List of films that critics loved while audiences did not

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Posted by themovienator 4mo

This collection includes films that have received high praise from critics for their innovation, bold storytelling, and artistic vision, despite facing criticism or indifference from audiences. Experience the thought-provoking ambiguity of "Mother!," a psychological horror film that divided audiences with its allegorical narrative and surreal imagery. Delve into the enigmatic world of "The Tree of Life," a visually stunning meditation on life, death, and the mysteries of existence that polarized audiences with its abstract storytelling and philosophical themes. Witness the daring experimentation of "Synecdoche, New York," a surreal exploration of the human condition that divided audiences with its complex narrative and existential themes. Feel the unsettling tension of "Under the Skin," a haunting sci-fi thriller that divided audiences with its abstract storytelling and enigmatic protagonist. And don't miss the cerebral complexity of "Annihilation," a mind-bending sci-fi film that divided audiences with its surreal visuals and philosophical undertones.

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This Must Be the Place

A bored, retired rock star sets out to find his father's tormentor, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.

Brad's Status

Although Brad has a satisfying career, a sweet wife and a comfortable life in suburban Sacramento, things aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear.

The Mountain

1950s America. Since his mother‘s confinement to an institution, Andy has lived in the shadow of his stoic father. A family acquaintance, Dr. Wallace Fiennes, employs the introverted young man as a photographer to document an asylum tour advocating for his increasingly controversial lobotomy procedure.

Vampires vs. the Bronx

Three gutsy kids from a rapidly gentrifying Bronx neighborhood stumble upon a sinister plot to suck all the life from their beloved community.

The Polka King

Local Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan develops a plan to get rich that shocks his fans and lands him in jail.

Muppets from Space

When Gonzo's breakfast cereal tells him that he's the descendant of aliens from another planet, his attempts at extraterrestrial communication get him kidnapped by a secret government agency, prompting the Muppets to spring into action. It's hard to believe Gonzo's story at first, but Kermit and friends soon find themselves on an epic journey into outer space filled with plenty of intergalactic misadventures.

Beowulf

A 6th-century Scandinavian warrior named Beowulf embarks on a mission to slay the man-like ogre, Grendel.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

When gigantic robots attack New York City, "Sky Captain" uses his private air force to fight them off. His ex-girlfriend, reporter Polly Perkins, has been investigating the recent disappearance of prominent scientists. Suspecting a link between the global robot attacks and missing men, Sky Captain and Polly decide to work together. They fly to the Himalayas in pursuit of the mysterious Dr. Totenkopf, the mastermind behind the robots.

Piranha 3D

Each year the population of sleepy Lake Victoria, Arizona explodes from 5,000 to 50,000 residents for the annual Spring Break celebration. But then, an earthquake opens an underwater chasm, releasing an enormous swarm of ancient Piranha that have been dormant for thousands of years, now with a taste for human flesh. This year, there's something more to worry about than the usual hangovers and complaints from locals, a new type of terror is about to be cut loose on Lake Victoria.

Cabin Fever

A group of five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals.

The House with a Clock in Its Walls

When ten-year-old Lewis is suddenly orphaned, he is sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a creaky (and creepy) old mansion with a mysterious ticking noise that emanates from the walls. Upon discovering that his uncle is a warlock, Lewis begins learning magic, but when he rebelliously resurrects an evil warlock he must find the secret of the house and save the world from destruction.

The Last Exorcism

After years of performing “exorcisms” and taking believers’ money, Reverend Marcus travels to rural Louisiana with a film crew so he can dispel what he believes is the myth of demonic possession. The dynamic reverend is certain that this will be another routine “exorcism” on a disturbed religious fanatic but instead comes upon the blood-soaked farm of the Sweetzer family and a true evil he would have never thought imaginable.

Spring Breakers

After four college girls rob a restaurant to fund their spring break in Florida, they get entangled with a weird dude with his own criminal agenda.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Aliens disguised as clowns crash land on Earth in a rural town to capture unsuspecting victims in cotton candy cocoons for later consumption.

On the Rocks

Faced with sudden doubts about her marriage, a young New York mother teams up with her larger-than-life playboy father to tail her husband.

Popeye

Popeye is a super-strong, spinach-scarfing sailor man who's searching for his father. During a storm that wrecks his ship, Popeye washes ashore and winds up rooming at the Oyl household, where he meets Olive. Before he can win her heart, he must first contend with Olive's fiancé, Bluto.

The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two

Kate Pierce is reluctantly spending Christmas with her mom’s new boyfriend and his son Jack. But when the North Pole and Christmas are threatened to be destroyed, Kate and Jack are unexpectedly pulled into a new adventure with Santa Claus.

I'm Your Woman

A woman is forced to go on the run after her husband betrays his partners, sending her and her baby on a dangerous journey.

Latte and the Magic Waterstone

When a greedy bear steals a magic stone to keep the forest’s water for himself, a brave hedgehog and a timid squirrel must work together to retrieve it.

Shampoo

George Roundy is a Beverly Hills hairstylist whose uncontrolled libido stands between him and his ambitions. He wants the security of a relationship. He wants to be a hairdressing "star" and open his own salon. But the fact that he beds down with the wife, daughter and mistress of a potential backer doesn't help. It also does little for his relationship with his current girlfriend.

8 Mile

For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.

Berlin Syndrome

A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship when an Australian photojournalist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.

Pinocchio

In this live-action adaptation of the beloved fairytale, old woodcarver Geppetto fashions a wooden puppet, Pinocchio, who magically comes to life. Pinocchio longs for adventure and is easily led astray, encountering magical beasts, fantastical spectacles, while making friends and foes along his journey. However, his dream is to become a real boy, which can only come true if he finally changes his ways.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

Burger Beard is a pirate who is in search of the final page of a magical book that makes any evil plan he writes in it come true, which happens to be the Krabby Patty secret formula. When the entire city of Bikini Bottom is put in danger, SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy, and Plankton need to go on a quest that takes them to the surface. In order to get back the recipe and save their city, the gang must retrieve the book and transform themselves into superheroes.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run

When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.

About a Boy

Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.

Cat's Eye

Three short stories by shock-meister Stephen King are linked by a stray cat that roams from one tale to the next in this creepy triptych that begins as Dick (James Woods) tries to quit smoking by any means necessary. Next, we meet Johnny, an adulterous man who's forced by his lover's husband onto a building's hazardous ledge. Finally, Amanda is threatened by an evil gnome who throws suspicion on the family cat.

Satanic Panic

A pizza delivery girl is suddenly in for the fight of her young life when encountering a group of Satanists in need of a virgin to ritually sacrifice.

The Green Knight

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men.

The Lovebirds

A couple experiences a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme – and hilarious - circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night.

Spencer

During her Christmas holidays with the royal family at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England, Diana decides to leave her marriage to Prince Charles.

Edtv

Video store clerk Ed agrees to have his life filmed by a camera crew for a tv network.

Splash

A successful businessman falls in love with the girl of his dreams. There's one big complication though; he's fallen hook, line and sinker for a mermaid.

Room for Rent

When a reclusive man-child convinces his parents to rent their spare room to save from downsizing, a stranger with a hidden agenda moves in.

Meatballs

Tripper is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp Northstar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends Rudy, a loner camper who has trouble fitting in. As Tripper inspires his young charges to defeat rival Camp Mohawk in the annual Olympiad competition, Rudy plays matchmaker between Tripper and Roxanne, a female counselor at Northstar.

Earth Girls Are Easy

In this musical comedy, Valerie is dealing with her philandering fiancé, Ted, when she finds that a trio of aliens have crashed their spaceship into her swimming pool. Once the furry beings are shaved at her girlfriend's salon, the women discover three handsome men underneath. After absorbing the native culture via television, the spacemen are ready to hit the dating scene in 1980s Los Angeles.

The Big Bus

The ultimate disaster film parody. A nuclear-powered bus is making its maiden non-stop trip from New York to Denver. The journey is plagued by disasters due to the machinations of a mysterious group allied with the oil lobby. Will the down-on-his-luck driver, with a reputation for eating his passengers, be able to complete the journey?

Youth in Revolt

As a fan of Albert Camus and Jean-Luc Godard, teenage Nick Twisp is definitely out of his element when his mother and her boyfriend move the family to a trailer park. When a pretty neighbor named Sheeni plays records by French crooners, it's love at first sight for frustrated and inexperienced Nick. Learning that she is dating someone, Nick launches a hilarious quest to find his way into Sheeni's heart -- and bed.

God's Country

When a grieving college professor confronts two hunters she catches trespassing on her property, she's drawn into an escalating battle of wills with catastrophic consequences.

Ferdinand

Ferdinand, a little bull, prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree just smelling the flowers versus jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow, but one day five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid and Ferdinand is mistakenly chosen. Based on the classic 1936 children's book by Munro Leaf.

Muppets Most Wanted

While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.

The Arrival

Zane Ziminski is an astrophysicist who receives a message that seems to have extraterrestrial origins. Eerily soon after his discovery, Zane is fired. He then embarks on a search to determine the origins of the transmission that leads him into a Hitchcockian labyrinth of paranoia and intrigue.

Haywire

A black ops soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and left for dead.

Keanu

Friends hatch a plot to retrieve a stolen cat by posing as drug dealers for a street gang.

The Shallows

When Nancy is surfing on a secluded beach, she finds herself on the feeding ground of a great white shark. Though she is stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills, requiring all of Nancy's ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude.

Splice

Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named "Dren", the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators - only to have that bond turn deadly.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

A young girl sent to live with her father and his new girlfriend discovers creatures in her new home who want to claim her as one of their own.

Mama

Guillermo del Toro presents Mama, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night.

Five Children and It

A Psammead is 'It', an ancient, irritable, ugly sand fairy, which five children find one day in a gravel pit. As a reward for finding him, It grants the children one wish a day, the results of which will last until sunset.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. Though he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother, and sister all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

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