10 Worst Blockbuster Movies of 2024, Ranked

Публикация в группе: Осторожный оптимизм

For the most part, 2024 has been an exceptional year when it comes to blockbuster cinema, ranging from massive critical successes like Dune: Part Two and The Wild Robot to unexpected pleasant surprises like Twisters and Transformers One. Even if not every blockbuster managed to be a massive box-office success, a large majority of them have managed to be high-quality films in their own right that have certainly worked well with audiences and critics alike.

However, this isn’t the case for every blockbuster film of 2024, as there have also been a selection of major disappointments that flounder their high budgets to be largely lackluster and underwhelming in their execution. From painfully atrocious reboots of widely beloved classics to outrageous franchise installments that managed to bore and confuse more than excite audiences, these films show that even for modern blockbusters, there is certainly room for a film to become a cinematic disaster.

10

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’

Directed by Gil Kenan

Paul Rudd looking surprised by something off screen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire — Image via Sony

While the previous Ghostbusters: Afterlife did a half-decent job of paying tribute to the beloved franchise and transforming it to a modern context, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire lacks any of the heart or charm of previous Ghostbusters films. The film sees the uncovering of an ancient artifact, unleashing a new evil force upon New York City, with the potential to freeze over the entire city in an icy prison frozen by pure fear. Both the classic Ghostbusters and an array of new team members will have to work together to stop this ghoul before all of New York is frozen over.

Continuing in the footsteps of other modern reboot franchises, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire cares more about cramming as many easter eggs and callbacks to previous films than actually creating something fulfilling with its new content. The classic characters end up being caricatures of their former selves while the barrage of new characters often cram up screen-time with their unfunny and uninteresting antics. The film doesn’t have anything close to the strengths or rewatchability of the Ghostbusters‘ previous ventures.

Ghostbusters Frozen Empire Poster Featuring the Crew Steppingout of Ecto 1 and Facing Ice Creatures in New York

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Release Date: March 22, 2024
Director: Gil Kenan
Runtime: 115 Minutes

9

‘Argylle’

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

LaGrange (Dua Lipa) waves her arms as she dances around a checkered dancefloor wearing a sparkling dress in 'Argylle' (2024). — Image via Apple Original Films

Once upon a time, Matthew Vaughn was considered one of the most exciting and prolific up-and-coming action directors when it came to blockbusters, with the likes of Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, and Kingsman: The Secret Service all being wildly entertaining. However, Argylle proves that the once prolific director has seemingly lost his touch, lacking any of the top-notch action or charm that made his previous works so effective in the first place. The film instead acts as a monotonous slog, defined by a painfully lackluster twist and some especially bad pacing.

The film follows reclusive author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), who has found great success by creating a series of fictional espionage novels that follow the ventures of a legendary spy known as Argylle (Henry Cavill). However, Elly’s books have found themselves frequently paralleling the actions and events of real-life spy missions, making her a target of various spy organizations looking to get a glimpse into the future. Accompanied by spy Aiden (Sam Rockwell), Elly finds herself on a spy journey of her own as she uncovers the reality behind her fictional writing.

Argylle Movie Poster Featuring the Entire Cast and Henry Cavill Holding a Cat

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Release Date: February 2, 2024
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Henry Cavill
, Ariana DeBose
, Sofia Boutella
, Catherine O’Hara
, Bryce Dallas Howard
, John Cena
, Dua Lipa
, Samuel L. Jackson
, Sam Rockwell
, Bryan Cranston
, Rob Delaney
Runtime: 139 Minutes

8

‘Venom: The Last Dance’

Directed by Kelly Marcel

Eddie Brock staring at a horse covered in Venom's symbiote. — Image via Sony Pictures

While Sony’s attempts at creating a Spider-Man villain-centric cinematic universe have largely been lackluster, the Venom films have, at the very least, acted as the exception to be largely passable fun times. However, Venom: The Last Dance succumbs to the overarching trend of the studio’s other works like Madame Web and Morbius, being shoddily put together and filled to the brim with flaws that detract from the core strength of the character.

The film isn’t nearly as fun of a time as previous entries in the series, largely being bogged down by boring and generic military characters and a road-trip side plot without giving Eddie and Venom any real agency for their own story. When the film finally does decide to have fun, like transforming Venom into various animals like horses, fish, and frogs, it only lasts 5 minutes before going back to the same painfully unenjoyable waste. It doesn’t help matters that the film’s hyped-up villain simply sits around in a space jail for the entire movie, leaving the actual action to an array of generic space monsters.

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Release Date: October 25, 2024
Director: Kelly Marcel
Cast: Tom Hardy
, Chiwetel Ejiofor
, Juno Temple
, Rhys Ifans
, Stephen Graham
, Peggy Lu
, Clark Backo
, Alanna Ubach
, Cristo Fernández
, Jared Abrahamson
, Hala Finley
, Dash McCloud
, Andy Serkis
, Reid Scott
, Jack Brady
, Ivo Nandi
, Jake Allyn
, Otis Winston
, Jacob Tomuri
, Brooke Carter
, Fflyn Edwards
, Elijah Cook
, Norma Butikofer
, Elizabeth Cook
, Angie Hsu
, Martin McDougall
Runtime: 110 Minutes

Rent on Amazon Prime

7

‘Red One’

Directed by Jake Kasdan

Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson in 'Red One' — Image via Prime/Karen Neal

The modern era of streaming services has lent many blockbuster filmmakers to create films that are seemingly tailor-made to work as perfect background noise, largely coming at the cost of a good movie experience. This mindset perfectly encapsulates the flaws and difficulties of Red One, which attempts to create a Marvel-style action movie about the mythos and excitement of Christmas and the holiday season. The film follows the North Pole’s top head of security having to team up with an infamous tracker to locate Santa after he was kidnapped 24 hours before Christmas.

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans simply don’t have any genuine chemistry with one another as co-leads, creating an action comedy that is severely lacking in both exciting action or effective comedy. The film is about as corporate and lacking in artistic soul as a modern blockbuster can get, feeling much more preoccupied with increasing the bottom line of Amazon’s film ventures than actually creating a fulfilling rewatchable Christmas venture.

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Red One

Release Date: November 15, 2024
Director: Jake Kasdan
Cast: Dwayne Johnson
, Chris Evans
, J.K. Simmons
, Lucy Liu
, Kiernan Shipka
, Bonnie Hunt
, Kristofer Hivju
, Nick Kroll
, Wesley Kimmel
, Mary Elizabeth Ellis
, Wyatt Hunt
, Lanz Duffy
, Marc Evan Jackson
, Ashleigh Domangue
, Cody Easterbrook
, Jon Rudnitsky
, Morla Gorrondona
, Jenna Kanell
, Rod Maxwell
, Fedor Steer
, Octavia Grace
, Matthew Zuk
, Cora Kass
, Ahmad Ghafouri
, Jeff Chase
Runtime: 123 Minutes

Watch on Amazon Prime

6

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

Directed by Todd Phillips

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn dancing with Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux — Image via Warner Bros

The original Joker film proved to be one of the most polarizing and memorable cinematic experiences of recent memory, shocking audiences and becoming a massive hit thanks to its powerful messaging and translation of a classic villain character. The long-awaited sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, proved to not only be a major disappointment from the original film, but actively went against the strengths of the original in exchange for a watered-down musical approach that was too afraid to commit to its chaotic potential.

While the concept of a musical court drama following Joker and Harley Quinn in the fallout of the previous film is rife with potential and possibilities, the film squanders all of this in exchange for a boring and uneventful repeat of the previous film. By both downplaying what worked in the original and not doing enough to make its new elements work, the film creates an experience that doesn’t appeal to anyone, quickly becoming one of the year’s biggest box office bombs.

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Release Date: October 4, 2024
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix
, Lady Gaga
, Brendan Gleeson
, Catherine Keener
, Zazie Beetz
, Steve Coogan
, Harry Lawtey
, Leigh Gill
, Jacob Lofland
, Sharon Washington
, Troy Fromin
, Bill Smitrovich
, John Lacy
, Ken Leung
Runtime: 138 Minutes

5

‘Kraven the Hunter’

Directed by J.C. Chandor

Alessandro Nivola as Aleksei Sytsevich _ Rhino in Kraven the Hunter — Image Via Sony

Sony continues their streak of painfully lackluster villain origin stories with Kraven the Hunter, an R-rated origin for the titular big-game hunter supervillain without any of the grit or strengths to make an R-rated action thriller work. The film follows Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor Johnson), who from a young age has set out to live in the wilderness and dedicates his life to hunting down notorious gangsters to not be like his gangster father. However, when a powerful villain known as the Rhino wants to stay off Kraven’s list, he will do everything he can to take Kraven down.

Kraven the Hunter features a lot of the same issues that plague other egregious entries in the Sony Spider-Man universe, from stilted performances and awkward pacing to some of the worst editing and ADR (automated dialogue replacement) imaginable. The film simply doesn’t do enough to make Kraven out to be a dangerous, formidable hunter, making him the same rootable antihero with minimal villain qualities as every other so-called villain in this extended universe.

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Kraven the Hunter

Release Date: December 13, 2024
Director: J.C. Chandor
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
, Russell Crowe
, Fred Hechinger
, Ariana DeBose
, Christopher Abbott
, Alessandro Nivola
, Levi Miller
, Chi Lewis-Parry
, Billy Barratt
, Jessica Zhou
, Michael Shaeffer
, Dritan Kastrati
, Greg Kolpakchi
, Elander Moore
, Filiz Fairweather
, Duran Fulton Brown
, Alex Skarbek
, Rachel Handshaw
, Preslav Shipkaliev
, Murat Seven
, Robert Ryan
Runtime: 127 Minutes

Watch in Theaters

4

‘The Crow’

Directed by Rupert Sanders

Bill Skarsgard as Eric Draven/The Crow bloodied and spreading his arms in the reboot. — Image via Lionsgate

Originally an icon of action horror and the angsty, gothic energy of the 90s, this modern reboot and interpretation of The Crow does a major disservice to the legacy and inherent strengths of the original. The film follows the tragic deaths of soulmates Eric and Shelly, who are brutally murdered when the darkness of Shelly’s past comes back with a vengeance against the two. However, Eric is soon given a chance at revenge and reuniting with his love after being revived by a spirit, giving him the ability to heal from any fatal injuries that he receives.

The Crow manages to simultaneously be an exact parallel and repeat of the 1994 original as well as a major downgrade from said original in every conceivable way. Especially in a post-John Wick world where stories of brutal revenge from a single unkillable man are all the rage, The Crow flounders and fails to achieve any of the carnage and potential of its premise in a modern setting. It makes for easily one of the worst R-rated superhero movies of all time and eliminates any potential of seeing this character done right in the modern day.

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The Crow

Release Date: August 23, 2024
Runtime: 111 Minutes

3

‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

Zachary Levi as Harold drawing a circle with his purple crayon. — Image via Sony Pictures

Underwhelming and tone-deaf live-action adaptations of beloved family properties are far from a brand-new phenomenon, yet Harold and the Purple Crayon goes above and beyond in terms of pure mediocrity. The film follows a now-adult Harold (Zachary Levi) who has been waiting around with his friends inside the storybook for their author to return to them, deciding to travel into the real world to find the author himself. Harold and his pals are quickly faced with a wild culture shock of the differences of the real world, with a nefarious villain looking to use Harold’s magical purple crayon for evil.

It’s hard to even imagine why this film was even created in the first place, as the Harold and the Purple Crayon property has been long-since underused for over a decade. Even still, the way that it adapts the story is a massive far cry from the original story to the point of being unrecognizable. Any charm and childlike wonder of the original stories are replaced with unsightly CGI, in-your-face product placement, and a painfully awkward lead performance from Levi.

Harold and the Purple Crayon Movie Showing a Hand Holding a Glowing Crayon

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Release Date: August 2, 2024
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Runtime: 92 Minutes

2

‘Madame Web’

Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Ezekiel Sims wearing his Spider-Man-like costume in front of a Calvin Klein billboard — Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

While Venom: The Last Dance and Kraven the Hunter were bad enough entries in Sony’s extended universe, the studio’s magnum opus of atrociously crafted disasters has to be Madame Web. More than any other blockbuster in recent memory, Madame Web is actively falling apart at the seams, with its chaotic editing style and silted performances creating the defining so-bad-it’s-good movie of 2024. Its well-intentioned messages and themes of female camaraderie and heroic destiny are massively undercut by its hilariously bad filmmaking approach.

As opposed to an actual cinematic experience that was crafted together as a director’s vision, the film feels blatantly stitched together by a team of executives in an attempt to create something in line with the desires of shareholders. Strangely, its frequent flaws and blunders manage to give it a sort of unintentional charm among the other terrible blockbusters of the year, as you can’t help but laugh at its pure ineptitude at every corner. It’s a film that will find itself being consistently rewatched over the years for all the wrong reasons as one of the biggest blockbuster blunders of recent memory.

Madame Web Movie Poster Featuring Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon, Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, Celeste O'Connor as Mattie Franklin, and Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel Sims

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Release Date: February 14, 2024
Runtime: 116 Minutes

1

‘Borderlands’

Directed by Eli Roth

Cate Blanchett, Ariana Greenblat, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis looking down a well in Borderlands — Image via Lionsgate

While Madame Web may arguably be a more poorly put-together film, the experience of watching it is one defined by absurdist fun and chaos, feelings that are sorely missing from the soulless and hollow experience of watching Borderlands. Adapted from the beloved series of sci-fi videogames, Borderlands manages to completely miss the mark in terms of recreating the hectic energy of the games while supplementing its own painfully unfunny humor and stilted storyline.

It’s clear from the get-go that Borderlands has minimal care towards the games that they’re adapting, whether it be casting Kevin Hart to be the originally hardened solider Roland or making basic information about its main characters a surprise twist in the final act. Sporting terrible visual effects, one of the most basic and predictable stories of recent memory, as well as some of the worst comedic writing imaginable, it’s difficult to think of a single redeeming quality present within Borderlands.