Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to give us the most disappointing movies of all time. Here are the crushingly overhyped results:
1. The Percy Jackson movies
20th Century Fox
“I saw the first movie when I was younger before I read the books and thought it was fine, but after reading the series, the movies were such a major disappointment and got so much wrong.”
20th Century Fox
“I am so excited for the TV show coming out, however, that will actually have Riordan’s input (and hopefully Logan Lerman as Poseidon)!”
2. The Greatest Showman (2017)
20th Century Fox
“We surprised my friend on her hen weekend with a private showing of it as it was her favorite film. It had only came out a few months before, and a few of us out of the group had chosen to not watch it and save it to watch with her. We were in the toilets afterward and were like, it was OK, but it really wasn’t worth the hype. We’ve never told her, and she thinks that we enjoyed it.”
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Jonathan Olley / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Lucasfilm / courtesy Everett Collection
“I knew it was going to be terrible from the moment the line ‘Somehow, Palpatine returned,’ was uttered.”
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Lucasfilm / courtesy Everett Collection
“It was almost like the screenwriters had given up. Such a waste of a good cast, especially John Boyega. Finn could have been a fascinating case study in the trauma of being a child soldier, turning your back on the system that raised you and every way that might impact someone, but after The Force Awakens they just plowed his character development in favor of yet another ‘join me as my evil space girlfriend; no, I will never turn to the dark side’ scene.”
4. Deep Water (2022)
Claire Folger / 20th Century Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
“SPOILERS AHEAD. So I was expecting some Gone Girl or Girl on the Train twist. But…nothing. It was literally his wife having multiple lovers and him killing them one by one. And just…nothing. No jaw-dropping moments, no disturbing twist, no messed-up revelations. Total waste of time.”
5. Joker (2019)
Warner Bros.
“I was so hyped for that movie, and it turned out to be awful. I hear and read comments from people who liked it, and I’m like, ‘Did we see the same movie?'”
6. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Disney / Courtest Everett Collection
“The only good part in it was the end credits scene where Ralph sings ‘Never Gonna Give You Up.’ And it’s sad, because I loved the first movie, and some of the new characters like Shank seemed really cool and likable.”
7. Suicide Squad (2016)
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection
“I was excited because I always only ever liked the villains from the superhero movies I had seen.”
Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection
“My god was it awful. I had to walk out of the theater.”
“I was beyond excited to see Suicide Squad, and my best friend and I made a special trip to the theater for it. Though the trailers and the MANY promotions for the movie showed off some very promising content, I found only a few of the characters palatable, and the Enchantress was the most ridiculous villain to ever grace the silver screen.”
8. A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
Atsushi Nishijima / Walt Disney Co. / courtesy Everett Collection
“I wanted to like it so bad. It was painful to watch.”
“A Wrinkle in Time on Mother’s Day in a theater…and it was my idea. “
9. Tomorrowland (2015)
Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I was really excited about it. The cast seemed great, the trailers were visually cool, and the premise seemed interesting.”
Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I left the theater feeling absolutely nothing toward the movie. It was just so forgettable and unspectacular. The filmmakers focused so much on the visuals/special effects that they sucked any possible depth from the story that didn’t really make sense to begin with. Maybe it’s worth a re-watch, but I doubt it would be any better a second time around.”
10. Fantastic Four (2015)
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Such a great cast and such high hopes for such a shit movie.”
11. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Courtesy Everett Collection
“The movie adaptation made me so mad. It was so watered down.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
“They took out the most horrifying parts (which were essential to the message of the book), and there were also lines in the movie that made no sense out of the context of the book. Like, the line would reference something in the book that wasn’t included in the movie. My family got irritated with me for pointing out the inconsistencies.”
12. The New Mutants (2020)
20th Century Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I feel like it had so much potential from the first trailer, but then they kept pushing back the release to recut it, and it ended up being a whole-ass mess. There might have been a good movie in there somewhere, but what we ended up getting was cringey and incoherent.”
13. Citizen Kane (1941)
Courtesy Everett Collection
“Absolute waste of time. No relevance anymore. No need to call it a classic.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
“My boyfriend and I watched it, and when it ended, we just looked at each other like, ‘Did you see the steaming pile I just did?'”
14. Eragon (2006)
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I love the books, and I’ve read them at least 10 times. Then I watched the movie.”
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I was (and still am) really shocked and wonder to this day how they could ruin such a masterpiece. The books are so good, but the movie is just terrible. So many important things were left out, and Saphira aged way too fast.”
“Just fighting and aerial riding montages. Was the only movie I was ever tempted to walk out of.”
15. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant (2009)
Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Fantastic book series. Movie was so bad it breaks my heart middle school heart when I think about it.”
16. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
20th Century Fox / Everett Collection
“It was hands down the WORST book to movie adaptation I have ever had the misfortune to watch. The way they changed the characters’ powers and relationships was so unnecessary, and the film as a whole was such a disappointment as someone who adored the book.”
17. The Shining (1980)
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
“Stephen King was right to trash talk that film.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
“I went to the theater with my parents because we all had read the book, and literally only the names of characters and the hotel were from the book. Kubrick’s The Shining does not equal King’s The Shining.”
“I watched it with mum who loved the movie and was a huge Stephen King fan. I just didn’t enjoy it. I got bored and wasn’t drawn in enough to find it engaging. It’s really difficult being a horror fan and not liking one of the most beloved horror movies ever.”
18. Into the Woods (2014)
Disney
“So tedious, way too long, terrible music, disappointing, and they overhyped Johnny Depp’s role.”
Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“My ex took me to see it as a treat after a long stay in hospital, and he wouldn’t let me leave, even when I offered to reimburse him for the tickets.”
19. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Merrick Morton / Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
“The American adaptation omitted so many details from the book. The Swedish one is so much better.”
20. Boyhood (2014)
IFC Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
“What a trumped-up, eternal snore. I had a boyhood, and it was way more nuanced and messed up than the limited mind of Linklater.”
IFC Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
“It was a concept for concept’s sake. I do not blame the actors at all. It’s just that the plot was so thin, and anything that did happen was a very tired trope or a bafflingly implausible turn. 100 on Metacritic. Several Golden Globes. Listed as one of the greatest films ever made. For me, this falls under the category of Films Critics Are Afraid to Say Bad Things About. So much hype…so little matter.”
“It was so boring, and all of the characters were thoroughly unlikable, including the kid. I do think Richard Linklater has made some wonderful films, but this is just not one of them.”
21. A Quiet Place (2018)
Paramount Pictures
“Some of the character decisions just irked me. I still don’t understand why you would be so reckless and cruel by bringing another life into this depressing and dangerous existence. And that ending! It just annoys me.”
22. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection
“It was so boring and not funny at all — I didn’t even get through the first half before turning it off.”
Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection
“It came out when I was a junior in high school and was a massively popular movie. Everyone quoted it all the time, and my friends kept telling me that I needed to see it because I would love it, and it was exactly my sense of humor. I finally rented it one day, and it was the worst fucking thing I’ve ever seen. Not only did it fail to live up to the hype; I was also deeply upset and offended that my friends thought I would love such a stupid, shitty movie.”
23. Love Actually (2003)
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
“I hadn’t seen it when it was originally released. Then years later as an adult people were telling me, ‘OMG you have to watch it; I can’t believe you’ve never seen it!’ and that kind of stuff. I watched it with my roommate, and when it was over she asked what I thought, and I blurted out that I seriously just did not like a single thing about it.”
24. It Chapter Two (2019)
Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection
“I was so excited after the first one was so good. That was a huge letdown.”
25. Lucy (2014)
Jessica Forde / Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
“The trailers made it seem like a much more exciting movie than it turned out to be.”
“It started off strong, and I did enjoy it in the beginning, but I found that my interest petered off in the second half, and I’ve only rewatched it a single time since I saw it in theatres because it disappointed me so much.”
26. Finally, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection
“When I was in high school, literally everybody told me how awesome that movie was and that I had to watch it. Holy shit did I regret that decision.”
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
“It was boring as fuck. I physically could not keep my eyes open. There was nothing to grab your attention from the beginning. I still can’t believe it was a trilogy and is still so highly regarded.”
What overhyped movie disappointed you? Comment below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.