Sometimes it seems as if scrolling through Netflix, hunting for the perfect film to watch to suit our mood, can be an insurmountable task. And with so many options of both great and downright terrible films on the platform, when we do choose a movie there’s no guarantee that it’ll actually be any good. (And there are plenty of stinkers out there: These are the worst films of all time.)
Netflix remains the world’s largest streaming platform, dwarfing competitors like Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime in both selection and subscribers. Even though they announced (much to their shareholders’ chagrin) that they lost 200,000 subscribers in Q1 of 2022, that’s merely a drop in the bucket compared to the almost 222 million global subscribers they still have. (See where Netflix falls on our list of the best and worst streaming services.)
To determine the worst movies to stream on Netflix this May, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of April 2022, weighting all ratings equally. We considered only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Documentaries were not considered. Data on streaming availability, current as of this month, comes from the streaming guide Reelgood.
There’s some joy to be had in boldly diving headlong into watching a terrible movie, so it’s up to you whether or not you avoid the films on this list like the plague or actively seek them out. Regardless, they’re all streaming on Netflix this month, and they’ve all been poorly poorly reviewed.
50. The Beguiled (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (55,191 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (14,017 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (326 reviews)
> Directed by: Sofia Coppola
49. Body of Lies (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (219,898 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (130,056 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (216 reviews)
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
48. Quantum of Solace (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (417,155 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 58% (432,068 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (296 reviews)
> Directed by: Marc Forster
47. Bird Box (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (303,938 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (7,571 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 63% (164 reviews)
> Directed by: Susanne Bier
46. A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (116,637 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (37,573 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68% (165 reviews)
> Directed by: Scott Frank
45. Road Trip (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (163,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (465,557 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 57% (93 reviews)
> Directed by: Todd Phillips
44. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (80,768 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63% (70,861 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 52% (133 reviews)
> Directed by: Zack Snyder
43. Cliffhanger (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (124,480 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (182,966 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 67% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Renny Harlin
42. Home (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (97,141 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64% (56,242 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 52% (139 reviews)
> Directed by: Tim Johnson
41. War of the Worlds (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (429,071 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (32,518,946 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75% (264 reviews)
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg
40. Wild Things (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (114,577 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (93,077 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 63% (62 reviews)
> Directed by: John McNaughton
39. Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (265,829 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (148,748 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 50% (200 reviews)
> Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
38. The Book of Eli (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (303,555 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64% (350,822 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 46% (207 reviews)
> Directed by: Albert & Allen Hughes
37. Unknown (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (255,580 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (75,933 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (206 reviews)
> Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
36. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (86,058 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (1,504 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 54% (182 reviews)
> Directed by: Joe Berlinger
35. Rambo (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (224,192 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (410,132 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37% (153 reviews)
> Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
34. The Lake House (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (144,668 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (429,984 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (156 reviews)
> Directed by: Alejandro Agresti
33. The Call (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (116,929 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 65% (54,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 44% (134 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Anderson
32. Pet Sematary (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (98,344 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (97,888 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 51% (35 reviews)
> Directed by: Mary Lambert
31. Den of Thieves (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (101,061 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (4,516 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (137 reviews)
> Directed by: Christian Gudegast
30. The Quick and the Dead (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (89,502 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (65,422 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58% (40 reviews)
> Directed by: Sam Raimi
29. The Frozen Ground (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (60,628 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (15,638 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 61% (57 reviews)
> Directed by: Scott Walker
28. John Q (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (128,527 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (169,554 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (132 reviews)
> Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
27. The Replacements (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (60,943 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (159,821 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41% (108 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Deutch
26. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (108,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (205,270 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (148 reviews)
> Directed by: Justin Chadwick
25. Fractured (2019)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (64,428 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49% (663 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 59% (29 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Anderson
24. 21 (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (238,054 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (367,904 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (172 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Luketic
23. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (59,067 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 51% (1,901 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 53% (106 reviews)
> Directed by: Andy Serkis
22. Savages (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (127,298 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (136,713 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 50% (195 reviews)
> Directed by: Oliver Stone
21. Tears of the Sun (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (117,564 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (119,786 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (155 reviews)
> Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
20. Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (162,370 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (91,919 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39% (129 reviews)
> Directed by: James Wan
19. Osmosis Jones (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (34,233 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (62,725 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55% (110 reviews)
> Directed by: Bobby & Peter Farrelly
18. Chappie (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (239,232 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 56% (49,874 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 32% (227 reviews)
> Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
17. Due Date (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (332,478 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (125,587 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39% (195 reviews)
> Directed by: Todd Phillips
16. Project X (2012)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (196,153 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (95,375 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 28% (139 reviews)
> Directed by: Nima Nourizadeh
15. The Giver (2014)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (115,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55% (56,256 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 35% (170 reviews)
> Directed by: Phillip Noyce
14. Eagle Eye (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (181,651 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 62% (307,402 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 26% (183 reviews)
> Directed by: D.J. Caruso
13. Dead Man Down (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (66,342 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (21,085 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41% (106 reviews)
> Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev
12. Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (52,924 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (10,384 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39% (41 reviews)
> Directed by: Sam Liu
11. Terminator Salvation (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (351,122 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (885,217 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (282 reviews)
> Directed by: McG
10. Last Action Hero (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (144,199 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (196,995 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: John McTiernan
9. Collateral Beauty (2016)
> IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (95,881 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64% (22,360 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 14% (185 reviews)
> Directed by: David Frankel
8. U.S. Marshals (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (100,027 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (90,712 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (36 reviews)
> Directed by: Stuart Baird
7. Just Go with It (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (230,398 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (88,670 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (139 reviews)
> Directed by: Dennis Dugan
6. The General’s Daughter (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (56,265 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 46% (52,804 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 21% (89 reviews)
> Directed by: Simon West
5. Self/less (2015)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (94,788 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 46% (23,954 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (143 reviews)
> Directed by: Tarsem Singh
4. Chaos (2005)
> IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (53,237 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (21,174 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 0% (3 reviews)
> Directed by: David DeFalco
3. Soldier (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (55,066 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (44,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 13% (53 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
2. 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (8,964 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40% (72,959 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (13 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles T. Kanganis
1. Delta Farce (2007)
> IMDb user rating: 3.6/10 (10,994 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (166,423 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 5% (44 reviews)
> Directed by: C.B. Harding