How Many of the Worst Movies in the 2000s Did You See?

The 2000s ushered in a movie era shaped by CGI, 9-11, superheroes, remakes, reboots, and 3D. Unfortunately, many of these films missed the mark and have aged even worse.

For every The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter spectacle that arrived post-Y2K, there was a too-late sequel (Basic Instinct 2), a lame spoof (Disaster Movie), or an all-around atrocity (Gigli, Glitter, The Happening, Alone in the Dark).

There were many terrible movies released in the aughts, but these are some of the most egregious offenders. How many did you survive seeing in the theater or later on home video?

Son of the Mask (2005)

Son of the Mask is the second — and, mercifully, final — installment of The Mask franchise. The comedy stars Jamie Kennedy as Tim Avery, whose son is born with the power of the Mask.

In 1994’s hit movie The Mask, Jim Carrey stars as the zoot suit-wearing titular trickster imbued with the power to alter his appearance and surroundings at will. Eleven years later, the sequel no one asked for bombed at the box office. Critics commented that Son of the Mask “sorely missed the presence of Jim Carrey” and dismissed the sequel as “loud,” “dumb,” and “painfully unfunny.”

Son of the Mask got nominated for eight Razzies, winning for Worst Prequel or Sequel. Don’t hold your breath for Grandson of the Mask to go into production anytime soon.

The Happening (2008)

M. Night Shyamalan directed this sci-fi “thriller” about a mysterious natural event prompting people to take their own lives. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as high school science teacher — not gym teacher — Elliot Moore.

Sixteen years after The Happening‘s release, it’s not a spoiler to warn potential viewers that the villain in this movie is vegetation. Yes, trees strike back for being turned into paper bags — or something — and emit a chemical that drives people to end their miserable, eco-unfriendly lives. Time lamented that The Sixth Sense director Shyamalan “lost the touch” while other critics shrugged the movie off as “unconvincing trifle.”

Although some have reevaluated The Happening as a B movie, Wahlberg himself admitted in 2010 to Entertainment Weekly that it was nothing more than “a really bad movie.” Unsurprisingly, The Happening represents the beginning and end of Wahlberg’s on-screen relationship with Shyamalan.

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

Basic Instinct 2 arrived in 2006 — 14 years after Basic Instinct made Sharon Stone an international star. In the sequel, Stone reprises her role as crime-mystery author Catherine Tramell, a woman police suspect is a serial killer who finds herself again in trouble with the law.

When MGM threatened to pull the plug on Basic Instinct 2, Stone said she was promised at least $14 million for the sequel and sued. MGM eventually made the film, Stone got her payday, and audiences got an uninspired and unsexy sequel that didn’t come close to having the cultural impact of the original. Critics referred to Basic Instinct 2 as “god-awful,” with director Michael Caton-Jones later describing the filming of Basic Instinct 2 as a “painful experience.”

Basic Instinct 2 cleaned up at the Razzies, winning Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Prequel or Sequel. The movie’s abysmal box office killed any instinct to make Basic Instinct 3.

Glitter (2001)

In the romantic musical drama/shameless vanity project Glitter, pop star Mariah Carey plays an aspiring singer working as a club dancer.

No matter what you think of Carey’s music or her reputation as a diva, even Carey herself calls Glitter the biggest regret of her career. The clichéd mess of a movie bombed at the box office and Carey soon returned to her day job of making schmaltzy Christmas jingles that you cannot escape. Some movies are so bad that they’re funny (Showgirls, Mommie Dearest), but watching Glitter is strictly for masochists.

Glitter got nominated for six Razzies, with Carey winning for Worst Actress. The lesson here for aspiring singers turn actors: stay in your lane.

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)

This prequel to 1994’s Dumb and Dumber stars Derek Richardson and Eric Christian Olsen as Harry and Lloyd, respectively, and is about the dim-witted characters meeting in high school. The original movie stars Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey as the goofy pals.

Dumb and Dumberer is yet another example of prequel or sequel to a hit movie starring Jim Carrey that opted to not rehire Carrey. As a result, Richardson and Olsen kept getting compared to Daniels and Carrey, and the general consensus became that replacing the original stars was, well, dumb.

Critics overwhelming disliked the lame humor of the Razzie-nominated prequel, and Dumb and Dumberer didn’t come close to matching the original’s box office take.

Gigli (2003)

The romantic crime comedy Gigli stars Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who were romantically involved at the time, split soon after, and are now married. Martin Brest, who directed Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman, never directed a feature film again after Gigli, which should tell you all you need to know.

Gigli is one of the most notorious box office bombs of all time, costing at least $54 million and making only $7.3 million worldwide. Critics called the film a “disaster” and commented on the lack of chemistry between real-life couple Affleck and Lopez, who broke up a year after Gigli‘s release only to reconnect and remarry in 2022.

Whether or not Affleck and Lopez make their marriage work, they won’t be working on Gigli Part Deux. The first Gigli grabbed all the top Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screen Couple.

Disaster Movie (2008)

Disaster Movie parodies turn-of-the-century disaster films, which became very popular right before Y2K. Kim Kardashian made her feature-film debut in the aptly named Disaster Movie.

For a while in the late ’90s and aughts, every filmmaker thought they could replicate the success of the Scary Movie franchise, which spoofed horror movies, by spoofing other genres. Whereas Anna Faris and Regina Hall deliver laughs in the first four Scary Movie flicks, Disaster Movie is little more than a bunch of loosely connected lame gags and flatulence jokes that poke fun at movies such as Twister, The Day After Tomorrow, and Cloverfield.

Disaster Movie rocks a disastrous 1% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and Empire ranks it at number 14 on its list of the 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.

Catwoman (2004)

Catwoman stars Halle Berry as Patience Phillips, a graphic designer who channels her inner Catwoman after uncovering a conspiracy within the cosmetics company she works for that could have worldwide health implications. Sharon Stone vamps it up as the wife of Hedare Beauty’s owner.

Instead of making a sequel to Batman Returns with Michelle Pfeiffer reprising her iconic role as Catwoman, Warner Bros. must have ingested too much catnip and green-lit this embarrassing stand-alone movie instead. Critics treated Catwoman like week-old kitty litter and the movie failed to make back its budget at the box office.

Catwoman made the Razzies purr and won several awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay. Razzie “winners” rarely appear in person to accept their award, but Berry showed up with her Best Actress Oscar in hand and gave a short speech, describing Catwoman as a “god-awful movie.” Meow!

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Based upon the 1982 novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, the sci-fi epic Battlefield Earth stars Scientologist John Travolta as Terl, the security chief for the cruel alien occupiers known as Psychlos.

Despite being made with serious intentions by people who believe in Scientology, Battlefield Earth comes across as campy, silly, and filled with subpar special effects that just don’t cut it for audiences who grew up watching Star Wars and Star Trek movies. Bad word of mouth put a swift end to Battlefield Earth‘s losing box office battle. The sci-fi stinker also stalled Travolta’s career comeback that began with 1994’s Pulp Fiction.

Battlefield Earth won a whopping eight of its nine nominations for Golden Raspberries, including Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Actor (for Travolta), Worst Screenplay, and Worst Screen Couple for Travolta and “anyone sharing the screen with him.”

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Uwe Boll directed this action-horror film based on the video game series of the same name. Alone in the Dark stars Christian Slater, Tara Reid, and Stephen Dorff as paranormal investigators.

No discussion of the worst movies of the 2000s is complete without giving German director Boll the recognition he richly deserves. Although his 2000 movies such as House of the Dead and BloodRayne could have easily made this list, Alone in the Dark stands apart and is considered one of the worst movies ever made. Entertainment Weekly described the movie as “so bad it’s postmodern.” Although Alone in the Dark fails on every level as a thriller, it works as an unintentional comedy for some.

Despite failing at the box office and getting nominated for two Razzies, a sequel followed in 2008 that had a different story and cast. Boll served as producer on Alone in the Dark II, which got slightly less hostile reviews than the notorious original.