Cinema’s Smartest Bad Movies (We All Got Wrong on Release)

Twelve films their first audience missed completely

A film does not always meet its audience at the right moment. The twelve below were thrown out, mocked, dismissed, or quietly buried — and only later did the culture catch up. The bad reviews are still there. Read them. They aged worse than the films.

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Created: May 31, 2026

The Collection

Showgirls

Showgirls

1995
1
Showgirls
1995
1
Showgirls
IMDb 5.1 / 10
Director Paul Verhoeven
Cast Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon
Box Office $20,350,754
Why Verhoeven’s satire of Las Vegas as American ambition was buried under an NC-17 rating and giggling …
Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers

1997
2
Starship Troopers
1997
2
Starship Troopers
IMDb 7.3 / 10
Director Paul Verhoeven
Cast Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer
Box Office $54,814,377
Why A satirical anti-fascist film disguised as a fascist recruitment video. American critics, in 1997, …
Jennifer’s Body

Jennifer’s Body

2009
3
Jennifer’s Body
2009
3
Jennifer’s Body
IMDb 5.6 / 10
Director Karyn Kusama
Cast Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody
Box Office $16,204,793
Why Marketed as a Megan Fox horror sex film for teenage boys. It is a Diablo Cody-scripted dark comedy …
Speed Racer

Speed Racer

2008
4
Speed Racer
2008
4
Speed Racer
IMDb 6.1 / 10
Director Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Cast Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci
Box Office $43,945,766
Why A live-action anime built out of pure color and motion, designed for nine-year-olds and people who …
The Thing

The Thing

1982
5
The Thing
1982
5
The Thing
IMDb 8.2 / 10
Director John Carpenter
Cast Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David
Box Office $20,063,820
Why Released the same week as E.T. Audiences chose the friendly alien. Critics called The Thing nihilis…
Sorcerer

Sorcerer

1977
6
Sorcerer
1977
6
Sorcerer
IMDb 7.7 / 10
Director William Friedkin
Cast Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal
Why Friedkin’s remake of The Wages of Fear opened against Star Wars and disappeared. The film, restored…
Hudson Hawk

Hudson Hawk

1991
7
Hudson Hawk
1991
7
Hudson Hawk
IMDb 5.7 / 10
Director Michael Lehmann
Cast Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell
Box Office $17,218,080
Why Bruce Willis intended a slapstick musical caper; critics treated it as a cocaine-fueled vanity proj…
Ishtar

Ishtar

1987
8
Ishtar
1987
8
Ishtar
IMDb 4.7 / 10
Director Elaine May
Cast Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani
Box Office $14,375,181
Why Elaine May’s last directorial feature was destroyed by industry mythology that called it the worst …
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

1998
9
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1998
9
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
IMDb 7.5 / 10
Director Terry Gilliam
Cast Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire
Box Office $10,680,275
Why Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s book was treated as a noisy cartoon on release. The ca…
The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski

1998
10
The Big Lebowski
1998
10
The Big Lebowski
IMDb 8.1 / 10
Director Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore
Box Office $19,488,923
Why Released to muted reviews and modest box office, the Coens’ Chandler pastiche has since become one …
Mommie Dearest

Mommie Dearest

1981
11
Mommie Dearest
1981
11
Mommie Dearest
IMDb 6.7 / 10
Director Frank Perry
Cast Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest
Box Office $19,032,261
Why Faye Dunaway gives a performance so committed it cost her career; the film was treated as unintenti…
Children of Men

Children of Men

2006
12
Children of Men
2006
12
Children of Men
IMDb 0.0 / 10
Director Alfonso Cuarón
Cast Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi, Mishal Husain, Rob Curling
Box Office $35,552,383
Why Universal had no idea how to market it. Critics liked it, audiences shrugged, the film disappeared.…
The Fountain

The Fountain

2006
13
The Fountain
2006
13
The Fountain
IMDb 7.2 / 10
Director Darren Aronofsky
Cast Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas
Box Office $10,144,010
Why Aronofsky lost half his budget mid-production and rebuilt his Mayan space opera with practical micr…

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