadelphia where he attempts to train up the next great athlete and repair the broken relationship he shares with his son. While the movie's storyline isn't necessarily bad in and of itself (albeit incredibly slow-moving) it's a major departure from the usual fare we've come to associate with the Rocky movies. There's barely a fight or an inspiring training montage, and the lack of action is why many people rate "Rocky V" the worst of the series. In an April 2024 ranking of "Rocky" movies from Collider, film critics said, "The one upside of 'Rocky V's' conclusion is that it opened the door for better 'Rocky' movies, although no one knew that back when they made the series' nadir."

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017)
- Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 39
- Runtime: 129 min

Continuity issues are the most often cited reason fans rate "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" the worst installment in the franchise. The fifth movie in the series, this one follows Captain Jack Sparrow as he searches for the Trident of Poseidon, which he needs in order to return his ghostly nemesis Captain Salazar to the Devil's Triangle. Many of the major tenants of the story are in direct contradiction with facts established in the first four films, mistakes that are less distracting and more franchise-ruining for many. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" will also likely be the last time fans will ever see Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, based on his most recent comments on the subject and those from Disney as of 2023.

"Battle for the Planet of the Apes" (1973)
- Director: J. Lee Thompson
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Metascore: 40
- Runtime: 93 min

Released in 1973, "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" was the final chapter in the first iteration of the "Planet of the Apes" franchise. There were drastic cuts made to the movie's budget prior to filming, which lowered the quality of the special effects and made it nearly impossible to recreate the overall feeling of the world. Money was not "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" only issue, for many fans there seemed to be a muddling of philosophy, too much focus on religion (in a series that had never overtly discussed it before), and too much in-fighting among factions to make this movie worth watching.

"Ip Man: The Final Fight" (2013)
- Director: Herman Yau
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 100 min

For the uninitiated, the "Ip Man" series is a semi-biographical series of films about a real-life grandmaster of the Wing Chun school of arts who famously taught Bruce Lee. The last installment in the series, "Ip Man: The Final Fight" is less of an action movie than the earlier films and more of a reflection on the philosophy behind kung fu, which is one factor that made it not as successful with fans. Another strike against the film is that it doesn't share a director with any of the previous movies, and, as a result, has a markedly different tone.

"2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003)
- Director: John Singleton
- IMDb user rating: 5.9
- Metascore: 38
- Runtime: 107 min

Rob Cohen was the director of the original "The Fast and the Furious" which grossed over $206 million at the box office worldwide. Like many others, he's been vocal about his dislike of the follow up "2 Fast 2 Furious" (which he had no hand in making) telling We Got This Covered, "The first couple sequels though, what I hated about them was that it was just for money, the studio was just milking the cash cow. It's a miracle they didn't kill it."

"Mission: Impossible II" (2000)
- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 6.1
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 123 min

For a film franchise that's built on excitement, adventure, and thrills, "Mission: Impossible II" is a boring flop. The primary criticism levied against the Tom Cruise movie is that nothing much happens very slowly—a stark contrast to the action-packed first film. David Ansen, a critic at Newsweek, summed it up perfectly, saying "In 'M:I-2' everyone seems to be going through the motions."

"Jurassic Park III" (2001)
- Director: Joe Johnston
- IMDb user rating: 5.9
- Metascore: 42
- Runtime: 92 min

The main problem with "Jurassic Park III" is that it's just too much of a good thing. The first installment in the Steven Spielberg franchise was earth-shattering, the second a mediocre follow-up, but the third, with its nonsensical plot, was a perfect example of Hollywood not quite knowing when to stop. The movie's only redeeming factor was its special effects, which had certainly been upgraded since the 1993 original.

"Son of the Pink Panther" (1993)
- Director: Blake Edwards
- IMDb user rating: 3.9
- Metascore: 33
- Runtime: 93 min

In "Son of the Pink Panther" the bumbling, hilarious detective who's set out to rescue the kidnapped Princess Yasmin isn't the beloved Inspector Clouseau, but his illegitimate son Jacques Gambrelli. In the eighth installment in the franchise, Peter Sellers passes the torch to Roberto Benigni who gives the best performance he can given the film's terrible script. In fact, Benigni's physical comedy is the only shining spot in an otherwise dud of a film.

"Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999)
- Director: George Lucas
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 51
- Runtime: 136 min

A prequel to the original "Star Wars" (retroactively titled "Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope"), "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" was released 22 years after the original. While the film's release was one of the biggest events in cinematic history, the movie itself was a confusing disappointment for fans who'd long awaited an addition to the series. The biggest complaints about the movie were that it lacked direction or an obvious main character, moved at a snail's pace, and contained racist undertones.

"Resident Evil: Retribution" (2012)
- Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
- IMDb user rating: 5.4
- Metascore: 39
- Runtime: 95 min

Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News called "Resident Evil: Retribution" "thuddingly awful." The fifth installment in the franchise, which was based on a survival horror video game of the same name, follows Alice, humanity's last hope, as she attempts to uncover who's responsible for the T-virus that's turning everyone into zombies. Both the acting and the dialogue in the film are awful, as are the unnecessary (and poor-quality) 3-D effects that seem to have been thrown in last-minute simply to increase ticket sales.

"Air Bud: Spikes Back" (2003)
- Director: Mike Southon
- IMDb user rating: 4.1
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 87 min

In order to be enjoyable, a movie about a dog who plays sports requires audiences to suspend their disbelief to a certain extent. "Air Bud: Spikes Back," the fifth installment in the "Air Bud" series, asks audiences to go above and beyond in suspending their disbelief. The poor special effects, awful human acting, and an additional storyline where the golden retriever also solves a major crime don't provide viewers anything to work with, and the movie was, consequentially, a huge bust.

"The Predator" (2018)
- Director: Shane Black
- IMDb user rating: 5.4
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 107 min

The creative team behind 2018's "The Predator" first went wrong when they hired a known sex offender for a bit role in the film. Olivia Munn, the primary female lead, acted as the whistleblower, alerting 20th Century Fox to the issue who then responded by cutting the scene the individual appeared in. However, the movie was never able to overcome this negative press, and that unfortunate start combined with the haphazard editing, ensured that the fourth addition to the series would be the worst.

"The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" (2005)
- Director: Kirk R. Thatcher
- IMDb user rating: 5.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 120 min

L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" and Jim Henson's muppets seem as if they should be a perfect fit. And in another world, they might be. However, in "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" unnecessary celebrity cameos, a poorly written script, and a complete lack of the charm that we've come to associate with the puppets mark this as the worst chapter in the franchise.

"Ice Age: Collision Course" (2016)
- Directors: Mike Thurmeier, Galen T. Chu
- IMDb user rating: 5.7
- Metascore: 34
- Runtime: 94 min

There are two alternative storylines taking place in "Ice Age: Collision Course": a mammoth wedding and a sabertooth tiger who's launched himself into outer space. It might be okay for these ridiculous tales to exist in tandem if only audiences weren't expected to remember the storylines from the previous four films which had come out years before. That, after all, is the real problem with "Ice Age: Collision Course," not that its content is that much crazier than anything else we've seen from the franchise, but rather that it forces fans who haven't recently watched the earlier films to flounder as they try to keep up with all the material and characters they're expected to recognize on sight.

"Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" (2015)
- Director: Gregory Plotkin
- IMDb user rating: 4.6
- Metascore: 30
- Runtime: 88 min

The sixth in the series, "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" was billed by production as the final installment in the found-film franchise. For many viewers, though, the 3-D movie felt more like an afterthought than a planned conclusion. The plot of this film went well beyond the creepy credibility many of the earlier movies had, to tacky horrorfest with little point—a slap in the face for those who had stuck around for years to see how this would all end.

"Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" (1995)
- Director: Kim Henkel
- IMDb user rating: 3.3
- Metascore: 50
- Runtime: 87 min

Shot in 1993 but not released until 1995, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation" stars Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey in what is, perhaps, the worst performance of either of their careers. In addition to the bad acting, the movie seems to have lost any trace of the horror it once contained, and the film veers as close to family-friendly as a horror movie ever could.

"Saw: The Final Chapter" (2010)
- Director: Kevin Greutert
- IMDb user rating: 5.6
- Metascore: 24
- Runtime: 90 min

Long after John "Jigsaw" Kramer died in the third installment of the "Saw" series, the torture series is still finding a wobbly leg to stand on. This final, 3-D installment is perhaps the least coherent installment in the franchise and the goriest. Even the special effects couldn't save "Saw: The Final Chapter," which seems to care not at all about bringing its audience closure or trying to persuade them that it's a good piece of cinema.

"Suicide Squad" (2016)
- Director: David Ayer
- IMDb user rating: 6.0
- Metascore: 40
- Runtime: 123 min

DC's antihero response to Marvel's "Avengers," "The Suicide Squad" has some serious star power but few other of the ingredients it needs to succeed. Fans complained about everything from the fact that many of the characters varied wildly from their comic book counterparts to the idea that a group of villains working together made no sense. Additionally, the movie feels like a jumble of storylines and action-packed moments instead of a cohesive story.

"The Final Destination" (2009)
- Director: David R. Ellis
- IMDb user rating: 5.2
- Metascore: 30
- Runtime: 82 min

The "Final Destination" films are a unique kind of horror film, in that you can't "win" them. After all, death is the main villain, and eventually, it comes for us all. While you can't avoid death, you can (and should) avoid the gimmicky fourth installment in this series which contains some of the worst acting in the entire franchise, as well as terrible special effects that make watching death after death quite boring.

"Survival of the Dead" (2009)
- Director: George A. Romero
- IMDb user rating: 4.9
- Metascore: 43
- Runtime: 90 min

The most current installment in George A. Romero's "Dead" series (which began with "Night of the Living Dead" in 1968), "Survival of the Dead" is another zombie action movie. But unlike earlier episodes in the franchise, this chapter never really comes alive. The film itself was described by critics as feeling flat, containing too many stale shocks and an overabundance of cheesy dialogue. 

"Jason Bourne" (2016)
- Director: Paul Greengrass
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 123 min

"Jason Bourne" marked Matt Damon's return to the franchise about a CIA assassin who suffers from dissociative amnesia. The hype for the fourth film in the series was massive in the months leading up to the premiere but quickly turned sour upon its release. Where audiences expected a fresh, new, exciting story they got a tired, old tale that left them feeling as if the series had finally run its course.

"Cheech & Chong's the Corsican Brothers" (1984)
- Director: Tommy Chong
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Metascore: 35
- Runtime: 82 min

As of June 2020, "Cheech & Chong's the Corsican Brothers" is the last live-action film starring the comedy duo of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. A parody of Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Corsican Brothers," the film had some good material to work with but fell flat in the delivery. Its jokes didn't land, the other characters were boring to watch, and it remains the only film in the franchise to contain no cannabis humor, something fans enjoyed and expected.

"Seed of Chucky" (2004)
- Director: Don Mancini
- IMDb user rating: 4.8
- Metascore: 46
- Runtime: 87 min

The "Child's Play" franchise started out as a slasher horror series, but by the release of "Seed of Chucky" in 2004 had fully transformed into a comedic horror series. It's these comedy elements of the film that have caused so many fans to flag it as the worst in the franchise. However, writer-director Don Mancini defends the project saying, "I think that movie is so fundamentally comedic and farcical. It's a farce."

"Transformers: The Last Knight" (2017)
- Director: Michael Bay
- IMDb user rating: 5.2
- Metascore: 27
- Runtime: 154 min

In the final installment in the "Transformers" franchise, humans and Transformers are at war, Optimus Prime is gone, and a band of unlikely cohorts must come together to save the world. Critics used words like dumb, unfunny, and utterly incoherent to describe "Transformers: The Last Knight" whose plot seemed to drag over its 2.5-hour runtime. Even more disappointing, many felt that the finale of the film provided an insufficient ending to a tale they'd stuck with for more than a decade.

"Rambo III" (1988)
- Director: Peter MacDonald
- IMDb user rating: 5.8
- Metascore: 36
- Runtime: 102 min

In "Rambo III" Sylvester Stalone launches a one-man rescue mission to save his former commander who's being held captive in Afghanistan. While the storyline doesn't sound all that bad, the pacing is slow, there's very little dialogue to spice things up, and the violence is cliché at best.

"Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened" (2013)
- Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
- IMDb user rating: 5.5
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 96 min

"Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened" follows Ash, Pikachu, and a host of their other friends as they set out to save the big city from a group of evil Genesect. The 16th installment in the animated series, the movie builds quite a bit on previously established facts and storylines. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't always get those pre-existing facts right, leaving many fans to decry the movie over its lack of coherency with the franchise.

"A Good Day to Die Hard" (2013)
- Director: John Moore
- IMDb user rating: 5.3
- Metascore: 28
- Runtime: 98 min

In the Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern called "A Good Day to Die Hard" "the meltdown of a once-formidable franchise." Like many others in his field, the critic didn't care for the far-fetched plotline of John McClane's reunion with his son Jack who's a criminal turned CIA operative turned vigilante. Nor did he care for the fact that most of the plot was obscured by a never-ending stream of action scenes and gunshots.

"X-Men: Dark Phoenix" (2019)
- Director: Simon Kinberg
- IMDb user rating: 5.8
- Metascore: 43
- Runtime: 113 min

In "X-Men: Dark Phoenix," the seventh and final installment in the series, the X-Men take on one of their own after Jean Grey endures an accident in space that makes her powerful, unstable, and the perfect vehicle for an evil group that wants to take over the galaxy. There are plenty of reasons the film bombed with fans, including the fact that it was finished two years before it was released—fans took its delay as an indication that it wasn't all that good, the ending was reshot multiple times—an even clearer indication that the original film was unsatisfying, and the release date was moved around a half-dozen times before the film finally dropped—essentially destroying any remaining excitement surrounding the flick.

"Halloween: Resurrection" (2002)
- Director: Rick Rosenthal
- IMDb user rating: 4.0
- Metascore: 19
- Runtime: 94 min

The plot of "Halloween: Resurrection" will tell you basically everything you need to know about why the horror sequel was a flop. In the movie, a group of university students starring on a webcam reality show has taken over the home that used to belong to serial killer Michael Myers, who, offended by this transgression on his reputation, decides it's time to come out of retirement and do something about it. Starring Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks, the horrible storyline is compounded by bad acting, horrible special effects, and an overwhelming sense of cheesiness that pervades the entire thing.

"Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (2007)
- Directors: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Metascore: 29
- Runtime: 94 min

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described the battle between species in "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" as "the world's most illogical and boring action-horror grudge-match between two dull trademarked franchise monsters." The movie also garnered criticism for its tired content, poorly edited action sequences, and weak character development. In the end, the movie amounts to only a mindless distraction at best.

"All Monsters Attack" (1969)
- Directors: Ishirô Honda, Jun Fukuda, Kengo Furusawa
- IMDb user rating: 3.9
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 70 min

Bullying affects everyone in "All Monsters Attack," from Godzilla's son to a Japanese schoolboy. While the message of the film is an important one, the movie hardly feels like a classic "Godzilla" film and is instead aimed at much younger audiences. Additionally, the little bit of "fighting action" included in the film is actually reused footage from earlier installments in the franchise, meaning that "All Monsters Attack" brings nothing fresh or new to the adult storylines.

"Spider-Man 3" (2007)
- Director: Sam Raimi
- IMDb user rating: 6.2
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 139 min

Sam Raimi, the director of "Spider-Man 3" agrees with the low-ranking of his 2007 film. He told the "Nerdist" podcast: "It's a movie that just didn't work very well. I tried to make it work, but I didn't really believe in all the characters, so that couldn't be hidden from people who loved Spider-Man. If the director doesn't love something, it's wrong of them to make it when so many other people love it. I think [raising the stakes after 'Spider-Man 2'] was the thinking going into it, and I think that's what doomed us. I should've just stuck with the characters and the relationships and progressed them to the next step and not tried to top the bar."

"Jason X" (2001)
- Director: James Isaac
- IMDb user rating: 4.4
- Metascore: 25
- Runtime: 91 min

"Jason X" is set far into the future, in 2455 to be exact, and follows a group of researchers who have returned to the now-abandoned planet to learn what they can from it, only to find themselves being hunted down by Jason Voorhees. Campy and predictable seem to be the most popular words used by audiences as they blast the 10th installment in the series. It seems the futuristic setting did nothing to distract them from the overall tiredness of the franchise.

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (2009)
- Director: Chris Weitz
- IMDb user rating: 4.7
- Metascore: 44
- Runtime: 130 min

"Twilight" is a divisive franchise: Audiences either love it or hate it. That being said, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" earned some appropriate criticism for the way it romanticized self-harm and suicidal tendencies. When you take into consideration that the series' audience is largely tweens and young adults, this irresponsible messaging looks even worse.

"Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)
- Director: Sidney J. Furie
- IMDb user rating: 3.7
- Metascore: 24
- Runtime: 90 min

Released during the Cold War, "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" deals heavily with the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union as well as the general idea of nuclear materials being used as weapons. It's an admittedly odd topic for a superhero movie and one that both audiences and critics didn't seem to quite connect with. On the other hand, Christopher Reeves, who plays Clark Kent for the last time in this film, described "Superman IV" as the most important "Superman" film he ever made.

"Shrek the Third" (2007)
- Directors: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
- IMDb user rating: 6.1
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 93 min

In "Shrek the Third," Shrek finds himself being forced to take the throne after the passing of Fiona's father, King Harold, unless he can find a suitable replacement. While the movie still fared well with younger audiences, bringing in over $813 million at the box office, older fans bemoaned the loss of charm and heart in the movie.

"Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" (1991)
- Director: Rachel Talalay
- IMDb user rating: 4.9
- Metascore: 39
- Runtime: 89 min

The last film in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series, "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" wanted to go out with a bang but ended up sneaking out with a whimper. While audiences agree that it's not quite as bad as other horror franchise endings, they still feel that the stale acting, random plotline, and trashy 3-D special effects ruined what could have been a big finale. It didn't help that by the time of its 1991 release the "Freddy vs. Jason" series, which was doing much more interesting things, had already begun.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" (1993)
- Director: Stuart Gillard
- IMDb user rating: 4.8
- Metascore: 40
- Runtime: 96 min

Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael travel back to 16th-century Japan to save their pal April who was transported there by a magical scepter in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III." Obviously aimed at kids, the film still took flack from critics for its poor production value, slipping humor, and muddled plot. That being said, other critics like John Hartl from The Seattle Times called the movie "the easiest installment in the series for parents to sit through."

"Casino Royale" (1967)
- Directors: Val Guest, Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish, Richard Talmadge
- IMDb user rating: 5.2
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 131 min

Famed film critic Roger Ebert wrote on his website that "Casino Royale" was "a definitive example of what can happen when everybody working on a film goes simultaneously berserk." The 1967 film certainly is a mess: There were five directors all working independently to create two storylines that never end up merging, many scenes and lines that were completely improvised and don't flow together, and the film literally has six James Bonds as well as a confusing host of other characters.

"Batman & Robin" (1997)
- Director: Joel Schumacher
- IMDb user rating: 3.7
- Metascore: 28
- Runtime: 125 min

1997's "Batman and Robin" movie has been crowned "the most infamous comic book movie of all time" by Aaron Couch of The Hollywood Reporter. Although the movie featured some of Hollywood's biggest names at the time and was directed by Joel Schumacher (who had found success with "Batman Forever"), the hyped-up movie ended up being a flop and fans complained that it felt more like an extended toy commercial than a solid piece of cinema. 

"Terminator: Dark Fate" (2019)
- Director: Tim Miller
- IMDb user rating: 6.3
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 128 min

Many critics have argued that "Terminator: Dark Fate" flopped not because of any fault of its own (the storyline was interesting enough, the special effects were fine, the actors gave decent performances), but because the series leading up to this point had been an unmitigated disaster. While the original "Terminator" did well with audiences, the two intervening films did not, leaving fans unwilling to commit to a further sequel that may or may not be worth it. 

"Scary Movie 5" (2013)
- Directors: Malcolm D. Lee, David Zucker
- IMDb user rating: 3.5
- Metascore: 11
- Runtime: 86 min

After the Wayans brothers parted ways with the "Scary Movie" franchise, things took a decided turn for the worse. "Scary Movie 5" is a perfect example of the poorly acted, not-very-funny drivel the series has become. While the horror movie parodies are still star-packed, the stars in today's installments are B-list at best.