Gerald Lynch
At first glance, this year hasn’t felt too bad for cinema — Sinners, The Ballad of Wallis Island, and 28 Years Later have all graced our screens to rave reviews, and the year isn’t even over yet.
However, if you take a look at the Rotten films on the popular aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it turns out this year has, on average, been a bit of a stinker. And despite the flood of headlines, Ice Cube's War of the Worlds remake for Amazon isn't even the worst thing out there.
What’s most surprising is not only how poor some of these films are, but also how high-profile these blunders seem, with misses from all the big streamers and studios. Big stars + bigger budgets = bigger flops, and there's a palpable disappointment to some of the films that grace this list of 2025's worst films.
Using films that scored less than 25% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes as our baseline, there's been so many high-profile flops we had to draw the line somewhere. So here's our rough methodology to compiling this list:
- Each movie had to have a recognisable 'named' actor in it AND / OR...
- Significant hype and a big budget behind it AND / OR ...
- Was released in the cinema or commissioned by one of the big streamers AND / OR ...
- Was an English Language release.
We're sparing you the true misery of the dregs of direct to Prime independent releases...
Don’t worry, though — if there's something that's properly rubbish that somehow avoided all those factors, we’ve got some honourable mentions at the bottom too.
Keep reading for the worst films of the year so far, with many of them so bad, you’ll probably be able to have a giggle by chucking them on. Kicking off with the worst of them all...
1. Alarum
Scott Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, and Mike Colter teaming up in a high-action espionage flick should’ve been an easy win for Lionsgate. But the film scored a measly 0%, the lowest possible score on the service, meaning not a single critic had a kind word to say about it. The New York Times said “the bullet-riddled plot is a flavorless tossed salad of code names and cleaning crews, drone strikes and shootouts” in its review.
2. Uppercut
Million Dollar Baby is considered by many to be one of the greatest sports films of all time. It follows an amateur boxer on a journey to become elite. Uppercut is incredibly similar in plenty of ways, except where Million Dollar Baby is nothing short of a classic, this is like a cheap knockoff. Star Ving Rhames might be hoping there's a few more Mission Impossible films after all. It's another 0 percenter.
3. Tyler Perry's Duplicity
Nobody is claiming Tyler Perry is an auteur by any means, but Duplicity (2025) relies on predictable plots and one-dimensional characters, and is full of tonal inconsistencies, which has led to the film also earning 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. So far, the films on this list have a combined score of… 0. A trio of stinkers.
4. War of the Worlds (2025)
If Ice Cube is reading this, this film is an underappreciated gem that’s been looked at harshly. For everyone else, the 2025 adaptation of War of the Worlds has disappointed. Its primary shortcomings include a notable lack of innovation, underdeveloped characters, and pretty pants special effects.
Despite its attempt to portray the human struggle during an alien invasion, the film fails to live up to the emotional depth and thematic exploration of prior adaptations. Ultimately, it is considered a missed opportunity to reimagine the classic story.
5. Gunslingers
Nicolas Cage's filmography presents a wide range of cinematic experiences. He delivers memorable performances in some films, showcasing his unique appeal and charisma, while others may leave viewers feeling a bit lost. Unfortunately, Gunslingers belongs to the latter group, highlighting the challenges of producing a compelling western in modern cinema without an inspiring script or auteur director behind the camera.
6. Tyler Perry's Madea's Destination Wedding
This is a list of 15 poorly received and reviewed films, and making the list twice in a year for anyone is impressive. Hat's off to Tyler Perry for his 2025 dire double bill.
The film is an over-the-top, brutal miss for Netflix, and a has a sense of humour that feels like it would appeal to no one. However, the one positive is it’s considered 11% better than previous entry Duplicity, giving it a total score of... 11%.
7. The Electric State
Going into 2025, few films were as exciting for action fans as The Electric State, promising to combine Chris Pratt’s enigmatic charm with the budding career of Netflix’s golden actress Millie Bobbie Brown, under the direction proven action heavyweights and Marvel alumni The Russo Brothers.
It should’ve been a match made in heaven, but is instead probably the biggest failure on this list, thanks to boasting a $320 million budget, leading to the Observer describing it as “soulless”. That said the special effects are pretty good, and anything that shines a light on Simon Stålenhag's impeccable graphic novel source material still deserves some praise...
8. Bride Hard
Bride Hard, starring Rebel Wilson, was widely panned for failing to live up to its potential. While the concept had promise, blending a wedding comedy with action and heist elements, it ultimately felt like a missed opportunity to make something unique or fresh.
The weak jokes, poor action sequences, and lack of character development led to a final film that feels shallow, predictable, and uninspired. Sad really when there are so few genuinely good comedies released today.
9. Kraven
The likely last entry in the fabled 'Sonyverse' of Marvel films about Spider-Man’s iconic rogues gallery that so far has not featured Spider-Man once. It’s not hard to see why this has never worked as a concept, but Sony keeps plugging away, trying to justify its continued ownership of the webbed face of Marvel comics.
Kraven isn’t as memeable as the ill-fated Morbius from a few years back. Which in some respects might make it even worse, as Kraven is as a result completely joyless. But at least Aaron Taylor-Johnson looks absolutely wham. Just keep this one off the CV when going for those Bond auditions.
10. Love Hurts
Nothing has touched the hearts of cinephiles in recent years as much as seeing Ke Huy Quan lift a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2023 for the amazing Everything Everywhere All at Once. That’s why it’s so painful to see his follow-up role in Love Hurts sitting at an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the action-cum-romcom not resonating with critics.
11. Ice Road: Vengeance
It feels like Liam Neeson has never been more popular thanks to the remake of The Naked Gun, which sees the action star team up with Pamela Anderson for one of the comedies of the year. However, the Irish actor’s year isn't all rainbows and butterflies thanks to Ice Road: Vengeance. Since Taken, Neeson has appeared in plenty of revenge thrillers that have failed to capture what the 2008 film did so well, and 2025 has proven that maybe the actor should opt for comedies going forward.
12. High Rollers
John Travolta’s High Rollers was supposed to be his triumphant return to the silver screen, but it seems he rolled a cinematic snake eyes. This flick about high-stakes gambling sadly didn't bet on the right horses, leaving us with a film that was more "ouch" than "all in." The performances were as flat as a losing poker hand, the pacing is slow, and it’s poorly directed. For fans of thrillers, it felt like a royal flush of missed opportunities, ending up as a forgettable footnote on Travolta’s career.
13. Holland
This is a psychological drama directed by Mimi Cave and starring Nicole Kidman, taking us to a not-so-distant future where climate change has really done a number on Earth. Kidman's character moves to Holland… in America. Confused yet? So was everyone else, it seems.
The setting is a seemingly perfect coastal city, with Kidman hoping for a fresh start. But, surprise, surprise, she starts uncovering some pretty wild secrets. The movie dives into themes of identity, trust, and survival. But while the idea of a climate-ravaged world and a utopian city sounds interesting, the film is a bit of a snooze-fest with a confusing story and characters that just didn't click. Still, it's probably one of the best worst films on this list.
14. Star Trek: Section 31
Long-standing franchises often struggle to live up to the lofty expectations of the dedicated fan base they’ve accrued, and that’s exactly what happened here. Despite starring Michelle Yeoh, the film has been a swing and a miss for Paramount.
In theory, the film had a lot to be excited for thanks to the main character's chequered past and promise of political drama, but it didn’t deliver. What’s even more painful for a film like this is the 16% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes, which means the fans liked it even less than critics.
15. In The Lost Lands
Based on a short story by the acclaimed author George 'all the R’s' Martin, this film adaptation starring Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich, despite its critical reception of a mere 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, is the strongest rated film among the 15 entries on this list.
The narrative centres on Gray, a formidable sorceress, who is enlisted by an enigmatic ruler to embark on a perilous journey into the treacherous Lost Lands. Her mission: to retrieve a powerful and ancient artefact, a task that will test her abilities and resolve against unknown dangers. It’s got everything you would want from some good ol’ fashioned fantasy drama, but sadly doesn’t execute it at all well. Get that man in Highlander, stat!
Dishonourable mentions
2025 has had so many cinematic disasters that we couldn’t just stop at 15. So here’s some honourable mentions:
- Alto Knights - 39%: Robert De Niro plays two roles in this gangster flick, so you would be forgiven for thinking that would be twice the star power. But no, not in what will no doubt be a bit of low point for the esteemed actor.
- Snow White - 35%: Few films on this list were talked about as much as Snow White, and despite the conversation and hype, this will go down as one of Disney’s biggest misses in years.
- Fountain of Youth - 35%: Guy Ritchie directing, plenty of big names with Eiza González, John Krasinski, Domhnall Gleeson and Natalie Portman in the cast. It felt like this would be a surefire hit, but sadly, not. The film never reaches the potential of the creative minds behind it.
- Flight Risk - 29%: Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg team up to deliver a mediocre action film that is becoming more and more common for both stars.
- The Pickup - 28%: One day, Eddie Murphy will be funny again. Today is not that day.
- Kinda Pregnant - 28%: Amy Schumer stars and writes this Netflix comedy, which isn’t funny but should give any budding screenwriter hope they can break into the industry thanks to some of the dross Netflix is commissioning.
- The Old Guy - 27%: Christoph Waltz and Lucy Liu are some of the best actors of recent times, putting in some stellar performances, so it’s a mystery why either agreed to this.
- The Old Guard 2 - 26%: Sometimes, a stacked, star-studded ensemble cast can carry this type ensemble action film; in this case, it does not. The Old Guard franchise should have died young.
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