- 5/18/2025
From box office bombs to critical catastrophes, the 80s delivered some truly terrible cinema. Join us as we count down the most disappointing flicks that made audiences cringe during the decade of excess! From laughable sequels to bizarre concepts, these films prove that even Hollywood's biggest stars can't save a doomed production.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo! Today we're counting down our picks for the most disappointing
00:12flicks released during the 1980s. Some spoilers will be mentioned, so this is your official warning.
00:16Number 20, Best Defense. Even the greats flop from time to time. Eddie Murphy may be a comedic
00:31genius with a slew of classics under his belt, but not even he could save this.
00:42Best Defense was confusing from the start, centered around two characters on opposite
00:45ends of the world who never interact with one another. The confusing premise was only made
00:50worse by the lacking execution, leading to it becoming a commercial and critical failure.
00:54Even Murphy himself has admitted that the project was weak, but that the compensation was too good
00:59to turn down, with the outcome being so bad that it led to a lull in his otherwise spotless career.
01:03I'm not in this wall! I'm from Cleveland!
01:09Number 19, The Apple. Not all musicals are created equal, though it had some potential The Apple
01:15quickly proved to be all concept and no substance. The film follows a young ingenue as she tries to
01:20navigate the music industry after signing to an evil label. It was also infused with several
01:25religious references from Adam and Eve to The Rapture.
01:27Take a little bite, spend this splendid night, in our garden of delight.
01:34Though interesting on paper, it proved to be much worse once it was actually created. Everything from the
01:38writing to the director's misunderstanding of the culture was dragged upon release, with some audiences
01:43even throwing the complimentary vinyls they'd received at the screen. What made things worse was that the
01:47director was convinced he'd made a fantastic movie, and the truth nearly drove him to the brink.
02:00Number 18, Caddyshack 2. Some sequels are so bad that you can't help but wonder who thought it would
02:05ever work out. The first Caddyshack is still beloved today, with a cult following that helped ensure its success.
02:10The sequel, unfortunately, can't say the same.
02:22Unlike the original, it had been given a PG rating, which severely limited the scope of jokes they could
02:27make. That was only the tip of the iceberg. Everything from the story to the jokes were done
02:32much worse the second time around, and not even a cast stacked with comedic legends could save it.
02:36Its director, Harold Ramis, even claimed to have snuck out of a viewing in embarrassment,
02:41making it clear just what he thought of his attempted follow-up.
02:51Number 17, Robo-Vampire. With a title like this, how much quality can you really expect?
02:56The success of RoboCop helped inspire others after it, some much more than others. The most egregious is
03:02Robo-Vampire, a 1988 Hong Kong release with an alarmingly similar plotline to the American film.
03:18Unfortunately for the latter, that's where the similarities between the two end.
03:21As if the stilted acting and clunky writing weren't unfortunate enough, the fight scenes were also inundated
03:27with poor special effects, making them unintentionally hilarious. The result was a confusing mess that
03:33not even the most staunch movie lover could defend. Though it's clear what it's trying to emulate,
03:37it missed the mark entirely.
03:47Number 16, Jaws 3D. The 80s were a time of attempted franchises, with plenty of examples that prove why
03:54some properties should remain untouched. The first Jaws is a masterpiece of filmmaking,
03:58which shows in its box office earnings and its lasting legacy. Unfortunately, the same can't be
04:03said for the sequels, the third in particular, named Jaws 3D, was a resounding disappointment,
04:08particularly due to the shoddy attempts at 3D effects that also failed to showcase the shark as much as
04:17they once did, which to some was the entire draw of the series. It was hard to believe that such a
04:29movie could have been in the same series as its iconic predecessor, or that it somehow led to
04:33another sequel being greenlit. Number 15, Tarzan the Ape Man. We'd recommend sticking to the animated
04:39version on this one. A film adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes had been famously produced in 1932,
04:50and just under 50 years later, an attempt to remake it failed on just about every level.
04:55The film was cursed from the very beginning, with the lead actor's stunt double suddenly having to
04:59take on the titular role following the former's departure. As if that weren't messy enough, it also
05:03focused heavily on the less-than-platonic relationship between Tarzan and Jane. It ended up coming across
05:08more ridiculous than it did sensual. The final scene in particular was so crude that the family of
05:13the original authors sued the studio, resulting in it being cut down by several minutes.
05:24Number 14, Teen Wolf 2. Not all critically panned sequels came from revered beginnings.
05:29Though the original Teen Wolf was admittedly silly and campy, the follow-up created just two years later
05:34failed to capture any of its charm.
05:43The 1987 movie focused on the original protagonist's cousin, played by Jason Bateman. It was a mess from
05:49beginning to end, and filled to the brim with cheesy effects and ridiculous sequences that caused it to
05:54drag on even longer. Even though it was a seemingly low bar to clear, they missed the mark entirely,
05:59and proved that not even campy films can automatically be turned into a successful series.
06:04Number 13, Grease 2. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. While the follow-up to the 1978 classic wasn't
06:15lacking in terms of music, it failed to bring much more than that. Several plot points from the original
06:20were reused in the follow-up, but without any of the charm found in the former.
06:23Given the quality of the soundtrack, a sequel could have potentially hit it out of the park,
06:34but instead, they unfortunately struck out. Michelle Pfeiffer managed to make it out with
06:38her blossoming career unscathed, and discussed years later that the movie being so heavily criticized
06:43ended up helping her in the long run.
06:45Number 12, Shanghai Surprise. There are some movies with themes
06:56so bizarrely offensive that you can't help but wonder who greenlit them in the first place.
07:00Shanghai Surprise, with its subplots revolving around opium and brothels, was exactly that.
07:04From now on, I'm gonna try like hell to live up to my obligations. I'll never be as good at it as you.
07:15Goodbye, Glendon.
07:16Led by Madonna and Sean Penn, both actors couldn't do much to save what was essentially a train wreck
07:21in film form. Between the similarities to other action movies and its misogynistic material,
07:26the whole project was a mess from beginning to end. Considering how stacked the cast and production
07:30team were, with a former Beatle even taking on the soundtrack, the picture managed to underutilize
07:35them all. But when you're looking for a rickshaw boy, the best person to ask is the rickshaw king.
07:40We'll take a taxi. Then we'll find the taxi king.
07:42Number 11, Bolero. It's sad when a film attempting to be provocative can't even succeed at that.
07:47The plot of Bolero is questionable at best, with it centering around a young woman traveling around
07:52the world in search of her first intimate partner. But only because it's been found to be the most
07:57practical way to make love. Oh, are you gonna kiss me?
08:03I thought I was. The story ended up being much more ridiculous than they anticipated. But even
08:08that wasn't enough to make it any less dry. Had they fully leaned into the silliness of the plot,
08:12it could have looped back around to being camp and even potentially finding a cult following. Instead,
08:16it was simply bad and failed to capture the hearts of even the most forgiving scenophiles.
08:20It was no surprise that William Shatner wanted to direct the next Star Trek movie since his
08:36co-star Leonard Nimoy had directed the previous two successful entries. Throughout the production,
08:41Shatner's ego would not let him give up, even if the film was plagued with problems. Creator Gene
08:46Roddenberry didn't like the script, co-stars opposed the premise, and the film went through multiple
08:50rewrites and cuts, including a complete revamp of the ending after horrible test screenings.
08:55Who is this creature? Who am I? Don't you know? Aren't you God?
09:00With sub-par effects, a bizarre story about searching for God in space, and Razzie awards for
09:05worst picture, director, and actor, it's easy to see why this entry almost killed the franchise.
09:10I thought I was going to die. Not possible. You were never alone.
09:15Number 9. Superman IV The Quest for Peace
09:18Here's another successful franchise that lost its way. Once the Superman film rights were passed on to
09:23the notoriously low-budget canon films, everyone screamed in unison, what were they thinking? The
09:28resultant disaster piece actually killed this franchise, as the world waited almost 20 years for a reboot.
09:34Superman.
09:36Critics agreed that the film was beyond boring, the effects were cheap looking,
09:46and all the actors seemed like they wished they were somewhere else. Christopher Reeve famously
09:50predicted to John Cryer that the movie was going to be terrible, and lo and behold,
09:54Superman himself was right. He didn't need superpowers to figure that out though.
10:05Number 8. Howling II Your Sister is a Werewolf The follow-up to the now-cult classic The Howling was
10:15such a mismatched disaster that audiences and critics were not sure if the studio was playing a joke on them.
10:19Don't you have any more conventional weapons? Oh yes. Also titanium.
10:26Barely following the original, the film's only saving grace was horror legend Christopher Lee's inclusion,
10:31although he later apologized to Joe Dante, the original film's director, for appearing in this terrible sequel.
10:37Come, my beloved Stefan. Let us take our fill of love.
10:44In the name of God.
10:49Despite all this and having originally been subtitled Werewolf Bitch, the horror flick spawned six more sequels.
10:55Number 7. Going Overboard
10:57Say what you want about Adam Sandler, but he had some great successes early in his career.
11:00This is why the world has chosen to forget his film debut, Going Overboard.
11:04Maybe I should use some like magical comedy phrase. I'll try that.
11:08Um, okay. Why'd the chicken cross the road?
11:12Nothing. Nah, no good.
11:14In this comedy, Sandler plays a crappy struggling comedian on a cruise ship that gets a chance to perform
11:18and succeeds after learning about the power of laughter. Then terrorists climb onto the ship to
11:23kill Miss Australia and Sandler's Shecky saves the day by offering to put them in a movie.
11:27This is the actual plot of this film. We are not making this up. So you can understand why it has
11:32thankfully fallen into obscurity.
11:34You're supposed to be dead!
11:35Dead, you stupid mother f***er! I'm not dead! I'm right here, I was locked in the bathroom, you stu-
11:43Number 6. Smokey and the Bandit Part 3
11:45Even established tried and true stories aren't safe. The initial installments of the Smokey and Bandit
11:50series were well received and still hold up relatively well in the modern era. The third part goes off the
11:54rails completely. For starters, the original star Burt Reynolds had been reduced to a mere cameo,
11:59with Jerry Reed taking over as the leading man.
12:01Never should have put me in this thing, brother!
12:05That was only the beginning of their problems. The running time was extended thanks to multiple
12:10shots from the original works, which only served to remind audiences how much better they were.
12:14The lazy execution reflected in the box office, with the third making only 7 million compared to the first
12:19intake of over 300 million.
12:24Number 5. Mac and Me
12:26We don't think anyone expected this feature-length McDonald's commercial disguised as an ET knockoff
12:30to be a masterpiece. But did it have to be so criminally mind-numbing? It was supposedly aimed at
12:35children, but it insulted even their intelligence. The only difference between Mac and Me and Spielberg's
12:39classic is that the main character uses a wheelchair and everyone is brought together at the end by the
12:43power of McDonald's hamburgers. Oh, and Coca-Cola too.
12:47It's okay. No one's gonna hurt you. Here's your baby. He brought us to you. Easy now. It's okay.
12:54The sci-fi adventure movie was rightfully a box office disaster, and its planned sequel was
12:58thankfully immediately canceled. At least it's given Paul Rudd and Conan O'Brien something to joke about.
13:03Just that I'm not in that tire ire. It's okay, I think it's just...
13:06Well, keep him busy, guys! Keep him busy!
13:09Number four, Leonard Part Six. No, this is not the sixth entry in a franchise, and yes,
13:14the entire world was confused by the title. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg of reasons
13:18why nobody went to see this comedy. Although denounced by Bill Cosby himself, who practically begged
13:23audiences not to see it, the spy movie parody was actually produced by and starred The Comedian.
13:27In the comedy, Cosby's supposed to be a James Bond type of operative trying to save the world from evil
13:32vegetarians by using meat as a weapon.
13:43It more than deserved its trio of Razzie awards for worst actor, screenplay, and picture, and was,
13:47for a time, considered to be the worst thing that Bill Cosby ever did.
13:50Number three, The Garbage Pail Kids movie. We still live in a Hollywood that can turn any
14:03product into a film, and while sometimes it works, such as with The Lego Movie, sometimes it doesn't.
14:08Battleship anyone? And sometimes you just try to imagine what the pitch meeting for some ideas
14:12looked like and if everyone was either asleep or drunk when they greenlit certain things.
14:16The Garbage Pail Kids were a brilliant and popular trading card series parodying the Cabbage Patch Kids
14:30dolls, but its film adaptation turned them into nightmare creatures. With terrible effects that
14:35make them unwatchable and gross-out humor that won't even make children laugh, this film's cult status is
14:39hard to swallow.
14:46Number two, King Kong Lives aka King Kong Part 2. While the 1976 remake was a box office success,
14:52this sequel falls short on every level. How can a King Kong movie be so boring?
15:04The plot revolves around the scientists that have been keeping Kong alive while he's in a coma after the
15:09monster fell from the Twin Towers. They give him an artificial heart and find a female Kong to give
15:13him a blood transfusion to save his life. Though it's not meant to be a comedy, King Kong Lives is
15:18laughable for all the wrong reasons. The 1933 original had better special effects than this.
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15:49Number one, Jaws the Revenge. In a world with sharknados and mutant piranhas, this movie's somehow the most
15:55laughable underwater monster movie. Well, at least it was in the 80s.
16:08Another franchise shot dead in the water, this fourth Jaws film asks the question that was on
16:12everybody's minds. What if sharks can hold grudges and somehow stalk a family across the country?
16:17This boring sequel expects us to believe that this shark wants revenge on the Brody family
16:21for killing the original Jaws and swims from New York to the Bahamas, looking boring and
16:26mechanical the whole way. And to think Michael Caine missed out on accepting his Oscar for Hannah
16:31and her sisters in order to shoot this disaster. When I come back, remind me to tell you about the
16:37time I took a hundred nan to the Nairobi. Which 80s film do you think was the biggest disappointment?
16:42Let us know in the comments below.
16:47This is the most part of the show.
16:55I've told you about to know,
16:59this is a game of impossible.
17:04What if you wanted to hear?
17:06Yeah!
17:07Is there a game of nozzly?
17:09That is a game of nozzly?
17:12This is the game of nozzly?
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