The Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, are an institution. While the Oscars are the bastion of quality filmmaking, the Razzies are the polar opposite. It’s meant to celebrate/humiliate some of the worst movies of a given year. Sometimes that negativity is justified, but other times, the Razzies beat up popular movies solely because they’re popular. Since the Razzies’ inception in 1981, dozens upon dozens of famous films have been nominated for Worst Picture, but a good number of those movies are not only good, but are also fan favorites.
With 2025 beginning to wind down and awards season getting closer and closer, let’s take a look at 10 of the most famous Worst Picture nominees or winners at the Razzies. Most of these films can be found on Netflix, Paramount+, and other streamers, so you can judge for yourself whether these 10 movies deserved a Razzie nomination or not.
Friday the 13th (1980)
As one of the first movies nominated for Worst Picture at the Razzies, very little needs to be said about the impact of Friday the 13th. While Halloween (1978) helped establish the modern-day slasher, Friday the 13th popularized it. When compared to other slashers, Friday the 13th is special thanks to the amount of tension and mystery surrounding the killings at Camp Crystal Lake.
Like all slashers, the kills are great, but they aren’t gratuitous like later entries in the series. But what was even more shocking was its double twist ending that, like Sleepaway Camp (1983), seared a horrifying final shot in the minds of audiences. That ending soured audiences back when it was first released, but the film, and franchise in general, has become a beloved icon of the horror industry. If you call yourself a fan of slashers and you haven’t seen Friday the 13th, rectify that mistake immediately.
Annie (1982)
Annie is a musical you either love or hate. Seeing a plucky young girl with a diabetes sweet voice singing may drive people up a wall, but it’s one hell of a lavish production. There’s a lot of money being thrown on-screen for Annie, and you can tell that Columbia was banking big on Annie’s success. That didn’t quite happen, mostly thanks to how bloated the budget became, but there’s a warmth to the film that’s impossible to replicate.
Say what you will about child actors, but Aileen Quinn made little orphan Annie a lovable icon for kids. She was her generation’s Matilda (1996), a spunky little girl who tries to do right but is ultimately just looking for a place to belong. This gives the film a heart, and over its two-hour and eight-minute runtime, there are plenty of songs that both parents and kids will love. It’s a family-friendly musical, and now that the Razzies have stopped ragging on child actors, maybe it will retroactively rescind any nominations Annie received.
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
The Razzies love to hate Sylvester Stallone. For decades, he was the go-to punching bag for the group. However, the only film of his that won Worst Picture was Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Rambo: First Blood Part II is undeniably a departure from the original film. While First Blood (1982) was an uncompromising look at Vietnam-era PTSD, Rambo: First Blood Part II trades in the psychological drama for action ripped straight from Commando (1985) or Missing in Action (1984). Did that undermine First Blood? Possibly, but that doesn’t change the fact that Rambo: First Blood Part II is an awesome action movie. It’s chock full of testosterone, explosions, and the kind of macho man jingoism that defined the ‘80s. If you want your action movies loud and aggressive, Rambo: First Blood Part II is for you. If you loved First Blood, maybe not as much.
The Bodyguard (1992)
Sometimes, the Razzies hate on a movie simply for being popular. It happened with most of the Twilight films, it happened with Rocky IV (1985), and it happened with The Bodyguard. While it was mocked by the Razzies for its schmaltzy romance and questionable chemistry between Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, nowadays, it’s a romantic classic.
If you love ‘90s romances like Ghost (1990) or Jerry Maguire (1996), then The Bodyguard hits all the right notes you would expect it to. Whitney Houston delivers an outstanding performance for a musician, and the legendary “I Will Always Love You” has become one of the most iconic film singles of all time. Plenty of moments in the film will make your heart skip a beat, but because it was one of the highest-grossing movies of 1992, it was a perfect punching bag for the Razzies. It may be cheesy seeing Costner take a bullet for Whitney, but lovers of romance will eat it up.
Newsies (1992)
If you were to tell a musical theater fan that there was a time when Newsies was hated, they’d think you’re lying. But for two decades, Newsies was seen as nothing but a failure. Making less than three million on a budget of 15 million dollars, Newsies was a commercial flop, mostly thanks to its hokey tone, campy presentation, and restrictive sets. However, if you’re the kind of person who values musical dance numbers like those in West Side Story (1961) or La La Land (2016), Newsies has some pretty impressive numbers.
Many of the songs are excellent dance showcases, and Christian Bale gives it his all every time he gets to sing. It does feel a bit long in the tooth at times, lasting a little more than two hours, but if you have kids who loved the musical or want to see a story about sticking it to the man, Newsies will rise to the occasion.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
If Friday the 13th popularized the concept of the slasher, then The Blair Witch Project popularized the found-footage movie, which helped pioneer a horror subgenre that has divided audiences ever since. Everything about The Blair Witch Project reeks of underground Indie filmmaking, and I mean that in the best way possible. There’s a grit and authenticity to The Blair Witch Project that is highly immersive and believable—replicated in later horror movies like Cloverfield (2008) and Paranormal Activity (2007).
Critics would say the movie feels directionless, and there’s merit to the criticisms. Not even the cast knew what was happening as they were filming it, plus repeat viewings lose a bit of the luster when you know where the scares are, but then again, that’s true for most horror movies. Taken on its own, The Blair Witch Project is just an 81-minute experimental horror film that horror fans should see at least once in their life.
Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars, as a franchise, has been through the ringer in the past decade. Say what you will about Disney’s tenure with the series, but George Lucas’ return to a galaxy far, far away in 1999 with Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace was just as polarizing for its time. Prequels are always tricky to pull off, and The Phantom Menace succeeds in some areas but fails in others. The focus on pod racing, tacky CGI, and attempts to explain series lore were questionable at best, but when you compare it to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), they’re minor infractions.
When The Phantom Menace is on point, it soars. The score has become iconic and is one of the best scores by the legendary John Williams. The lightsaber battles are wonderful, and the confrontation with Darth Maul ranks as one of the best fights in all of cinema. It’s the black sheep of the series, to be sure, but if you like Star Wars, you’ll find at least something to appreciate about The Phantom Menace.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
If you want to talk about divisive films, look no further than Zack Snyder’s tenure at DC Comics. The DCEU, under his supervision, had box office successes (sometimes), but critically split audiences right down the middle. Case in point, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The story of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice may be a bit of a mess, and fans of Superman may want to steer away from his confused depiction here, but the focus on hand-to-hand fight scenes gives the film a certain punch that other Snyder movies don’t have. Not only that, but Ben Affleck’s depiction of Bruce Wayne offers up a more grizzled take on the character that would feel more at home in Watchmen (2009). It’s not surprising to see it get nominated for Worst Picture, but if you want a superhero movie that isn’t afraid to question DC’s most popular characters, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice gets the job done.
Pinocchio (2022)
Disney live-action remakes have a mixed reception, to say the least. Sometimes they’re inventive, like The Jungle Book (2016), and other times, they’re content to play it safe, much like Pinocchio. After decades in production hell, you can tell Disney wanted Pinocchio to look impressive. With the amount of highly detailed sets and costumes, it satisfies the eyes in the same way that Oz does in Wicked (2024). That being said, for a movie about a young boy growing a conscious, there’s a distinct lack of soul in the film.
Sure, Tom Hanks provides a lot of empathy as Geppetto, but Pinocchio himself feels like a parody of the original 1940 version, a squeaky clean approximation of the character with all of his rough edges sanded away. It’s still a solid introduction for children, but when it releases in the same year as the much more interesting and thematically rich Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022), can you really blame the Razzies for lampooning this version?
Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
If you were to say that Joker (2019) was a Razzie nominee, people would have laughed in your face. But five years later, hearing that Joker: Folie à Deux was nominated for a Razzie wasn’t as much of a shock.
Joker: Folie à Deux is incredibly reliant on how much you like the original Joker. Even then, it weirdly both embraces its status as a sequel and rejects the fans of the original, most infamously when the film decides to become a musical for its two-hour and eighteen-minute runtime. It’s a strange mixture to be sure, with some scenes channeling the zing and pop of musicals like Chicago (2002) only to shift into a serious psychological deconstruction straight out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), but for some, that may be enough. The jazzy score and aesthetics are perfect for old souls, and its still great for generating discussions amongst cinephiles.
