The film industry is a multi-billion dollar business, and according to IMDB, an online database containing information and statistics about movies, this industry produces an average of 2,577 films each year worldwide. That gives audiences a vast amount of movie options. Although not all movies are created equally – some are outstanding and leave viewers sitting on the edge of their seats wanting more. While others may leave viewers wanting to do just that – leave.
Not all films can be exciting and fast-paced but this doesn’t necessarily make them less entertaining. Sad movies enable the audience to tap into their feelings, often sympathizing with characters, while romances allow them to dream of their own fairy tales and what may come. But all movies, whether happy, sad, intense, or thrilling, can be boring to certain audiences and when a film is boring, there isn’t much to redeem it.
These films can be excruciatingly painful to watch. Like many things, what makes a movie boring might be subjective. What you may find interesting someone else may yawn throughout. There are thousands of yawn-inducing films where you dream of a quick ending or think about walking out early. Even some of the best films of the century are considered boring because of their pace, language, or awkward writing.
A movie referenced when people talk about boring ones is “The Last Airbender.” While there was a lot of excitement over this film during the trailers and talks because of the source material, the movie flopped, and one of the biggest reasons was its slow pace. Nothing was happening on screen, making it an easy snoozefest. It was bad and hard to watch, and not in a fun way.
24/7 Tempo consulted multiple entertainment websites, including IMDb and Screen Rant to determine the most boring films in history. Also considered were their Tomatometer and audience scores, as well as Reddit and other forum sites. (Here are movies so bad you have to see them.)
“City Rats” (2009)
- Cast: Tamer Hassan, Ray Panthaki, Susan Lynch
Viewers have touted “City Year” as one of the most tedious and forgettable movies. Directed by Steve M Kelly and released on April 24, 2009, this movie is not only boring but confusing and has a significantly low rating. This film received a 0% score on the Tomatometer and an audience score of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Last Airbender” (2010)
- Cast: Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Jackson Rathbone
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, “The Last Airbender” is close to the top of the most dull movies ever made. It’s slow, and the characters aren’t interesting. It’s easy to close your eyes, wake up 15 minutes later, and not miss a thing. On Rotten Tomatoes, this film scored a 5% on the Tomatometer.
“Lincoln” (2012)
- Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn
Even good movies can be considered boring. This is the case for “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg and released in the United States on Nov. 16, 2012. It’s not a bad movie with some great actors and easy-to-recognize characters, but this film has nothing new or exciting. If you already know who Abraham Lincoln is, this film brings nothing to the table.
“Alice in Wonderland” (2010)
- Cast: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway
“Alice in Wonderland” is a live-action adaptation directed by Tim Burton. It is filled with unique characters, beautiful outfits, and lively sets. Yet, even with all of this, the movie is quiet, which makes it a perfect movie to sleep through. The main character is hard to watch and root for, compared to other characters like the Mad Hatter.
“Green Lantern” (2011)
- Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett
Not all things in the DC universe are a hit and many can be rather strange, often considered boring or awkward; one of the worst is “Green Lantern,” directed by Martin Campbell. The concept of the film and heroes are interesting, but it wasn’t delivered right, despite the incredible cast and sets. The actors and audience know, considering this film is constantly made fun of and spoofed.
“Hulk” (2003)
- Cast: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott
Not all Hulk films are guaranteed to be a success and one of the hardest ones to watch is the 2003 rendition directed by Ang Lee. It’s forgettable and was quickly abandoned with a canceled sequel. Although the character was brought to life in the Marvel Universe shortly after, this was with a different actor and tone.
“Meet Joe Black” (1998)
- Cast: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani
“Meet Joe Black” is a polarizing movie directed by Martin Brest. Some people absolutely love this romantic fantasy film, while others think it’s dull and uninteresting. Many viewers weren’t fans of this film because of the writing and the hard-to-watch characters.
“Gods and Generals” (2003)
- Cast: Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall
Although some people love the movie “Gods and Generals,” others would prefer to use it as a means to sleep. This epic war drama directed by Ronald F. Maxwell is long, running for over 3 1/2 hours. It’s hard to convince anyone to watch a movie longer than two hours, so a three-hour war movie is a tough sell.
“Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979)
- Directed by: Robert Wise
- Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
Directed by Robert Wise and released in 1979, “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” might be a surprising addition to the list considering how popular Star Trek is. It’s one of the best science fiction universes of all time, yet this film is often hard to watch because of its slow pace. Even with this minor criticism, it’s loved by many but could have easily been a 40-minute episode rather than an over 2-hour movie.
“50 Shades of Grey” (2015)
- Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle
Boring movies can be very popular and “50 Shades of Grey” is no exception. This romantic film directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson was a box office hit, drawing in many erotic romance readers. Still, the movie was dull and slow, and the characters had no personalities. Anastasia Steele was naive, but not much else is known about her mousey character.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
- Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Director Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” is a highly-rated movie, but it’s pretty dull to watch. This film runs for over 2 hours and has a lot of slow moments. While this film was considered boring by movie watchers of today, it was still ahead of its time with beautiful shots and cool sound effects.
“White House Down” (2013)
- Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Directed by Roland Emmerich, “White House Down,” is a political action thriller film with an incredible cast. This film, released on June 28, 2013, is a campy action film with funny one-liners but can be considered predictable. It’s not a movie people mention on “Top 10 Best” lists.
“A Wrinkle in Time” (2018)
- Cast: Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling
“A Wrinkle in Time” may not be the worst movie ever made, but it’s easy to forget. When this movie, directed by Ava DuVernay, was first released, it garnered a lot of attention and hype as it was based on a popular book of the same name. However, it was very different from the novel. Although a fun fantasy film for kids, the slow, quiet dialogue drags.
“Gerry” (2002)
- Cast: Casey Affleck, Matt Damon
The Gus Van Sant-directed film “Gerry” was released on Feb. 14, 2003, and is a hard watch. It’s a relatively short film with a run time of about 1 1/2 hours. For some people, “Gerry” is fantastic and even their favorite, while others are confused and uninterested in watching it again. Although peaceful, nothing really happens in the film.
“Jupiter Ascending” (2015)
- Cast: Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean
Sometimes, a great cast of actors and incredible sets are not enough for a movie to be interesting. This is the case for the Wachowskis-directed film, “Jupiter Ascending,” released on Feb. 6, 2015, in the United States. The world-building in this movie is stellar, but the characters’ personalities feel like they were forgotten.
“Apollo 18” (2011)
- Cast: Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins
Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego, “Apollo 18” was not the greatest of films. It was considered boring, hard to watch, and uninteresting, though the audience and critics agree on the greatness of this film. This low-budget movie was done in the style of films like “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity” and is considered a cheap ripoff.
“Lost in Space” (1998)
- Cast: Gary Oldman, William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc
“Lost in Space” is an iconic film that was a big flop. Directed by Stephen Hopkins, this movie adaptation of the television series received many negative reviews and criticisms. Audiences were originally excited to see a movie of the 1960s television series of the same name, but it did not live up to the hype.
“Clash of the Titans” (2010)
- Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos
There are many polarizing opinions of the film “Clash of the Titans,” a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. Directed by Louis Leterrier and released on April 2, 2010, it was generally a fun movie, but the script is hard to follow and void of strong lines, and it could have used more thrills. While the audience score is higher, it’s still less than 50%, and the Tomatometer score for this film is 27%.
“Robin Hood” (2010)
- Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt
Director Ridley Scott’s interpretation of “Robin Hood” was a hard movie to put on this list as people are divided on its excitement. Released in the United States on May 14, 2010, it’s a slow film that tells a unique side of the Robin Hood story. However, it got a lot of criticism as Robin Hood, the main character, wasn’t charming or as sweet as portrayed in previous adaptations.
“Cold Mountain” (2003)
- Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger
War dramas are hard to watch for some, but to others, they are fascinating films. This includes “Cold Mountain,” directed by Anthony Minghella and released in the United States on Dec. 25, 2003. With a run time of more than two hours, the film was initially successful, but it’s barely mentioned or discussed two decades later. (Want to read more about movies? Check out our article on the worst movies based on true stories.)