(Photo by Paramount Insurge/courtesy Everett Collection)
We’re scraping the bottom of the cauldron for this one, freaky folks. Here lies a group of wretched movies with the lowest Tomatometers of all time – with a minimum of 20 reviews – now rising and shambling into our guide to the worst horror movies ever made.
No movie listed here achieved higher than 9% on the Tomatometer. As you might expect, the list features an inordinate number are remakes, the biggest offenders including The Fog, Jacob’s Ladder, Flatliners, and Martyrs. Same goes for sequels, as Jason, Jaws, the living dead, and an American werewolf make their appearances. And then there’s movies that will never even get a sniff of a chance for a sequel, like Sandra Bullock’s Premonition, the Daniel Craig clunker Dream House, or the eerily and aptly-titled The Disappointments Room.
Nothing but trouble coming up on in the worst, lowest-rated horror movies of all time! —Alex Vo
(Photo by Michael Gibson/STX Entertainment)
To some fans, Idris Elba will forever be Stringer Bell from The Wire. To others, he’ll always be best remembered as John Luther. For still others, he’s the guy who gave us the Heimdall of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or — and this is admittedly a much smaller subset — finally brought gunslinger Roland Deschain to the big screen in the long-gestating adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. All of which is to say that Mr. Elba’s done a lot in his impressive career, and by all appearances, he’s still just getting started: even if those persistent rumors about him taking over the James Bond franchise never pan out, he’s got plenty of projects lined up to add to an eclectic filmography that already includes some of the more popular and widely acclaimed TV and film releases in recent memory, including an original character in The Suicide Squad. And now we’re ranking all Idris Elba movies by Tomatometer!
In the past several years, we’ve seen something of a renaissance in horror, with films like It Follows, The Babadook, Hereditary, and It earning widespread critical acclaim, while Jordan Peele’s Get Out even managed to nab four Oscar nominations and took home the trophy for Best Original Screenplay. But for years, horror films played the part of Hollywood’s whipping boy, as some of the most recognized and beloved icons in the genre — in all of cinema, even — were rooted in poorly reviewed franchises and films thought to cater to the basest instincts of moviegoing audiences.
With that in mind, and with Halloween fast approaching, we here at Rotten Tomatoes decided to take a look back at some critical duds that, for whatever reason, resonated with us. While we readily acknowledge the flaws in these 14 films, we were also entertained by them, thrilled by them, shocked by them, or driven to fits of laughter. Read on for our staff favorite list of 14 Rotten Horror Movies We Love.
If you can love a film for a single moment, The Believers may steal your heart. Starring Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Robert Loggia, and Jimmy Smits, the 1987 horror-thriller based on Nicholas Conde’s 1982 novel The Religion is about a New York psychologist whose son becomes the focus of a brujería (black magic) cult that practices child sacrifice. At a party, Shaver’s character Jessica powders her cheek from a makeup compact that a brujo (male witch) has surreptitiously brushed his hand over. The witch Palo (Malick Bowens) then dances for the party crowd, and Jessica begins to fall into a trance-like state. Later, in a moment that will haunt your nightmares, a blemish growing on Jessica’s face erupts and a swarm of spiders emerge. Watch the trailer to catch a glimpse of the pulsating boil.
First off, come on — Beyond the Black Rainbow? That’s a killer title for any movie. This is the feature debut of director Panos Cosmatos, the man who successfully harnessed the power of Nic Cage and wowed the critics earlier this year with Mandy. Black Rainbow is decidedly less focused than that movie — it plays more like an experimental exercise in moods and visuals — but the same singular, inscrutable weirdness that split the critics is also what makes it unforgettable. The story, as it were, centers on a young woman with telekinetic powers who is held against her will in a research facility and undergoes treatment from a doctor harboring secrets of his own. Pretty standard stuff so far, even if the vaguely retrofuturistic setting and ominous synth score do a lot to set an appropriately sinister tone. But then the movie takes a pretty sharp left turn with an acid trip of a flashback, and things go really off the rails. Is it all effective? Not exactly; its story does meander a bit, and it feels a little self-indulgent from time to time. But it is extremely pretty to look at; it’s one of those movies you can play in the background of a house party, just because it’s chock full of fantastic imagery. And it’s so good at evoking a specific sort of existential dread that you’ll swear you’ve dozed off and stepped into a 1980s nightmare. It’s not the scariest movie out there, but it’s icky, unsettling, and good for a shock or two.
Largely dismissed by critics not named Roger Ebert upon release, The Cell was a victim of being graded on the steep curve of The Silence of the Lambs, which was invoked in many a negative review. The unflattering comparison was accurate — The Cell lacks the psychological sophistication of Thomas Harris’ mindhunter franchise — but equating the two is hardly fair. The Cell is not a grounded investigation into a dangerous mind. Instead, it’s a savage opera. The film’s horrific power is drawn from director Tarsem Singh’s knack for unnerving tableaux, aided and abetted by legendary designer Eiko Ishioka’s eccentric costumes that practically defy categorization in their fragrant textures and curved edges. Not that there isn’t a human element in The Cell; you have Jennifer Lopez exuding her viperish charisma for the last time until her triumphant return to form in this year’s Hustlers, and then there is Vincent D’Onofrio giving himself over entirely to a succession of unforgettable grotesqueries while maintaining an undercurrent of tortured humanity throughout. The Cell is gaudy and mannered, but it achieves a quality of horror that cinema rarely aspires toward: the sublime.
Deadly Friend walked so that Ex Machina could run. This 1980s Wes Craven flick is a Frankensteinian tale of body-blending: desperate to revive both his artificially-intelligent robot and his freshly-dead crush, a teenaged boy plugs the bot’s hard drive into the girl-next-door’s brain. Everything about it is goofy and nonsensical – more akin to Scream than anything on Elm Street. The only thing frightening about this “horror” movie is its titular character’s lack of ante-mortem autonomy… and maybe the force with which she can chuck a basketball. You’re more likely to howl with laughter than fear while watching Deadly Friend, but by the end, you’ll be cheering for its most unlikely of heroes.
If you get to watch one Friday the 13th movie, make it The Final Chapter. Not only do you get a recap of the previous three film’s kills and minor plot developments, the fourth movie is the first where Jason wears the hockey mask for the whole time, making for a real classic experience. Of course, there’s more to this movie to recommend beyond Jason’s deft sartorial choices. The teenagers, horny and doomed as usual, include a hilariously and unhinged Crispin Glover. One adult character is actually trying to solve the mystery, giving the plot some forward momentum. The cinematography is uncommonly good, shot by Joao Ferandes, in tandem with director Jospeh Zito. They both previously made the famed underground slasher The Prowler together, and Zito carries over that movie’s cruel, relentless streak into the Friday franchise. Yet, Zito keeps Jason mostly out of sight until the final 20 minutes, who instead stalks his prey outside the frame, creating a mood of paranoia and claustrophobia. Kills are presented with close-up creativity: A victim’s hand squeezing a banana as they’re knifed from behind, or a tracking camera that captures one shadow killing another just as lightning illuminates the screen. It may seem like just another slasher, but horror fans with an open mind will see it as a unique roller coaster of thrills and blood spills.
It’s not hard to understand why this remake of Wes Craven’s classic about a family being stalked in the desert left some critics cold: as Richard Roeper said when he slammed the flick back in 2006, “it’s just nasty.” And we’re not going to argue back; the central trailer attack, which involves an incredibly brutal rape, is tough to watch. If you’re out at that point, we get it. But there’s incredible skill here too from director Alexandre Aja, who had just directed the terrifying and totally preposterous French slasher High Tension and knows his way around a good scare. He conjures dread and thrills in equal measure, and ultimately stages an extremely satisfying revenge-driven third act. It’s scary as f—k and it mostly unfolds in broad daylight! Aja is aided by a game cast that includes the criminally under-employed Vinessa Shaw, Kathleen Quinlan, Ted Levine, Emilie De Ravin, and the scene-stealing Dan Byrd.
Just Googling Jennifer’s Body brings up thinkpiece after thinkpiece talking about how underappreciated it was and retelling the story behind its cringey marketing campaign. But no one needs to be reminded that Jennifer’s Body is a good movie. Not a so-bad-it’s-good movie, not a good-but-ahead-of-it’s-time movie, just a solid, good movie. The cast was so 2000s it’s like watching a time capsule, and Megan Fox’s public image at the height of her career added layers to her performance. Her star power was fueled by blockbuster movies and sex appeal, and she was suddenly in a film that was the polar opposite of the Transformers franchise, again playing a sex symbol but one who becomes something monstrous, fueled by chaos, gore, insecurity, and toxic friendship. Jennifer’s Body was a salty little morsel when it debuted in 2009, and its sodium content hasn’t dropped since. Goes well with friends and frenemies alike.
Of all the franchises you could ever want to venture into space, the Leprechaun series probably isn’t high on the list. Although it’s often remembered for being Jennifer Aniston’s film debut, the first Leprechaun film leaves one wanting. (It’s boring!) From there, Leprechaun tries to find a wife (the very forgettable Leprechaun 2) and when that doesn’t pan out, he makes his way to Sin City in Leprechaun 3. What’s left for a wayward Leprechaun to do? Go to space, of course! Having already abandoned any prospect of maintaining a significant lore or continuity, Leprechaun 4: In Space begins with the promise of ripping off every single space movie you can think of, and it does. Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun has an inexplicable array of powers at this point that leads to one of the most ridiculous and hilarious death scenes in the franchise. The cast is game, led by an impeccably charming Jessica Collins. It seems unlikely, but Leprechaun 4: In Space proves a mission worth signing up for. It’s an unexpected delight to enjoy before you make your way to Jason X.
[Warning: Spoilers Follow] Orphan is a campy, insane, ridiculous, over-the-top, frustratingly well-acted, Leonardo DiCaprio-produced, almost-Fresh-but-definitely-Rotten horror movie. There are few things scarier or more menacing in film than a sociopathic child — except, maybe, a sociopathic child who’s not really a child but a full grown adult woman who fools you into adopting her by playing on your emotions because you’re devastated by the loss of your unborn child, then definitely tries to kill you and your children while also gaslighting you and making you seem crazy so that she can eventually seduce your husband and be the new you. That’s perhaps the scariest use of all. And the only thing scarier than watching this movie when it was originally released is watching it now that it plays like an actual Daily Mail headline.
An 7% on the Tomatometer seems a little harsh but isn’t completely unwarranted for the 2008 remake of Prom Night. It’s a predictable slasher film packed with jump scares, an escaped lunatic, an almost comical number of murders, and cheesy high-school prom sentiments like, “This is the time of our lives.” The plot is thin – a former teacher becomes obsessed with a high school student, kills off her entire family, and miraculously escapes from jail just in time for her senior prom, which he sees as the perfect opportunity to resume his murder spree. Even if the film doesn’t necessarily offer us anything new in the teen-horror genre, the fast-paced progression of the night’s events keep you intrigued. It’s worth seeing not only to see how many people this deranged murderer can actually kill off in the span of a high school dance, but also for a heartfelt performance by Brittany Snow, whose terror-induced mascara tears will make you feel for the poor protagonist.
“He was licking me!” That sentence wouldn’t be out of place in a bro-tastic comedy, but it’s in a horror movie directed by the late Antonia Bird. Guy Pearce plays a disgraced lieutenant during the Mexican-American War who is sent to a remote military fort as punishment. Then an outsider (Robert Carlyle) arrives, seeking shelter; he claims to have been part of a camp that survived starvation by resorting to eating their companions. From there, everything goes to hell. Ravenous wasn’t just a scary movie, it was a period film, a war film, a claustrophobic supernatural thriller, and a cautionary tale about colonialism, human nature, and cannibalism. This may sound a bit heavy for those who turn to horror for fun and thrills, but the film really is as chilling as it is (ahem) digestible. Licking accusations aside, Ravenous has one of the best lines in movie history: “I said no food. I didn’t say there was nothing to eat.” Also, Robert Carlyle won a BAFTA the year before for playing one of the male strippers in The Full Monty.
“Because you were home”: Chills every freaking time. Bryan Bertino’s mood-driven couple-stalked-by-masked-killers flick was dismissed upon its release, but has over the last decade or so come to be seen as perhaps the seminal slasher of the 2000s. Mostly because it’s scary as hell. Bertino makes excellent use of framing, letting his masked intruders resolve slowly into view from shadowy doorways like a trio of upgraded Michael Myserses, and he knows how deliver a solid “boo!” And like Laurie Strode’s serial psycho pest, these killers are relentless and devoid of any particular motivation, which only makes them all the more terrifying. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as the quarreling couple in their sights are both at their peaks here, conveying genuine terror and eliciting genuine sympathy. It’s a slasher in which you do want the victims to get away unscathed – a rarity in the last couple of decades.
Though many will balk at the comparison, a line can be drawn between Jordan Peele’s Get Out or Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and the 1995 cult horror classic Tales from the Hood. All three features blend comedy and horror-thriller elements with biting social commentary. The cornerstone of each is one true fact: for the marginalized, the real horror story is not the monster under the bed but modern society itself. Though Rusty Cundieff, the film’s writer/director, didn’t possess the budget or cinematic scale of either Parasite or Peele’s Oscar-winning film, their DNA remains the same. Celebrated in the African American community as a comedy horror cult classic, Tales from the Hood utilized broad comedy to mask the film’s powerful commentary on race, injustice, gang violence, and politics. After a new generation of film fans discovered the film on Blu-ray and DVD, it enjoyed a welcome resurgence and prompted a Fresh sequel in Tales from the Hood 2, which hit theaters in 2018. A clear example of a film just a bit too niche to appeal to most, but it’s nevertheless a bona fide classic that’s more than worthy of a second look.
Twelve unsettlingly realistic looking ghosts. A spooky house that seems to move at will. A handsomely illustrated manuscript. Peak Mathew Lillard. Monk. Is there anything Thirteen Ghosts didn’t have going for it? Thanks to its stacked cast (Lillard and Tony Shalhoub scream alongside Shannon Elizabeth, Embeth Davidtz, and F. Murray Abraham) and incredibly creepy production design, Thirteen Ghosts is a treasure trove of jump scares and grotesque vignettes that will leave your skin crawling for days, especially one bone-cracking scene second only in horror to Dumplings. Oh, and there’s a kid who is obsessed with death and creates what can only be described as a proto-podcast called “Death Today” in which he discusses, you guessed it, death. The story is lean, but it gets the job done and leaves plenty of room for its spooky spectres to haunt it up. Grab your spectral viewers and get ready for a ghost-down.
It’s a monster week for DVD lovers, as we’ll see tons of new movies, television shows, and direct-to-video flicks hit shelves. Read on for the week’s highs (Street Kings, Gossip Girl) and lows (poker drama Deal, a new Crispin Glover creep-out) and check out great exclusive videos from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Scorpion King 2!
One of last season’s hottest new series brought sci-fi fans back to a beloved franchise with a vengeance: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. With a new Sarah (300‘s Lena Headey) and a teenaged John Connor (Heroes‘ Thomas Dekker), the show paid homage to the best elements of the Terminator films while introducing new twists — and a new, benevolent Terminator (Firefly‘s Summer Glau).
In our exclusive clip below, watch as Sarah meets unassuming cell phone salesman Andy, who reveals his pet project: a powerful chess-playing computer called The Turk. Could the machine contain the powerful beginnings of SkyNet? Watch the clip here.
Another new release this week revives a familiar franchise, albeit a decidedly more…mummified one. Debuting on DVD is the prequel The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior, which tells the origin story of the young hero (One Tree Hill‘s Michael Copon) who will grow up to become the much brawnier, much less clothed The Rock — err, Mathayus. Watch UFC champion Randy Couture tempt the young hero into joining his army, whilst delivering lines like “There’s no place for timidity now that the scorpion rides on your shoulder.” Watch it here!
Click on for this week’s exciting new releases, including Street Kings, Prom Night, and more!
Keanu goes all Training Day on our asses (but remains one of Hollywood’s most wooden A-listers) playing a corrupt but well-intentioned LAPD detective in David Ayer‘s formulaic cop thriller. Street Kings is also exactly what you would expect considering who co-wrote it: Kurt “Ultraviolet” Wimmer, from a story by James “L.A. Confidential” Ellroy. Bonus Features: The two-disc release includes a commentary by director David Ayer, tons of deleted and alternate scenes, and making-of vignettes. You can also download a digital copy of the film. A psycho killer stalks the one that got away (Brittany Snow) on the night of her senior prom, but it’s you, dear viewer, who the critics feel for most. This tepid remake of the 1980 slasher flick nearly bored the scribes to death, even with its few sexy scenes and the thrills of underage drinking — plus, who wants to see a PG-13 rated horror movies these days? Sony thought so too, which is why they’re also releasing an Unrated version of the flick on DVD and Blu-ray. Bonus Features: A veritable buffet of special features appear on the standard and Blu-ray releases, including deleted scenes with optional commentary, an alternate ending, making-of featurettes, commentary with director Nelson McCormick and stars Brittany Snow and Jonathan Schaech, and a fun feature in which cast members share their own prom stories. Blu-ray viewers will get an additional treat: a Picture-in-Picture storyboard track.
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day Hey, whaddya know — a Fresh movie out on DVD this week! (And it’s Certified Fresh to boot.) Oscar-winner Frances McDormand teams up with Oscar-nominee Amy Adams in the 1930s period charmer about an out of work nanny (McDormand) who helps an aspiring actress (Adams) juggle the men in her life. While a bit light, Miss Pettigrew should provide a pleasant diversion for the home video crowd this week. Bonus Features: Deleted scenes, a feature commentary by director Bharat Nalluri, and a few behind-the-scenes features comprise the bonus menu. Vadim Perelman returns four years after making a splash debut (The House of Sand and Fog) with a clunker of a sophomore feature. Evan Rachel Wood and Uma Thurman turn in admirable performances as the teenage and adult versions of the same woman, who must deal with the aftermath of a Columbine-esque tragedy. Unfortunately, Vadim’s adaptation of Laura Kasischke’s novel suffers from pretentious twists and turns, devolving into a tiresome psychological puzzle. Curiously, Vadim himself has stated he’d prefer audiences go into the film already knowing the controversial third-act spoiler…so here it is if you’re game. Bonus Features: In addition to a making-of featurette and a documentary about “The Other Side,” director Perelman provides what should be an interesting feature commentary; deleted scenes and an alternate ending give further insight into Perelman’s criticized editing choices, all of which should give curious viewers a fuller picture of Perelman’s artistic gamble.
In a critical performance only rivaled by the likes of One Missed Call and Strange Wilderness so far this year, director Gil Cates, Jr. has served up a rare double zero Tomatometer score! How’d he do it? By combining his own plodding direction and clichéd screenplay with the dubious star wattage of Burt “In the Name of the King” Reynolds, the kid from TV’s Reaper, and Shannon Elizabeth as a hooker, all set in the world of Texas Hold ‘Em. Sadly, Deal is the only poker movie to be officially backed by the professional bluffers of the World Series of Poker. So if you can’t spot the sucker buying Deal on DVD, then you ARE the sucker. Bonus Features: Learn more about the game of poker in one of the disc’s only bonus features. And if you’re willing to gamble on Deal on DVD, then I’d like to invite you to RT’s friendly office poker night… Next: Tons of new TV on DVD titles (Hannah Montana, Dexter, Gossip Girl and more!)
It’s about time Gossip Girl made it to DVD. Teenage primetime soaps haven’t been this good since Brandon and Brenda Walsh tramped their way around swanky Beverly Hills. If you haven’t yet tuned in to the critically loved Gossip Girl (and Nielsen ratings say many of you haven’t), seize your chance to catch up with the zeitgeist phenomenon before Season 2 begins this September! Bonus Features: 18 episodes on five discs will be joined by previously unaired episodes, three featurettes, a gag reel, and a free download of the original book, as read for some reason by Christina Ricci. When it was first announced that a spinoff of the Terminator film franchise was coming to TV, some fans were skeptical. Luckily, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles turned out to be a pretty fun ride, further exploring the Terminator universe while creating its own new story paths. Pick up the release and watch all nine episodes of season one, in which a teenage John Connor (Thomas Dekker) finds himself on the run in 1999 with his overprotective mom Sarah (Lena Headey, less frighteningly ripped than Linda Hamilton) and a benevolent Terminator from the future (Summer Glau). Bonus Features: The release includes a handful of deleted scenes from select episodes, plus select cast and crew episode commentaries. Creating the Chronicles tells the show’s history from conception to filming, while a smattering of episode-specific features appear throughout the DVD’s three discs. Also find audition tapes, a gag reel, and a random feature of Glau at a dance rehearsal. Season four of the Emmy-winning show about misanthropic doctor Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) comes to DVD. Following the shocking loss of team members Foreman, Chase, and Cameron, House has a brand new team to break in, which he does in signature rascally style, whittling a class of 40 doctors down to a new inner circle of three. Bonus Features: A handful of featurettes, favorite episodes of cast members, and a commentary track on the penultimate episode, “House’s Head,” comprise the bonus menu. HBO’s acclaimed retelling of the 2000 Presidential election — chads, retractions, controversies and all — is a must-watch for politically-minded viewers, granted you can bear the humor of the situation and its very real repercussions. Strong performances by Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson, Laura Dern and more bolster the film, written by actor-writer Danny Strong (AKA Doyle from Gilmore Girls and Jonathan Levinson from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Bonus Features: Strong and director Jay Roach (Austin Powers 1, 2, and 3) contribute a commentary, a featurette documents the real-life events of the 200 recount, and actors Spacey and Bob Balaban sit down for one-on-one chats with their real life counterparts. When I first heard of the show Dexter, I thought it was a live-action adaptation about a kid in a laboratory. Boy, was I off. Season One of the serial killer drama captivated audiences; we even wondered how CBS could edit out the inappropriate content to air episodes on primetime. Now Season Two makes its way to DVD, which should fulfill fans’ desires until the next season begins in September, after nearly a year without new episodes. Bonus Features: Rejoice at all 12 episodes of Season Two! Weep at the lack of additional bonus features. You thought High School Musical was a cash cow? Prepare for this week’s Camp Rock, a Disney Original Movie you may already be sick of if you have any teen or tween in your life. Tiger Beat sensations the Jonas Brothers star in the musical flick as teenage musicians at a sleep away summer camp, who naturally sing and dance their way through life lessons and first kisses. Bonus Features: An extended ending will delight existing fans, as will a “Too Cool!” featurette that teaches you how to be a rock star (the term “rock star” being very loosely defined). Somewhere, Keith Richards is rolling over in his grave. Or would be if he weren’t still alive. Kids will dip even deeper into their piggy banks as another Disney phenom comes to DVD. Miley Cyrus, doing her best to put artsy nude photo shoots and boyfriend beefs with fellow Disney stars behind her (go Team Selena Gomez!), should rake in another bazillion dollars with this week’s Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds. The concert documentary, which earned shockingly stellar reviews and opened at #1 during its brief theatrical run, follows Cyrus (and her fictional alter ago, Hannah Montana) on tour and also features a guest appearance by those pesky Jonas Brothers. Bonus Features: The Best of Both Worlds offers a fair bonus menu of behind-the-scenes looks at Cyrus’s concert circus, plus two bonus songs. But the best part about this DVD release is also the one add-on that can make nearly any movie better: 3-D glasses! Four pairs come in each DVD for watching concert scenes filmed in Disney Digital 3-D. Next: It’s Direct-to-Video Time! Sometimes it’s peanut butter jelly time. Other times it’s direct-to-video time, and nothing says direct-to-video like a movie called The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior! Director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, Resident Evil: Extinction) does his best in this prequel to the prequel to the sequel of 1999’s The Mummy, which tells the formative story of a young Mathayus the Scorpion King. Where the first Scorpion King flick starred former WWE champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, this sequel stars former UFC fighter Randy Couture, who battles to the death with Blue Power Ranger/One Tree Hill youngster Michael Copon. Bonus Features: Learn how Randy Couture “became” the ruthless warrior Sargon, find out how to “fight like an Akkadian,” and watch plenty more useful featurettes to help you on your path to enlightenment. It’s scary enough to see the words “Crispin Glover stars…” but when the film in question is a direct-to-video remake of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ classic splatter fest, The Wizard of Gore, the dread mounts even higher. Glover appears as the creepy magician Montag the Magnificent, whose death-defying tricks seem to be killing his lovely assistants off-stage. Bijou Phillips, Kip Pardue, Brad Dourif and a slew of sexy Suicide Girls round out the cast. Bonus Features: Along with the unrated film, you’ll get making-of features, an audio commentary, photographs, and a closer look at the Suicide Girls on set. When we saw that Vinnie Jones was starring as an ambitious news reporter, we had to know more. And then it started to get weird. The ex-footballer stars in The Riddle as a writer who gets a lead on the story of his career when a woman turns up dead — after discovering an unpublished novel by Charles Dickens hidden in a pub! Jones teams up with a lady cop and a weird old homeless guy (Sir Derek Jacobi, who also plays Dickens in flashbacks) to solve a riddle in the manuscript; thrills inevitably ensue. Vanessa Redgrave also stars. Bonus Trivia: The Riddle made an unusual debut in the UK in 2007; it came on DVD, free of charge, in every issue of The Daily Mail. ‘Til next week, happy renting! The unlikely triumvirate of Prom Night, Gone Baby Gone and Superhero Movie all failed to make much of an impression in a market place still dominated by sex, cities, whips and dusty fedoras. Superhero Movie came in at number three, despite prompting fewer laughs than an episode of My Family. Next up was Prom Night, an equally unsuccessful stab (if you’ll excuse the pun — arrf!) at the horror genre and proof — as if any were needed by now — that all American horror remakes are terrible. It’s just a fact. And coming in at fifth place was the actually rather good Gone Baby Gone, which received a cracking 94% on the Tomatometer, was praised by critics for its realistic portrayal of working class Boston — and of course therefore made less money than Superhero Movie and Prom Night. However, with Marvel’s action-tastic reboot of The Incredible Hulk hitting our screens this week, City and Indy will finally have to face up to their first serious bit of box office competition. Two new buddy comedies enter the marketplace during the final weekend of the spring box office hoping to cash in on what business is left in the last week before Iron Man flies into theaters kicking off the summer blockbuster season. Targeting women is Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler while males get John Cho and Kal Penn reuniting in Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. Adding to the mix is the less commercial dramatic thriller Deception boasting a dynamic duo of its own – Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor. The overall box office will easily outperform last year’s comparable frame which was one of the worst in all of 2007. After finding success as a lead in the sitcom world, Tina Fey heads to the movie biz as the headliner in Baby Mama with frequent collaborator Amy Poehler at her side. The PG-13 film finds a successful and uptight businesswoman hiring a free-spirited underachiever to be the surrogate for her baby. Adult women over 30 will be the main audience here but male appeal is not so lacking though. Fey and Poehler have built up a fan following over the years since their Saturday Night Live days and aim to prove that it’s not just men that come out of that camp to become box office stars. Competition will be a factor as the second weekend of Universal’s other adult-skewing comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall will tap into much of the same folks. And though it’s a different kind of comedy, Harold & Kumar will have some level of impact too with those looking for a laugh. But reviews for Mama have generally been good plus the clever title and decent starpower will help pull in ticket buyers. Its strategic opening night slot at the Tribeca Film Festival this week also helped to generate lots of extra press. Debuting in 2,542 theaters, Baby Mama could open to roughly $13M this weekend.
Tomatometer: 36%
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Gossip Girl – The Complete First Season
Tomatometer: OMG!
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete First Season
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Dexter – The Complete Second Season
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Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds
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The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
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A trio of niche fare tried — and dismally failed — to dislodge the box office behemoths Sex and the City and Indy 4 from the top two spots at the UK box office this week.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Baby Mama
Four years after the first comic adventure comes Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay which brings together the two lovable stoners for a road trip across the South. The R-rated pic is the sequel to Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle which bowed to only $5.5M in July 2004 on its way to $18.2M. However, more moviegoers found the ground-breaking comedy on DVD growing the fan base enough to make a sequel. White Castle was such a well-liked film that Guantanamo Bay should bring in a much larger turnout upfront. But competition will play a part, as it did with White Castle. Baby Mama and Sarah Marshall are both rival comedy offerings and The Forbidden Kingdom has been popular with young men. Plus moviegoing in general tends to contract in late April so there will be less dollars to go around. Good reviews will help and having a built-in audience always bodes well at the box office. Landing in 2,510 locations, Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay could make off with around $11M.
Lionsgate may see sales get sliced in half for the ancient Chinese tale leaving a $11M gross and a ten-day tally of $38M. Universal will not have it totally easy though. Competition from the weekend’s new comedies, especially from studio stablemate Baby Mama, will cut into the numbers. Still, the well-liked Sarah might drop 40% to about $10.5M and push the cume to $35M after ten days.
Prom Night should suffer another sizable drop in its third killing. The Sony thriller looks to fall by 50% to around $4.5M and lift its 17-day sum to $38M.
LAST YEAR: It was the only weekend of 2007 when no film broke the $10M mark as studios refrained from opening any good films for fear of being pulverized a week later by the arrival of Spider-Man 3. By default, Disturbia claimed a third session at number one grossing $9M and dipping just 31% for Paramount. Of the new releases, Buena Vista’s horror pic The Invisible fared best with a mild $7.7M debut in second place. Paramount’s Nicolas Cage actioner Next limped into third with just $7.1M giving the action star one of his worst debuts ever. Final grosses reached $20.6M and $18.2M, respectively. New Line’s crime thriller Fracture followed in fourth with $6.8M while Paramount’s comedy hit Blades of Glory rounded out the top five with $5.2M. Late April spring cleaning also saw the dumpings of The Condemned ($3.8M opening, $7.4M final) and Kickin’ It Old Skool ($2.5M, $4.5M) into the multiplexes.
Author: Gitesh Pandya www.boxofficeguru.com
After four straight weeks of the box office falling significantly behind last year’s pace, the marketplace is finally set to post a win thanks to a trio of new releases targeting different audience segments. In what could be a close battle for the number one spot, the Jackie Chan–Jet Li actioner The Forbidden Kingdom squares off against the raunchy relationship comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Each has a shot at the top slot. Also opening is the Al Pacino crime drama 88 Minutes which should play to an older audience. Overall, the box office will experience a healthy double digit gain over the same weekend in 2007.
The much-hyped first pairing of martial arts kings Chan and Li is the main selling point behind Lionsgate’s fantasy adventure The Forbidden Kingdom. The PG-13 film tells of an American teen who travels back in time to ancient China where he joins a quest to free the famed Monkey King. Kingdom is practically a must-see for fans of the action stars and of the genre so young males will lead the way. The film comes as a step up for Chan who lately has seen many of his films go directly to DVD. Li on the other hand remains a reliable box office star with most of his pics debuting to averages north of $5,000. However his last film War, a pairing with Jason Statham, debuted to $9.8M and a weaker-than-usual $4,313 average.
The two stars here have tremendous overlap in their fan bases so it may be hard to broaden the audience. However the younger-skewing story should help it pull in more kids and younger teens than past films from the stars. Reviews have been mixed and direct competition should not be too fierce. Kingdom boasts more starpower and screens than Sarah which could allow it to earn a slim victory this weekend. Invading 3,151 theaters, The Forbidden Kingdom may debut with about $17M.
Buzz has been strong on the comedy and reviews have been pretty good too. Plus with the weekend’s other new films offering male-oriented action, Sarah becomes the primary option for young adult women and couples. The spring date crowd won’t be lining up for a kung fu flick. Male appeal is solid so the break-up saga won’t fall into the chick flick category. Landing in 2,798 locations, Forgetting Sarah Marshall could take in about $16M this weekend.
88 should play to the same audience that came out for two other law enforcement roles Pacino took on this decade. 2003’s The Recruit bowed at number one with $16.3M while the previous year’s Insomnia debuted to $20.9M. Both had the help of extra starpower from Colin Farrell and Robin Williams, respectively. Pacino anchors 88 on his own so the grosses will be lower. Negative reviews will also help keep customers away. Opening in 2,168 theaters, 88 Minutes has a lot working against it and could debut to around $8M.
The Keanu Reeves dirty cop thriller Street Kings opened in second last weekend but has been the top grosser every day since. Fox Searchlight may see a 45% drop to roughly $7M and raise the sum to $23M after ten days. 21, the durable spring hit winning over audiences each week, may slide by 35% to about $6.5M. That would push the cume to a commendable $71M for Sony.
LAST YEAR: A sluggish late-April frame was ruled by the sophomore weekend of Paramount’s hit teen thriller Disturbia which grossed $13M. New Line’s crime thriller Fracture bowed in second with $11M on its way to a respectable $39M for New Line. Paramount claimed third with the Will Ferrell hit Blades of Glory with $7.7M and was followed closely by the $7.6M debut of the Sony thriller Vacancy. A $19.4M final resulted. Disney’s Meet the Robinsons followed with $7M. Focus landed in sixth with a solid opening for the cop comedy Hot Fuzz which took in $5.8M and a $7,089 average. It was the best per-theater score in the Top 20 and the final tally reached $23.6M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
Teen girls seized control of the North American box office powering the
horror remake Prom Night
to number one. Adult men settled for the runnerup spot with the Keanu Reeves
cop thriller Street Kings
as the overall box office failed to generate any kind of notable heat. The
marketplace has now trailed last year’s grosses during eight of the last nine
weekends.
The frame’s one major bright spot came in the form of Prom Night,
a reboot of the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis chiller, which captured the crown with an
estimated $22.7M in its first weekend in theaters. Attacking 2,700 locations,
the PG-13 suspense pic averaged a spectacular $8,407 per venue. Horror films
rarely surpass the $8,000 per-theater average mark unless the word
Saw is in the title. With
a strong marketing campaign from Sony’s Screen Gems unit, a recognizable face in Brittany Snow,
a commercially friendly rating, and a release date right before prom season
making the subject matter very topical, the slasher hit connected with teens and
young adults looking for a scare.
Prom was just the latest success story from Hollywood’s continuous
mission to recycle old horror hits. Audiences came out in huge numbers for other
remakes in recent years like 2003’s
The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre ($28.1M debut), 2004’s
Dawn of the Dead
($26.7M), 2005’s
The Amityville
Horror ($23.5M), and last year’s
Halloween
($26.4M). With Prom Night, Sony also tied Fox for the industry lead of
three $20M+ openers this year. With a production cost of nearly $20M, Prom Night
should become the latest profitable fright flick for the studio.
Collecting about half as much business in its opening weekend was the Keanu Reeves
cop thriller Street Kings
which debuted to an estimated $12M. The R-rated actioner averaged a commendable
$4,864 from 2,467 sites. Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Jay Mohr, and Cedric the Entertainer
co-star in the tale of dirty L.A. cops. The Fox Searchlight film played to the
opposite audience that rallied behind Prom Night pulling in adults with a
male skew. Reviews were not kind. The debut was almost identical to the $11.9M
launch of the Bruce Willis film 16 Blocks.
Both were star-driven police thrillers released in the spring. Blocks eventually
reached $36.9M.
After two weeks as the top card sharks, Kevin Spacey and pals saw their
blackjack pic 21
fall to third place with an estimated $11M. Slipping only 28%, the Sony release
was still a formidable player with an impressive third-frame gross and $4,020
average. With a solid $62.3M won in 17 days, the card-counting hit should finish
up with a terrific $90M.
After a fierce battle over second place last weekend, Fox’s Nim’s Island
and Universal’s Leatherheads
witnessed vastly different sophomore drops that gave the Abigail Breslin
adventure a clear edge this time around. The family film dipped only 32% to an
estimated $9M while the
George Clooney
comedy fumbled by 51% to an estimated $6.2M. Ten-day totals reached $25.3M and
$21.9M, respectively. Nim’s, which was produced for $37M, is not facing
much competition for its core audience so a lengthier run leading to $45-50M
seems likely. The $58M-budgeted Leatherheads is suffering from bad buzz
and should end its season with a disappointing $35M. But Universal has two more
promising players hitting the field this month – the comedies
Forgetting
Sarah Marshall and
Baby Mama – which
should allow the studio to recover.
The year’s highest grossing film in the domestic market Horton Hears a Who
followed in sixth with an estimated $6M in its fifth session. Off only 34%, the
Fox blockbuster has banked $139.6M to date.
Miramax posted a modest opening for its Dennis Quaid–Sarah Jessica Parker
dramedy Smart People
which took in an estimated $4.2M in its first weekend in theaters. Playing in
only 1,106 sites, the R-rated film averaged a lukewarm $3,797 per theater. Older
adults were the target audience with women outnumbering men. Reviews were not
very strong.
The Ruins crumbled 59% in its second weekend to an estimated $3.3M thanks
to intense competition for the horror crowd from Prom Night. With only
$13.4M scared up in ten days, the DreamWorks/Paramount pic should quickly end
its run with under $20M.
The spoof comedy Superhero Movie grossed an estimated $3.1M, off 43%,
and boosted its total to $21.2M for MGM and The Weinstein Co. Paramount’s Drillbit Taylor
rounded out the top ten with an estimated $2.1M, down 39%, for a cume to date of
$28.5M.
A pair of independent films debuted to healthy numbers in limited release this
weekend. Overture generated muscular figures for its illegal alien drama The Visitor
which grossed an estimated $88,000 from only four houses for a potent $22,000
average. The PG-13 film expands wider on Friday.
Fox Searchlight saw its musical documentary Young@Heart
take in an estimated $52,312 from four locations as well and averaged a solid
$13,078. The senior citizen flick expands to 15 new markets on Friday and will
slowly roll out to roughly 260 theaters over the next month.
Three radically different films were tossed out of the top ten this weekend.
Lionsgate collected an estimated $1.6M for the Tyler Perry
comedy Meet the Browns.
Down 54%, the Angela Bassett
film has taken in $40.1M to date and should reach about $43M overall. Fox’s
horror remake Shutter
tumbled 63% to an estimated $1.1M for a $24.8M cume. A respectable $26M final
should result.
The prehistoric adventure
10,000 BC
grossed an estimated $1.5M, down 46%, and lifted its total to $91.8M. The Warner
Bros. actioner will soon surpass studio stablemate The Bucket List to
become the second highest grossing film of the year so far. A $95M final seems
likely. Overseas, the caveman flick has taken in a robust $158.7M allowing the
global tally to break the $250M mark this weekend.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $79.5M which was down 13% from last year
when Disturbia
opened at number one with $22.2M; and down 26% from 2006 when Scary Movie 4
debuted in the top spot over the Easter frame with $40.2M.
How Street is Keanu’s Kings? Are Ellen Page and Dennis Quaid too Smart for the critics? Will the unscreened Prom Night win the box office tiara? Your RT editors tackle this weekend’s new flicks to let you know what’s worth seeing in theaters. Watch it now here!
As you can see, our third weekly RT Review Revue video round up has quickly become a fancy affair. By which we mean that two of us dressed up in costume to relive our bygone teen years, senior prom-style.
RT’s Dave Chung, Matt Atchity and Jen Yamato
This week we talk about the critical prospects of Keanu Reeves‘ Street Kings, in which he bravely attempts to convey corruption and dark, flawed soullessness as an alcoholic cop. (We don’t buy it, Neo — and neither do the critics!) Also in theaters is the indie character drama Smart People, starring smart actors like Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, and Juno — er, Ellen Page. Lastly, your friendly neighborhood editors chat up the not-really-a-remake Prom Night, which was, shockingly, not screened for critics.
Click here to watch this week’s RT Review Revue!
Next week: Jen as Al Pacino and Matt and Dave as RT’s own Jet Li and Jackie Chan as we bring you the critical skinny on 88 Minutes, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Forbidden Kingdom.
This week at the movies, we’ve got crooked cops (Street Kings, starring Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker), misanthropic academics (Smart People, starring Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker), and dead dance attendees (Prom Night, starring Brittany Snow and Idris Elba). What do the critics have to say?
On paper, Street Kings would seem to have the right ingredients for a sharp, thoughtful police procedural. Its director, David Ayer, scripted Training Day, and one of its screenwriters, James Ellroy, is the man behind L.A. Confidential. Unfortunately, the critics find Street Kings less than arresting. Keanu Reeves stars as a cop who’s trying to find the killer of his former partner; all signs eventually point to another member of the force. The pundits say Street Kings has plenty of flash but not enough grit, and its script is weighed down by clichés, overheated dialogue, and moral uncertainty. At 21 percent on the Tomatometer, Street Kings may be forced to turn in its badge and gun. (Check out this week’s Total Recall for our roundup of cinema’s nastiest corrupt cops.)
Smart People stands out from a long list of recent indie dramadies about terminally morose smarty-pants types simply by virtue of its impeccable cast. But critics say this one’s got too much brains and not enough heart. Dennis Quaid stars as an acerbic lit professor who, when not alienating his children, is courting a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) and dealing with his slacker brother (Thomas Hayden Church). The pundits say Smart People is elevated by its excellent cast and patches of sharp dialogue, but ultimately, they feel it’s too thinly plotted and emotionally one-note to truly satisfy. At 44 percent on the Tomatometer, Smart People doesn’t quite make the grade.
The critics are getting stood up by Prom Night, which wasn’t screened prior to release. A remake of the not-so-hot original of the same name (36 percent), Prom Night is the story of a high schooler who, after surviving a traumatic experience, is revisited by sinister figures from her past on the night of her prom. (And you thought wearing the same dress as someone else was all you had to worry about.) Hey kids, try to muster up the courage to guess the Tomatometer!
Also opening this week in limited release:
Finally, props to Coastermonkey61 and unbreakable_samurai for coming the closest to guessing The Ruins‘ 38 percent Tomatometer. Nicely done, folks.
Recent Keanu Reeves Movies:
—————————————
60% — The Great Warming (2006)
36% — The Lake House (2006)
67% — A Scanner Darkly (2006)
52% — Ellie Parker (2005)
71% — Thumbsucker (2005)
Multiplexes gear up for another weekend of empty seats as Hollywood supplies three new films that are unlikely to energize the North American box office. The queen at the head of the class is the horror flick Prom Night which should scare up the most business and play to teens and young adults. The cop actioner Street Kings will target older males while adult women will be enticed by Smart People. The top ten could once again fall 25% below last year’s levels making this a spring season to forget.
If there’s one thing the geniuses at Sony’s Screen Gems unit know how to do it’s market fright films to teenagers. They get their latest shot with Prom Night, a loose remake of the classic 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis chiller about high schoolers stalked by a killer on their big celebratory night. Brittany Snow stars and the R rating of the old film has been replaced by a PG-13 which will be key to getting in the kind of kids who watch My Super Sweet 16. Horror film openings have gotten smaller and smaller this year as some fatigue has kicked in with consumers. But Prom Night has an appealing premise, a recognizable title, and a terrific marketing push behind it that is exciting the core crowd.
Sony hasn’t released a terror pic since last October so it’s had plenty of time to concentrate on getting this campaign right. And with trailers in front of its chart-topping studio stablemate 21, awareness is high with teens. Prom Night should perform better than this year’s other horror flicks and could post the best bow for the genre since Saw IV from last Halloween. The running time matches the amount of time Al Pacino has left to live and multiplexes are double-screening the pic so there will be plenty of showtimes to meet the expected demand. The one downside is the weak marketplace which has made overall moviegoing sluggish. Opening in around 2,400 theaters, Prom Night might debut with about $15M.
Fox’s Nim’s Island got off to a mediocre start last weekend posting a $3,760 average. But with no new films targeting families, competition will be light so a 35% drop may result. That would give the Abigail Breslin flick about $8.5M and a ten-day cume of $25M.
George Clooney attracted less-than-spectacular opening weekend sales for his football film Leatherheads and buzz has been mostly bad. A larger drop of 45% could be in order giving Universal a $7M take. The score would climb to just $22M after ten days.
LAST YEAR: Paramount replaced itself at the top of the charts with the teen thriller Disturbia which surprised the industry with a potent $22.2M bow at number one. The Shia LaBeouf starrer went on to bank an impressive $80.2M. The studio’s Will Ferrell comedy Blades of Glory slipped to second after two weeks on top and grossed $13.8M. Both were supplied by DreamWorks. Disney’s Meet the Robinsons followed with $12.5M, also in its third round. Sony’s adult thriller Perfect Stranger underperformed with its fourth-place debut of $11.2M. A $24M final resulted. The studio’s Ice Cube sequel Are We Done Yet? rounded out the top five with $9M. Fox’s adventure film Pathfinder quietly opened in sixth with $5M on its way to just $10.2M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
