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Top 10 Disappointing Movies That Should Have Been Great
Sometimes, even with a great cast, massive budget, and fan hype — movies still fail. In this countdown, we’re listing the Top 10 films that had everything going for them... and still turned out TERRIBLE. From Suicide Squad to Batman v Superman, these movies missed the mark hard and left audiences frustrated.
🔥 Whether it was a bad script, poor editing, or wasted potential, these flops had people asking: "How did this go so wrong?"
💬 Did one of your most anticipated films end up on this list? Let us know in the comments!
Sometimes, even with a great cast, massive budget, and fan hype — movies still fail. In this countdown, we’re listing the Top 10 films that had everything going for them... and still turned out TERRIBLE. From Suicide Squad to Batman v Superman, these movies missed the mark hard and left audiences frustrated.
🔥 Whether it was a bad script, poor editing, or wasted potential, these flops had people asking: "How did this go so wrong?"
💬 Did one of your most anticipated films end up on this list? Let us know in the comments!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00There's not a paper in town that will hire me.
00:02You should have thought of that earlier.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:06And today we're looking at failed potential
00:08by counting down our picks
00:10for those really bad movies
00:12that truly could have been great.
00:14I love you.
00:15I know.
00:17No.
00:18You can't say that.
00:20Number 10. Suicide Squad.
00:23Oh, I'm not gonna kill you.
00:25I'm just gonna hurt you.
00:28Really, really bad.
00:32Come on.
00:33How could a movie about a team of supervillains
00:35coming together to save the world
00:37with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn not be great?
00:41Well, 2016's Suicide Squad managed to do just that.
00:45Despite having stars, a big budget, and plenty of fan excitement,
00:49it fell completely flat.
00:51What, we some kind of Suicide Squad?
00:54I'll notify your next of kin.
00:56And you know how we know this movie could have been good?
00:59Because they made a much better Suicide Squad film just a few years later.
01:03While this 2016 installment scored a paltry 26% on Rotten Tomatoes,
01:082021's The Suicide Squad stands at an impressive 90%.
01:13Even the first film's spin-off, Birds of Prey, with Margot Robbie front and center,
01:19was more creative and interesting, earning a solid 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.
01:249.
01:36Downsizing
01:39To make an excellent film, you pretty much need three key elements.
01:52Great actors, a visionary director, and a fantastic original concept.
01:582017's Downsizing appeared to have all three, with award-winning actor Matt Damon, award-winning director Alexander Payne,
02:05and a unique idea about a man shrinking himself to start life in a new experimental community.
02:11It's all pretty clear.
02:13I really wish you'd taken her first offer.
02:16I know.
02:17Alright, well, just step back a little.
02:20I want you to get hurt.
02:21However, this film, which should have been universally acclaimed, ended up polarizing both audiences and critics.
02:28While almost everyone praised the originality and ambitious ideas, opinions diverged on how effectively Payne brought those ideas to life.
02:38Is that a rose?
02:40Yeah.
02:41A real rose?
02:43Where'd you get a real rose?
02:46It's a new store, a full-size flower mart.
02:498.
02:50Aragon
02:51It wasn't always like this, was it?
02:55There was a time when our land flourished without cruelty and fear.
03:00This one is pretty straightforward.
03:02Aragon should have been a good movie, because it's based on a great book.
03:06Granted, we acknowledge that the history of cinematic adaptations of books is filled with failures, but that doesn't mean they all lack the potential to be great.
03:16In the case of Aragon, though, there was potential.
03:19Listen, they killed him, but they were after him.
03:22If we stay here, we're both dead.
03:24Now get on that horse.
03:25However, all of that was wiped away by a lazy screenplay that strayed so far away from its source material, it lost all the fantasy and awe that many readers came to love it for.
03:36Critics and die-hard fans heavily panned the film after its release, resulting in the planned trilogy being cancelled.
03:43I didn't ask for any of this.
03:45But you were chosen, nevertheless.
03:47A dragon will only hatch if it feels the presence of its rider.
03:51It'll wait forever if it has to.
03:54What he says is true.
03:57Number 7.
03:58The Black Dahlia
04:00Dwight, was it you were them?
04:05He saved my life.
04:07Few directors have experienced as many ups and downs in their careers as Brian De Palma.
04:12This is the guy behind classics like Carrie, Scarface, and The Untouchables.
04:17But he was also responsible for flops like The Bonfire of the Vanities, Snake Eyes, and, arguably his worst, The Black Dahlia.
04:26That's a new one.
04:29Homicide.
04:31Let's try Elizabeth Short and Lorna Mertz.
04:33I know you knew them, so don't jerk me off, otherwise it's downtown and a whole lot of publicity.
04:37Based on one of the most infamous unsolved murders in U.S. history, this had the potential to be a great film noir under De Palma's direction.
04:45Unfortunately, a mediocre script and lackluster performances from stars like Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson led to its downfall.
04:53Bobby Dwight's probably in L.A. by now.
04:56Lee always said I'd be safe.
05:01You will be.
05:03Had the original director, David Fincher, remained on the project, it might have been as well received as the crime thriller he made instead, Zodiac.
05:12Number 6.
05:14Timeline
05:15These are your personal markers, you wear them around your neck.
05:17You can use any one of them to call for your return at any time.
05:20Frank will explain the intricacies of how they work once you arrive.
05:23Most importantly, one marker will bring all of you back.
05:27Do not lose them.
05:28Exhilarating Entertainment was how Entertainment Weekly described Timeline, the novel, that is.
05:35Now, that's a good place to start when making a movie based on a book, right?
05:39Especially since it was written by Michael Crichton.
05:42Yes, the same author of Jurassic Park.
05:45Once this platform is fixed, even if the markers have run out, we can still send someone else back to get them, right?
05:52Josh, the only thing holding the wormhole open is their markers.
05:55To top that off, it was set to be helmed by director Richard Donner, known for making quality adventure and action films like the first Superman movie and the Lethal Weapon franchise.
06:05However, despite these promising foundations, the film adaptation of Timeline turned out to be a major disappointment.
06:12Not only did it end up with a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score and a C-plus audience grade, it also lost nearly $50 million at the box office.
06:21Last time I saw him, he was running like hell with his marker for an open space.
06:25I was on the ground, three arrows in me.
06:28I used to be William Decker, ITC employee number 273.
06:36Number five.
06:37Don't worry, darling.
06:39Don't get me started.
06:40It's just not what we want.
06:42We're having fun.
06:43I live next door, you wouldn't believe the things I've heard.
06:46It's like they're on a perpetual honeymoon.
06:48Olivia Wilde's directorial debut was the highly praised 2019 film Booksmart.
06:54Following its success, anticipation grew for her next project, sparking a bidding war for what became 2022's Don't Worry Darling.
07:03With Wilde as the director and acclaimed actress Florence Pugh in the lead, the film had a promising start.
07:09We're all here because we believe in the mission, yes.
07:13We have jobs, too, that are just as important, just as vital, what we do at home, supporting them, taking care of them.
07:20Without that, they couldn't be out there changing the world.
07:22So, what went wrong?
07:25Well, in many of the reviews, Harry Styles' name comes up a lot, and not in a good way.
07:31While Shia LaBeouf was originally cast as the male lead, he was later fired, or quit depending on who you ask, and replaced with Styles.
07:40Critics described the singer and actor as outmatched, utterly and helplessly adrift, and the weak link.
07:47Would LaBeouf have saved the film?
07:49Guess we'll never know.
07:50Let's have a baby.
07:51What?
07:52Stop right now.
07:53Look, I love you.
07:54And I want more of you.
07:56No.
07:57Look, I love you.
07:58And I want more of you.
08:02Number 4.
08:03Tomorrowland
08:05After the critical and commercial success of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, there were probably some who doubted Brad Bird could make the transition to live action movies.
08:28Then, he made Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, and it looked like he could do anything.
08:33That is, until Tomorrowland.
08:35Alright, that's enough.
08:40With a budget of almost $200 million, the studio clearly expected a hit, especially with Bird behind the camera and George Clooney in front of it.
08:49But while the film is visually appealing and full of promise, the end result just never quite matched its ambitions.
08:56If you need proof that Spider-Man 3 could and should have been really good, just look at the two films that preceded it.
09:24Spider-Man was great and its 2002 sequel is often regarded as one of the best superhero movies of all time.
09:31With the main cast returning and Sam Raimi directing again, Spider-Man 3 seemed destined for greatness.
09:38We can find a way to settle this.
09:40You're so right.
09:41I'm thinking humiliation.
09:44Kind of like how you humiliated me.
09:48However, whatever potential it had was seemingly compromised when Raimi was pressured by producer Avi Arad to add Venom to the script.
09:57This character was not included in Raimi's original vision, and the addition made the film, which already had two villains, seem crowded.
10:05For many critics, this was what really undermined the movie.
10:09Parker, you are such a boy scout.
10:11When are you gonna give a guy a break?
10:15You want forgiveness?
10:17Get religion.
10:18Let's go!
10:19Number 2.
10:20The Last Airbender.
10:21The guy who directed The Sixth Sense might not seem like an obvious choice to turn a beloved Nickelodeon fantasy action show into a movie, but that's exactly what production houses Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon movies decided to do.
10:44And hey, working with Emmy and Peabody award-winning source material surely puts a great movie within reach.
10:50You know, my grandma thinks because you're an airbender that you could be the avatar.
10:55How much does a fire initiate control?
11:00A lot of villages in the Earth Kingdom, like around here.
11:04But not only did Shyamalan not reach greatness, he went the other way and made what many have called one of the worst movies of all time.
11:12Similarly, the excellent Dragon Ball manga series was poorly adapted into the terrible 2009 movie Dragon Ball Evolution, another strong contender for the worst of all time title.
11:25What are you doing here, Geeko?
11:27I'm just going to the party.
11:29Look, I was invited.
11:31I'm not looking for any trouble.
11:33Trouble found you, freak?
11:34Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
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11:491.
11:50Batman Vs.
11:52Dawn of Justice
11:54At the risk of angering the Zack Snyder fans out there, the rest of us can all agree that Batman Vs.
12:14Dawn of Justice could have been amazing but ultimately fell short.
12:19Come on, the first live-action film featuring both Batman and Superman together?
12:24That has potential greatness written all over it.
12:26Who's that?
12:27You must be new to the Let Them Eat Cake beat.
12:30That is Bruce Wayne.
12:32It's like when Robert De Niro and Al Pacino appeared on screen together for the first time in Heat.
12:38Except that one lived up to and exceeded our great expectations.
12:43That's an interesting point.
12:45What are you, a monk?
12:47In contrast, Batman Vs.
12:49Superman had a barely coherent script, was bereft of any emotional weight and failed to
12:54properly develop its characters.
12:56In fact, the only good thing this film gave us was the Save Martha meme.
13:01Do you know any other promising movies that failed to live up to your expectations?
13:06Share them with us in the comments.
13:20.
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