mxdwn’s Top 10 Most Disappointing Films Of 2025

Taste is completely subjective, what makes one work of art a fantastic unforgettable experience for one person may make it unpalatable or repulsive to another. Like food, something just spoils in the fridge sometimes, or it’s just nasty by construction a thing so niche it couldn’t even qualify as a regional dish, like a good reheated, week old, cardboardy slice of pizza. Some people may actually like and adore it despite it being a small percentage. Sometimes you want that cardboard pizza that may or may not have actually started in your fridge but most of the time you won’t because you’re not that hungry.

Sometimes movies are like that, a reheated barely held together stiff cardboard pizza, good in a pinch but at the same time overall a disappointing experience that could have been a great warm thing fresh out the oven. These films and filmmakers did not ‘cook’ but a thing was certainly made, and while there is some joy and fun to be had the overall experience our writers walked away from these films with was disappointment.

As per tradition this is mxdwn’s top 10 most disappointing films of 2025.

10. HIM

It felt rushed. The third act would have benefited from 20-30 more minutes of screen time to fully develop the motivations of its characters and the patterns and rituals that surrounded the characters’ transformations

– Amani Sanders

9. The Monkey

The Monkey: I really like Osgood Perkin’s as a director because I feel like he has great conceptual ideas for his movies, but his execution of those ideas can seem a bit off. The thing that he does utilize well is Tatiana Maslany as she is the saving grace of this film, her performance as Lois gives the film the unhinged tone that the Stephen King short story encompasses so well.

– Mallery McKay 

8. Shelby Oaks

Shelby Oaks- has its moments, but can’t keep itself together. I’m glad it got released for the sake of Chris Stuckmann, and I’ll gladly support anything that he does in the future, but the film loses any sense of identity after the first 20 or so minutes.

– Raymond Adams

7. Wicked: For Good

Wicked: For Good was the most disappointing movie of the year. As someone who wasn’t invested in the Broadway show, I found the original Wicked film to be a life-changing experience. The songs, the performances, and the overall journey were breathtaking. Unfortunately, this year, the lackluster visuals, uneven direction, and absence of engaging songs stood out more than anything else.

– Samantha Breslauer

6. Materialist

Materialists had the potential to be a modern day whimsical Jane Austen story, but takes a dramatic turn into stark reality that it never returns from. It’s like riding a rollercoaster where someone is holding a gun to your head the whole time. Celine Song wants us to have fun with the Pedro Pascal plot line, but keeps reminding us of the threat of male violence. It’s an impossible needle to thread.

– Dempson Juvenal

Most disappointing movies this year was probably Materialists. The performances for the Star studded cast were a bit disappointing but most of the narrative was off all and spread broke boy Propaganda. ALTHOUGH I am from Boston and Chris Evans can do no wrong, the narrative was so horrible and unrealistic. Where was the cinematography and the emotional depth. from Past lives. Makes me wonder if Celine Song has another one in her. (Being Dramatic, of course she does.)

– Maysam Khan

5. Mission Impossible Final Reckoning

‘Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning’ serves as a middling capstone to one of the most consistent modern action franchises. It’s sad to see this one slip up because of how strong the legacy of these films is, but it missed the mark. The film is long and drawn out with very little action. It’s cluttered with too many characters and plotlines, and it somehow fails to be a satisfying part 2 to ‘Dead Reckoning’ and a finale for the series. Of all the lackluster blockbuster films this year, this one let me down the most.

– Justin Brayer

4. Minecraft

The Minecraft movie because I loved Minecraft as a kid I was disappointed how the acting was the set was amazing but the acting I didn’t like how it is was written.

– Liv Hurd

3. Opus

I was so disappointed in Opus. I love Ayo Edibiri and I love seeing John Malkovich in his odd roles but this film delivered none of that. It instead came off as another generic boring cult movie that offered no reason to really exist. Malkovich portrays a musician with a cult following but there’s really no interesting story behind it besides he likes to wear shiny gold costumes.

– Dante Estrada

2. Capitan America Brave New World

Captain America: Brave New World was one of the least impressive movies out of the entire catalog made thus far. Many years were spent setting the table for Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson fully becoming the new Captain America in the wake of Steve Rogers formally hanging up his shield. The end result is a film that seems over confident, kind of messy, and wasting the spectacular talents of Harrison Ford, Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson on parts that felt all somehow toothless in their respective villainy. The film feels like an expectation of success rather than the work put in to make Sam Wilson truly feel like this era’s Captain America. Considering all the elements that were brought in, it’s surprisingly hard to watch.

– Raymond Flotat

1. The Running Man

The Running Man was easily my most anticipated film of the year. Glen Powell and Edgar Wright are remaking one of my all time favorites? SIGN ME UP!

Wright is at an all time low, with action scenes feeling lackluster, themes feeling half-baked, and some of the worst pacing I’ve experience in a theatre this year. The last 45 minutes feel both too long and not long enough? The Running Man (2025) felt like a last minute school project done by the most creative people in class. Sure there’s some cool stuff here and there, but it just barely makes a B+.

– Austin Waybright

The Running Man should’ve been a slam dunk for me considering the talent involved and the source material to draw from, but this one wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as it could’ve been. Edgar Wright’s voice felt lost in the production, most of the film devoid of his singular visual flourishes, and tone is imbalanced to say the least, often vacillating between popcorn flick and a drama infused with biting social commentary. Powell keeps it afloat, but the fact the film ended up being so forgettable is immensely disappointing.

– Tom Chatalbash