The Emoji Movie
Sure, emojis are part of daily life, so much so that Hollywood actually thought, “Why not make a movie about it? Let’s use ALL the CGI! Let’s make a blockbuster!” Unfortunately, it was a flop. Despite calling on the star power and credentials of James Corden, Patrick Stewart, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, and the fabulous Christina Aguilera, it was still a failure.
Making $217.8 million at the box office, but we’ve got a feeling the next time someone suggests a film about emojis, it’s going straight into the trash. Helen O’Hara from Empire gave a review that is cutting but most probably deserved – “it’s tempting, to sum up in thumbs down emoji.”
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
One of the earliest examples of just how bad films that are video-game adaptations can be is the sequel to 1995's fantasy martial arts film "Mortal Kombat." The movie was the number one best-selling film for its first three weeks and earned $122 million worldwide. This prompted the studio to make a sequel called "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation."
"Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" was very different than its predecessor and was overwhelmingly hated for having some of the worst acting and dialogue of all time. The film was much less profitable than the first movie, which led the studio to cancel a third sequel. It received a 2% approval rating from 41 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Highlander II: The Quickening
The original 1986 "Highlander" was an iconic fantasy action-adventure film that helped turn Christophe Lambert into a worldwide star. The film was initially panned by critics and received moderate financial success but has since garnered a dedicated cult following. It also spawned several sequels, with the first, "Highlander II: The Quickening," being considered one of the worst.
The sequel contained gaping plot holes and was panned by both fans and critics of the franchise. In fact, the film was so bad that it had multiple different versions of it released just to try and make up for the original release’s horrible editing. "Highlander II: The Quickening" received a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many calling it a joke and urging fans to avoid it.
Fantastic Four
With a review from Rolling Stone as searing as “'Fantastic Four' is a pile of something, too. You fill in the blank,” really, there isn’t much more to say, is there? After the initial reboot in 2004, starring the likes of Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, the studio decided that “ah, ten years have passed, people have forgotten, let’s make another one!”
Some films, no matter how many reboots, just aren’t going to do well. Anyway, it seems that even Captain America was shaking his head at his role as the “Human Torch” – regardless, if he hadn’t signed on to the film, perhaps he wouldn’t now have been recognized as Captain America.
Movie 43
So when we went to do our research to back up "Movie 43" being awarded the Golden Raspberry for 2014, it was Catherine Shoard’s headline that caught our eye: “Movie 43: why did so many Hollywood stars sign up for the humiliation?” We read no further on Google’s results – this article summed it up quite nicely.
With stars such as Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, and Aussie heartthrob Hugh Jackman, Hollywood was almost certain they’d hit a home run. Think again. With fourteen different storylines running in this film, they were certainly going for an Orson Welles-type approach, however, it backfired, and that’s why the Greats stay great!