The Most Unfavorably Rated Films from the Last Five Decades, Based on Rotten Tomatoes Ratings

      Here are the most poorly rated films from each of the last five decades, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

      To clarify, we’ll take a look at one movie from each decade. Sound good?

      Let’s proceed. But first…

      Bo Derek in Bolero, a film that you’ll learn more about shortly. Cannon Film Distributors

      It’s quite straightforward, as someone might say in a bad film.

      We simply referred to Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 100 Worst Movies of All Time, selecting the top film from each of the last five decades.

      Rotten Tomatoes created this list by compiling critics’ reviews and ranking those films with at least 20 reviews, ensuring there's a general agreement on their poor quality.

      Let’s get started, beginning with the 1980s…

      1980s: Bolero (1984)

      Cannon Film Distributors

      We’ll give credit to the 1980s: You have to scroll quite a distance down Rotten Tomatoes' worst movies list to find any from that decade.

      The list is mainly filled with films from this century, likely reflecting the increase in online critics since the beginning of the 2000s. Traditional critics typically maintain a more measured approach than their online counterparts.

      However, there are exceptions such as Bolero. Essentially a showcase for Bo Derek’s beauty and directed by her husband, John Derek, Bolero is notable for being the oldest film with a zero rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It ranks No. 26 on the site's list of the 100 Worst Movies of All Time, which honestly isn’t too terrible.

      The film shares its title with one of Maurice Ravel's renowned compositions, which, interestingly enough, saw a revival due to another Bo Derek movie, 1979’s 10.

      1990s: Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)

      Columbia Pictures

      Featuring a then-16-year-old Milla Jovovich, who later achieved significant success, Return to the Blue Lagoon is essentially a retread of the 1980 film Blue Lagoon.

      It’s rated as the 15th worst film overall, holding the highest (meaning worst) place for any pre-internet movie.

      Kudos, kids.

      Why Aren’t There Any Movies From Before the ’80s on This List?

      Casablanca, one of the greatest films ever. Warner Bros – Credit: Warner Bros

      Why are there no films from before the ’80s in this list? Great question. Here are a few potential reasons:

      One, movies were better in the earlier days;

      Two, critics may have been more lenient back then, possibly due to the influence of movie studios during the newspaper advertising era;

      Three, our digital age may not have preserved the harsh reviews of the past, creating a recency bias in Rotten Tomatoes’ rankings.

      Now, let’s move on to the next decade.

      2000s: Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever (2002)

      Credit: Warner Bros

      According to Rotten Tomatoes, this is not only the worst film of the 2000s but also the worst ever. Adding insult to injury, it was produced by the studio responsible for one of the greatest films of all time.

      It helped usher in what is arguably the worst decade for films: Half of the movies on the Top 10 of Rotten Tomatoes' 100 Worst Movies of All Time were released in the 2000s.

      The awkwardly titled Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever features Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu as competing assassins and likely received such scathing reviews because critics anticipated more from both stars — and both did indeed go on to significantly better films.

      The year after Ballistic's release, Liu starred in Kill Bill, delivering a fantastic performance. Banderas earned an Oscar nomination in 2019 for his role in Pain and Glory.

      As mentioned before, Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever holds the unfortunate record for having the most reviews of any film with a zero rating on Rotten Tomatoes, securing its place at No. 1 on the site’s list of worst films.

      2010s: Left Behind (2014)

      Freestyle Releasing

      Based on the immensely popular book series about the Rapture and those who remain afterward, Left Behind is Rotten Tomatoes' choice for the third worst movie overall and the worst film of the 2010s.

      It stars Nicolas Cage, one of our all-time favorite actors, as the improbably named Rayford Steele, an airline pilot facing marital troubles who observes that many passengers on his flight keep vanishing.

      Disregarding critics' opinions, the film performed well enough to warrant a sequel, Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, which unfortunately did not include Cage.

      The sequel was released in 2023, by which time Cage was well into a career resurgence that featured the 2022 meta comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. In our cover story about the film, Cage discussed taking on many roles during the period, including