Whether they were offensive, sickening, or just plain boring,
these science fiction movies had viewers walking out long before the credits rolled.
Despite being a billion-dollar franchise, the "Transformers" films have never been without
their throngs of critics who roundly reject them as poorly written excuses to splash big-budget
effects all over the screen. Horror legend Stephen King once famously remarked on Twitter that the
first "Transformers" was the only movie he'd ever walked out on. But it's the second "Transformers"
movie, "Revenge of the Fallen," that seems to have drawn most people's ire online.
On Reddit, "Revenge of the Fallen" regularly pops up in topics where users ask what movies
people walked out on. With a thin story, several extremely annoying characters,
and an excessive runtime of two and a half hours, it's no surprise viewers wanted out early.
"Now that's rude."
But before you jump to blaming
director Michael Bay, know that he might not have been entirely at fault.
Just before production on the film was set to kick off, the Writer's Guild of America went on strike,
forcing Bay and his team into a crunch to deliver a script. According to Bay himself,
they had just three weeks to turn in a story. And with that, the whole thing makes a lot more
sense. Although even star Shia LaBeouf criticized the film for lacking heart,
it still wound up with nearly $900 million in box office receipts.
Today, the 1968 sci-fi epic "2001: A Space Odyssey" is seen as one of the most groundbreaking
films in the genre. Directed by the legendary Stanley Kubrick, its impact on science fiction is
immeasurable, with countless cinephiles hailing it as a breathtaking achievement in cinema. However,
there are just as many people, both then and now, who hate the movie for its slow,
plodding, and often dialogue-free story. Audiences have been baffled by the film
for decades — and when it was initially released, that befuddlement led many to outright reject it.
If reports are to be believed, the premiere of "2001" in New York saw not
just individual walk-outs — not even dozens — but nearly 250 disgruntled
patrons exit the screening. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a separate screening in
Los Angeles led to a similar exodus, with star actor Rock Hudson allegedly asking,
"What is this bulls—?"
Reviews of the film were decidedly mixed, with some lauding the film for its scope, scale,
and jaw-dropping visual storytelling. However, just as many people heaped hate on the movie,
calling it a slow drag that went nowhere and achieved nothing.
Writer, actor, and director David Cronenberg is no stranger to films so grotesque that they
repulse movie-goers. As the master of body horror, that's kind of his bread and butter.
From his earliest films like "The Brood" and "Videodrome" to the mainstream hit "The Fly,"
Cronenberg has always reveled in his trademark nausea-inducing visuals. Given his track record,
a wave of walk-outs for his 2022 film "Crimes of the Future" could have easily been predicted
by anyone. And it was … by Cronenberg himself. The filmmaker told Deadline,
"There are some very strong scenes. I mean, I'm sure that we will have walkouts within the first
five minutes of the movie. I'm sure of that. Some people who have seen the film have said that they
think the last 20 minutes will be very hard on people and that there'll be a lot of walkouts."
"I am making the movie
first for myself, and then for an audience. I don't really know what that audience is."
The film, starring Viggo Mortenson, Lea Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart, is a sci-fi body horror flick
in which humans undergo painful malformations to adapt to their new artificial environments.
Sure enough, there were plenty of audience members who left the theater in disgust — at least
according to The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan on Twitter. It's certainly not the first time for
the director, whose explosive movie "Scanners' was said to have prompted similar walk-outs.
Remember how Stephen King said that the only movie he ever walked out
on was "Transformers?" That means he must not have seen the sequel to one of his own films:
"The Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace." We can say that with confidence, too,
as King himself hated the first movie so much he sued the studio to have his name removed from
the credits. The sequel was even worse, taking a simple thriller and turning it into mind-numbing
schlock — and sure enough, many audience members didn't feel compelled to stick around.
As a cheaply made, quickly slapped-together follow-up, "Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace"
is an overly complex, poorly acted film with embarrassing special effects. Needless to say,
it really isn't worth finishing. Critic Stacy Richter for the Tucson Weekly knew
something was wrong right from the get-go, as the screening she attended had just four
other patrons present. Little did she know just how bad it would be. She ended
up doing the unthinkable: she walked, something forbidden for a movie critic.
Richter wasn't the only one; anecdotes can be found all
over the web of horrified viewers who switched the sequel off before it ended.
Released in 2008, the J.J. Abrams-produced "Cloverfield" landed in cinemas with
great fanfare. The film was promoted with a groundbreaking viral marketing campaign, though it
was a classic monster movie in every sense, just with a modern twist. Filmed in a handheld style,
"Cloverfield" wowed audiences with its story of a world-ending monster that rises from the ocean to
destroy New York City. Unfortunately, not all audiences could make it all the way through.
This time, however, it wasn't because it was bad, boring, or even confusing.
There was actual science behind it: some moviegoers were affected by the jittery,
shaky nature of the found footage film, and many walked out due to motion sickness.
"Cloverfield" is far from the only movie to prompt such walk-outs. Neill Blomkamp's
"District 9" was said to have induced a few similar reactions, but they were a drop in a
bucket compared to the widespread problems seen during screenings of "Cloverfield." ABC News,
CNN, and other outlets all covered audience members' bouts of nausea,
prompting WebMD to publish a report about the phenomenon.
"I don't feel so good."
A decade before the "Cloverfield" monster reached the shores of New York,
Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin tried to do the same thing with "Godzilla" by
bringing the iconic Japanese kaiju across the pond. Reviews were unkind, to say the least,
as critics lambasted 1998's "Godzilla" as a dumbed-down, over-the-top FX spectacle with no
soul and far too much bluster. Actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who wore the Godzilla suit in the
1980s-era Toho films, said he walked out of the American remake — and many others did the same.
All over forums online, you'll find diehard fans of "Godzilla" who claim to have exited
the theater mid-movie. Criticisms range from jabs at Godzilla's iguana-like redesign to
complaints about the poor acting and plodding story. One Reddit user put it nicely, saying,
"Incredibly boring, boring enough that even though
I was a poor kid I was happy to lose the money I spent."
For some, "Godzilla" '98 changed how they approached new releases. Another unhappy
ticket-holder on Reddit claimed they'd never go to see a movie on opening night ever again
after "Godzilla." This user pledged to instead wait for reviews to roll in.
Regarded as one of the worst movies of all time, "Battlefield Earth" is based on a science fiction
novel by L. Ron Hubbard. Unfortunately, the film version was also a passion project for Hubbard's
Church of Scientology, and it has gained a reputation as "the Scientology movie." Either way,
the film is borderline incoherent, with haphazard editing and directing throughout. Meanwhile, the
performances from its all-star cast — including John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Kelly
Preston — are so ham-fisted and cringe-worthy, it quickly becomes an unintentional comedy.
Essentially, "Battlefield Earth" is a big-budget B movie, so it's no wonder audiences felt hoodwinked
and wanted out before it was over. Viewers refer to its goofy plot points and comical attempts at
serious science fiction storytelling when asked what forced them to leave the theater. Legendary
critic Roger Ebert put it best in his review of the film, which begins with the bold statement:
"'Battlefield Earth' is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed
a bath for a long time. It's not merely bad; it's unpleasant in a hostile way."
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Stupid humans."
There are some movies that people walk out of that seem surprising in hindsight. A few,
like "2001: A Space Odyssey," become all-time classics. Others seem promising when audiences
file into the theater, only to disappoint like 1998's "Godzilla." Then there are those movies
that look so bad even in the trailers that one has to question why people purchased tickets in
the first place. One example is "Battleship" — a sci-fi action flick based on the iconic
family board game that prompted more than one movie-goer to get going before it ended.
Sure, the producers of "Battleship" could have simply gone for a straightforward
naval war film. Instead, the filmmakers went as literal as possible by turning the little
plastic gaming pegs into the devastating weapons of an invading armada of aliens.
That didn't quite add up for audience members, many of which kicked it to the curb and left
screenings early. Though the effects are top-notch and the action isn't terribly bad,
the silly characters and nonsensical story are what really sank "Battleship."
While some movies are abandoned midway because they're boring, confusing,
offensive, or just downright stupid, you'd be hard-pressed to find one that's all of
those at the same time and more. But there's at least one franchise film that landed with
a ton of hype and a fair amount of promise that sadly devolved into pathetic schlock, sending
audiences to the exits before it was over — and that would be the 2018 clunker "The Predator."
Written and directed by Shane Black, who had worked on the 1987 original,
there was plenty to be excited about when "The Predator" was first announced.
Skeptical viewers probably should have stuck to their gut on this one, though,
as the movie is a total disaster from start to finish. Among the film's offenses: a sloppy story
with poor action sequences, misguided attempts at humor that left fans feeling betrayed,
and an autistic character whose role in the story offended many viewers. Over on Reddit,
some were particularly irked by the film's use of autism as a major plot point.
On Bloody-Disgusting.com, though,
fans seemed more upset by the movie's overly edgy comedy. One user commented,
"Easily the worst in the series. I walked out of the cinema when
the Predator used a detached arm to give someone the thumbs up."
As the most expensive movie ever made at the time of its release,
Kevin Costner's "Waterworld" is seen today as one of the biggest box office blunders in history. A
highly anticipated sci-fi actioner, it stars Costner as a post-apocalyptic hero in a grim
future world where water covers the Earth and dry land has become all but a myth. A sort of reverse
"Mad Max," "Waterworld" had the potential to be the next big post-apocalyptic classic,
but it wound up sinking in theaters instead. It received scathing reviews
for its dismally uninteresting screenplay and wooden performances. And according to
director Kevin Reynolds, it was also the victim of the dreaded walk-out.
Speaking to Newsweek in 2015, Reynolds discussed the poor early
reception and the uphill battle he faced — especially from movie critics. He said,
"The press wanted it to bomb. The head of Universal, Bill Washington, thought the bad
publicity cost us at least $50 mill in the box office [...] The reviews were painful. People
didn't like it. I remember publicists saying that people walked out of a press screening."
It wasn't just the critics who left early; "Waterworld" regularly makes people's lists
of movies they simply couldn't finish. Today, opinions on "Waterworld" have softened somewhat,
but it's still an unfortunate blemish on Costner's otherwise sterling resume.