The worst movies of 2020
Some of the worst films of the year also starred big-name actors, including Melissa McCarthy, Armie Hammer, Rose Byrne, Nicolas Cage and Omar Epps. These movies were rated the lowest among all of the films released in 2020, according to the movie review aggregator Metacritic. We've narrowed the list to focus on films with at least 10 critic reviews, to arrive at the worst of the year.
And the "winners" are ...
(TIE) 52. "Joan of Arc" (Metascore: 49)
The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called this Bruno Dumont-directed French historical drama about the trial of Joan of Arc "opaque and unrewarding."
Bradshaw found it "not quite funny enough to be funny, or serious enough to be serious, or passionate enough to be about the passion of Joan of Arc."
(TIE) 52. "Downhill" (Metascore: 49)
This American remake of the acclaimed 2014 Swedish film "Force Majeure," about a couple whose marriage hits some major bumps at a ski resort, starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell.
For some critics, watching this film was an uphill battle. "Both parties turn out to be such unsalvageable bores — a misfire, in a feature-length movie, that is worse than stale popcorn," writes Rex Reed of the Observer.
(TIE) 52. "Spenser Confidential" (Metascore: 49)
Mark Wahlberg plays Boston detective Spenser (from crime author Robert B. Parker's long-running series), whose plans to leave the city are upended when two former cop buddies are murdered, prompting him to launch his own investigation. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "a fantastically over-the-top, drive-in B-movie for the streaming generation."
51. "Underwater" (Metascore: 48)
Kristen Stewart stars in this aquatic drama about a submarine lab devastated by an earthquake. "It's there if you want it, and you could chew on worse," was the unexcited review from the Boston Globe's Ty Burr.
(TIE) 47. "The Call of the Wild" (Metascore: 47)
Harrison Ford stars in a new film version of Jack London's classic novel, in which his co-star is a CGI dog. "It is neither disaster nor dream, landing firmly somewhere in the disappointing middle," writes The A.V. Club's Allison Shoemaker.
(TIE) 47. "Sonic the Hedgehog" (Metascore: 47)
This live-action movie stars Jim Carrey and James Marsden, and features Ben Schwartz as the voice of the video-game character. "It's a 99-minute commercial designed to drive sales of merchandise," said Reelviews' film critic James Berardinelli.
(TIE) 47. "Irresistible" (Metascore: 47)
The political dramedy starring Steve Carell and Rose Byrne was called "one of the most insulting movies of the year," by the San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson.
(TIE) 47. "The Sunlit Night" (Metascore: 47)
The David Wnendt-directed romance, starring Jenny Slate, was praised for the beauty of its scenic filming locations and not much else. "Unfortunately, everything engaging about the narrative is overshadowed by gratuitous quirkiness," said AV Club critic Shannon Miller.
(TIE) 42. "Exit Plan" (Metascore: 46)
Rolling Stone called this Nikolaj Coster Waldau-led, reality-warping mystery a "slog, slog, slog, all the way."
(TIE) 42. "You Should Have Left" (Metascore: 46)
Not even Kevin Bacon, who plays mysterious main character Theo Conroy, could save this scary movie from being a "watered-down version of 'The Shining'," according to Screen Rant.
(TIE) 42. "Unhinged" (Metascore: 46)
"Even as mindless entertainment, 'Unhinged' is mostly running on empty. Crowe's colorless co-stars are saddled with thinly drawn stock characters and on-the-nose dialogue. Exterior locations look drab and gray, interiors cramped and stagey," said the Hollywood Reporter.
(TIE) 42. "Capone" (Metascore: 46)
Tom Hardy plays a dementia-riddled Al Capone in the Josh Trank-directed biopic about the final years of the notorious gangster's life.
Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal called his performance that of "a minimally animate object ... growling in a voice that evokes Marlon Brando, Lionel Stander and Stephen Hawking's synthesizer."
(TIE) 42. "Rebecca" (Metascore: 46)
"The leads set the tone for this unfortunate waste of time," a Vulture critic wrote of Lily James and Armie Hammer's performances in the 2020 Netflix remake of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller.
(TIE) 36. "Wild Mountain Thyme" (Metascore: 45)
Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Christopher Walken and Jon Hamm star in this romantic comedy that The Hollywood Reporter called "cloying and strained."
(TIE) 36. "Monster Hunter" (Metascore: 45)
"Series fans will feel cheated by such a chintzy and incurious take on something they love, while the rest of us will be left wondering how the source material earned itself any fans in the first place," Indie Wire wrote of the film, which Is based on a video game series of the same name.
(TIE) 36. "Made in Italy" (Metascore: 45)
Critics were less than kind to the father-and-son comedy, which stars real-life father and son Liam Neeson and Micheál Richardson. "It's full of missed opportunities and lacking in telling details," said a critic from the Los Angeles Times.
(TIE) 36. "Guns Akimbo" (Metascore: 45)
"This undeniably slick, energetic contraption plays somewhere between grating and numbing," scathes Variety's Dennis Harvey, about this Daniel Radcliffe-led action comedy about gamers.
(TIE) 36. "The Rhythm Section" (Metascore: 45)
As a woman seeking revenge for the murder of her family, Blake Lively earned praise, but some reviewers felt the film muddled or, as the Wall Street Journal's film critic Joe Morgenstern described it, "dismal." "It's as cold as the waters of that [Scottish] loch, and nowhere near as lucid," he lamented.
(TIE) 36. "The Jesus Rolls" (Metascore: 45)
John Turturro starred in and directed this spin-off from the Coen Brothers' "The Big Lebowski." After being released from prison, a criminal meets up with his gang of misfits to continue wreaking havoc on the world. According to Glen Kenny from the New York Times, "The movie doesn't always work, but it's never boring."
(TIE) 33. "Holidate" (Metascore: 44)
The Emma Roberts-led Netflix holiday movie was called "not especially festive, funny, or romantic" by Entertainment Weekly.
(TIE) 33. "The Night Clerk" (Metascore: 44)
There are "no thrills, suspense, or tension" writes The Observer's Rex Reed of the Michael Cristofer crime drama about a hotel clerk who witnesses a murder. The film stars Ana de Armas, Helen Hunt and Tye Sheridan — who Reed considers to be the breakout star of the movie. "Sheridan is nothing less than interesting and quirky, but everyone else seems zombified," he wrote.
(TIE) 33. "Bloodshot" (Metascore: 44)
A slain soldier (Vin Diesel) is brought back to life as a superhero via nanotechnology. James Mottram of Total Film called it a "throwback to the bad old '90s days of comic-book movies."
(TIE) 31. "Scoob!" (Metascore: 43)
The animated feature about the beginnings of the Mystery Inc. gang and their friendship with Scooby-Doo was called a "mess" and a "series of nonsensical action sequences" by the San Francisco Chronicle's G. Allen Johnson.
(TIE) 31. "Fatale" (Metascore: 43)
A RogerEbert.com critic said the Hilary Swank-led thriller "lacks the verbal punch of a pulpy film noir. Its pacing is too slack to serve as a gripping romantic thriller."
30. "Robert the Bruce" (Metascore: 42)
King Robert the Bruce (Angus Macfadyen) seeks Scottish independence from England in this Richard Gray-directed action movie that Jesse Hassenger of The A.V. Club called "painlessly watchable."
(TIE) 25. "Superintelligence" (Metascore: 41)
"Don't look for super intelligence, or even mild cleverness, in Melissa McCarthy's new sci-fi comedy," wrote the AV Club of this 2020 title, in which James Corden plays the voice of a vengeful A.I. controlling McCarthy's character's life.
(TIE) 25. "Spree" (Metascore: 41)
"Stranger Things" actor Joe Keery plays a rideshare driver attempting to go viral through sometimes lethal pranks. Much like the character's driver rating, this movie did not get five stars.
(TIE) 25. "Endings, Beginnings" (Metascore: 41)
Not even the all-star cast of Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan and Sebastian Stan could save this drama from being called a "bore fest" by the New York Post's Johnny Oleksinski.
(TIE) 25. "Love Wedding Repeat" (Metascore: 41)
This Netflix rom-com is about alternate versions of the same wedding day. Reviewers were less than charmed by the "Groundhog Day"-esque streaming flick.
Molly Freeman of Screen Rant called the experience "too cringey to be any fun."
(TIE) 25. "The Grudge" (Metascore: 41)
Wondering how scary Nicolas Pesce's take on "The Grudge" is? "I saw this movie in the middle of the day, having had a great night's sleep, and I had to slap myself awake a few times," wrote Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle.
(TIE) 23. "Come Away" (Metascore: 40)
Not even the acting talents of Angelina Jolie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw or Michael Caine could save this Brenda Chapman-directed drama from poor reviews. The Austin Chronicle called the film "just disappointing."
(TIE) 23. "Fatman" (Metascore: 40)
Santa Claus (Mel Gibson) must partner with the U.S. military to save his toy business in this comedy that Movie Nation called "as funny as a mass shooting at the North Pole."
(TIE) 21. "The Kissing Booth 2" (Metascore: 39)
The Netflix sequel to "The Kissing Booth," about the now long-distance relationship between high schooler Elle (Joey King) and college student Noah (Jacob Elordi), was called "long" and "dumb" by the New York Post.
(TIE) 21. "Three Christs" (Metascore: 39)
A doctor (Richard Gere) treats three schizophrenia patients (Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford) who all believe they are Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this movie didn't turn anyone into a believer.
20. "The Roads Not Taken" (Metascore: 38)
"The film is an unending source for the worst possible clichés and most overdone series of graphic matches in the history of film editing," Diego Semerene, a Slant film critic, said of Sally Potter's drama about a writer developing dementia. It starts Javier Bardem, Salma Hayek, Elle Fanning and Laura Linney.
19. "I Still Believe" (Metascore: 37)
CW heartthrob K.J. Apa portrays Christian music star Jeremy Camp, in this biopic inspired by the singer's loves and losses. Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle called "I Still Believe" an "overlong, badly paced film."
(TIE) 16. "Coffee & Kareem" (Metascore: 35)
After trying to scare off his mother's new police-officer boyfriend (Ed Helms), a boy (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) accidentally exposes a secret criminal network. Now he must team up with the cop to protect his mom (Taraji P. Henson) from the crooks.
The Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper called the movie "unfunny."
(TIE) 16. "The Last Thing He Wanted" (Metascore: 35)
"The Last Thing He Wanted" turned out to be the last thing anyone wanted to see. This Anne Hathaway-driven crime drama about a D.C. journalist who becomes too involved in a story was called "hollow" by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
(TIE) 16. "The Turning" (Metascore: 35)
A nanny discovers the two children she is taking care of may have a dark secret. The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck described the film as "mainly designed to discourage aspiring nannies from pursuing the vocation."
15. "Fatal Affair" (Metascore: 34)
Nia Long and Omar Epps star in the seemingly gender-swapped, Netflix-made "Fatal Attraction" remake. Film critic Richard Roeper called the movie "marred by stilted dialogue, predictable plot turns and surprisingly halfhearted performances from a talented cast that acts as if they know this is slick garbage and they're just trying to make it through the shoot so they can call their respective agents and say, 'We need to talk.'"
(TIE) 13. "The Wrong Missy" (Metascore: 33)
The David Spade Netflix rom-com about a case of mistaken identity was savaged by The Playlist's Nicholas Laskin. It's "one of those movies that takes a brain-dead sitcom scenario to the outer limits of what an audience is willing to tolerate," he said.
(TIE) 13. "Like a Boss" (Metascore: 33)
An all-star cast (including Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish) could not save "Like a Boss." The movie about best friends who run a cosmetics company only to get bought out by a deceitful major brand was called "formulaic," "choppy," and "insulting to women" by Manohla Dargis of the New York Times.
(TIE) 10. "Inheritance" (Metascore: 32)
The Vaughn Stein-directed thriller about a terrible family secret was called "a blithering botch job," by Rolling Stone's Peter Travers.
(TIE) 10. "The Secret: Dare to Dream" (Metascore: 32)
What's no secret: Critics did not like this Andy Tennant-directed, Katie Homles-led romantic drama. Variety's Courtney Howard called it "the exact inverse of what a passionate romance should aspire to be, let alone one preaching the power of positivity."
(TIE) 10. "The Kindness of Strangers" (Metascore: 32)
This drama about the intersecting lives of six New Yorkers was called "bleak" and "pointless" by The Wrap.
9. "Artemis Fowl" (Metascore: 31)
The Disney movie follows young Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw), into a fantastical world of underground fairies, while he investigaties his father's disappearance. However, the film adaptation of the novel by the same name was not a major success.
(TIE) 6. "Force of Nature" (Metascore: 29)
Mel Gibson, Emile Hirsch and Kate Bosworth play thieves who plan a heist during Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria. "Save yourself from this disaster of a movie," writes Consequence of Sound film critic Jenn Adams.
(TIE) 6. "The Tax Collector" (Metascore: 29)
David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf) play money collectors for a local crime boss in this David Ayer-directed action drama full of what The Wrap calls "gang-movie clichés."
(TIE) 6. "Brahms: The Boy II" (Metascore: 29)
After a family moves onto an eerie property, their son befriends a life-like doll that he calls Brahms. "None of it is remotely frightening or original," Film Threat's Alex Saveliev says of the horror sequel to 2016's "The Boy."
5. "Jiu Jitsu" (Metascore: 28)
"[Nicolas] Cage's latest film, 'Jiu Jitsu,' must represent his career worst — and keep in mind, this is the man who made 1989's 'Vampire's Kiss,' in which he ate a cockroach," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle of the martial arts movie that stars the Oscar winner.
4. "Songbird" (Metascore: 27)
"We'll eventually see dozens if not hundreds of projects using the pandemic as a plot point. 'Songbird' will be among the least memorable," said The Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper.
3. "Dolittle" (Metascore: 26)
The Robert Downey Jr. film adaptation of the classic tale about Doctor Dolittle, a man who can speak to animals, was called "weak," "badly told," and "a puzzling waste of talent" by the Washington Post.
2. "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island" (Metascore: 22)
The Chicago Sun Times called the supernatural horror film (a reimagining of the far-less-bloody 1970s TV series) "insane" and "contrived."
1. "The Last Days of American Crime" (Metascore: 15)
The futuristic Netflix crime-thriller was described by Indie Wire as "a braindead slog that shambles forward like the zombified husk of the heist movie it wants to be."
With a Metascore of 15, it's still better than the worst movie of 2019, "The Haunting of Sharon Tate," which had a Metascore of 8! So, let us see what else 2020 brings!