Paramount Pictures’ 1976 sports comedy film, “The Bad News Bears,” was a moderately successful movie that went on to spawn two sequels and a short-lived CBS TV show. The original movie received a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site’s official critical consensus calling it rude, profane, and cynical while praising its honest humor. All hell broke loose when sequel number two, “The Bad News Bears Go to Japan,” was released.
The film received a 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also failed to feature almost any of the original cast, which only infuriated fans of the original even more. The original film’s 2005 remake received mixed reviews and even lost a bit of money, which caused the studios to promptly scrap the franchise for the foreseeable future.
Jaws: The Revenge
Steven Spielberg’s shark-horror film "Jaws" became a cult classic and created a massive shark panic when it was first released in the mid-70s. The franchise has since been subverted and stretched beyond any imagination, with the fourth film, "Jaws: The Revenge," taking the cake when it comes to ridiculous money-grabbing sequels.
This is truly one of those films that should have never been made. It starred the legendary actor Michael Caine, who probably needed the extra money at the time to agree to participate in such a film. It's been criticized for being illogical, lacking any tension, and having some of the worst special effects you could find at the time.
Precious Cargo
Bruce Willis has been a darling of action flicks for more decades than some millennials have even been alive. When unknown Canadian director, Max Adams, approached the star to perform in his 2016 action film "Precious Cargo," Willis thought little about the matter and joined the production. The film was since been heavily berated on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving a 0% rating from 21 reviewers.
Critics called it a rip-off, a lazy and sloppy film, and even a contender for the dullest heist film of all time. One reviewer went as far as to call it “An absolute waste of time and an insult to action cinema.” Fortunately, Willis has managed to make a dazzling recovery.
The Slugger’s Wife
You'd think that a sweet rom-com about a basketball star who falls in love with a singer would turn out decently, right? A 1985 film tried out that exact premise, and it happened to fail miserably. "The Slugger's Wife" was directed by Hal Ashby, who received three Oscar nominations in the '70s. However, "The Slugger’s Wife" was a huge commercial and critical failure.
It received a 0% from Rotten Tomatoes and was absolutely berated by critics. Many of the negative reviews came from what they considered "horrible casting choices," as well as the film being extremely tame, predictable, and unfunny. The film's song, "Oh, Jimmy!" was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
As we've mentioned before, the Police Academy franchise is a great example of why profits sometimes beat common decency in Hollywood. The first film was brilliant and original, and the studio was excused from making a sequel to try and test the waters. Despite negative reviews, Warner Bros. decided to give the green light on yet another sequel, which resulted in a total of six abysmal sequels, each one considered worse than its predecessor.
"Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" was the second to last attempt at milking the Police Academy franchise. The film received a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and performed poorly at the box office. The studios made the film only 84 minutes long, showing that they had an inkling that it would be best if this horrible excuse for a film ended as quickly as possible.