The 25 worst movies of 2017, according to critics

August 31, 2024

The list of 2017's worst-reviewed movies has a little bit of everything in it: the colossal box office duds, the movies that became nothing more than a joke on social media, and the one that cost its director a "Star Wars" movie.

Here are the 25 worst-reviewed movies of 2017, as rated by critics' scores on Metacritic:

25. “The Book of Henry”

Metacritic score: 31/100

What a critic said: “‘The Book of Henry’ is the most misguided film since the 2003 Gary Oldman abomination ‘Tiptoes.’ [Director Colin] Trevorrow is slated to helm an upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film, so y’all have fun with that.” — The Austin Chronicle (Editor’s Note: Three months after the release of this movie, Lucasfilm announced it had “mutually chosen to part ways” with Trevorrow on “Star Wars: Episode IX.”)

24. “Absolutely Anything”

Metacritic score: 31/100

What a critic said: “[A] depressingly inept comedy.” — Screen Daily

23. “Friend Request”

Metacritic score: 31/100

What a critic said: “An utterly idiotic movie that uses social media as a conduit for witchcraft and mayhem.” — The Wrap

22. “The House”

Metacritic score: 30/100

What a critic said: “The film is a black hole that sucks comedy into its vortex, never to be seen again.” — Paste

21. “Daddy’s Home 2”

Metacritic score: 30/100

What a critic said: “It should not exist, and the fact that it does is a slap in the face of anyone suckered into buying a ticket.” — The Globe and Mail

20. “Bright”

Metacritic score: 29/100

What a critic said: “From the director of ‘Suicide Squad’ and the writer of ‘Victor Frankenstein’ comes a fresh slice of hell that somehow represents new lows for them both.” — Indiewire

19. “Literally, Right Before Aaron”

Metacritic score: 28/100

What a critic said: “A trite little comedy so jumbled, disconnected and bad you can’t believe it doesn’t star James Franco.” — New York Observer

18. “The Crash”

Metacritic score: 28/100

What a critic said: “These are all cartoon figures out of Frank Capra’s most feverish populist nightmares.” — RoberEbert.com

17. “Transformers: The Last Knight”

Metacritic score: 28/100

What a critic said: “From the very beginning, this is an incoherent mess.” — RoberEbert.com

16. “CHiPs”

Metacritic score: 28/100

What a critic said: “Given the alternative between the big-screen ‘CHiPs’ and an antiquated, low-stakes episode of the original TV series, we’d pick the latter in a heartbeat.” — The AV Club

15. “Once Upon a Time in Venice”

Metacritic score: 28/100

14. “Flatliners”

Metacritic score: 27/100

What a critic said: “It often feels like Flatliners is trapped between multiple genres without knowing exactly what kind of movie it wants to be, and the result is a confused mess.” — Entertainment Weekly

13. “The Ottoman Lieutenant”

Metacritic score: 26/100

What a critic said: “‘The Ottoman Lieutenant’ is an overwrought nurse romance merged with a history lesson, a combination that is hard to take as seriously as the film wants to be taken.” — The New York Times

12. “Arsenal”

Metacritic score: 25/100

11. “Rings”

Metacritic score: 25/100

What a critic said: “If crap movies carried penalties for inflicting torture on audiences, then ‘Rings’ would merit a death sentence.” — Rolling Stone

10. “Underworld: Blood Wars”

Metacritic score: 23/100

What a critic said: “Like the four franchise fillers that preceded it, Underworld: Blood Wars is undoubtedly impervious to bad reviews. What it needs is a stake through the heart.” — Rolling Stone

9. “The Snowman”

Metacritic score: 23/100

What a critic said: “‘The Snowman’ is ugly and nasty, but that’s not the worst of it. The worst is that it’s boring and makes no sense.” — San Francisco Chronicle

8. “Father Figures”

Metacritic score: 23/100

What a critic said: “Watching ‘Father Figures’ is like finding a piece of food in the back of your fridge that you barely recognize, but know right away it’s not worth eating.” — The Wrap

7. “A Family Man”

Metacritic score: 21/100

What a critic said: “It’s run-of-the-mill, and crassly manipulative.” — The Guardian

6. “Geostorm”

Metacritic score: 21/100

What a critic said: “The only thing more reliable than bad weather is bad movies, and in that respect, ‘Geostorm’ is right on forecast.” — Variety

5. “Just Getting Started”

Metacritic score: 21/100

What a critic said: ‘There is both too much plot in 'Just Getting Started' and too little.” — The Wrap

4. “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween”

Metacritic score: 17/100

What a critic said: “The scariest thing about Boo 2! is the idea that ‘A Madea Easter’ might be next.” — The Hollywood Reporter

3. “The Last Face”

Metacritic score: 16/100

What a critic said: “[A] stunningly self-important but numbingly empty cocktail of romance and insulting refugee porn.” — The Hollywood Reporter

2. “The Layover”

Metacritic score: 15/100

What a critic said: “‘The Layover’ is an appalling movie.” — ReelViews

1. “The Emoji Movie”

Metacritic score: 12/100

What a critic said: “There are plenty of words that can describe The Emoji Movie. Here are a few of them: Unfunny. Saccharine. Nonsensical. Painful. And, of course, crappy. (If you prefer the poop emoji, that works too.)” — ScreenCrush

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