Every spring since 1981, the crummiest movies of the year vie for a $4.97 gold spray-painted statuette and the dubious title of “Worst Picture” from the Golden Raspberry Awards — also known as the Razzies.
Unlike the mysterious Hollywood Foreign Press Association that doles out the Golden Globes, or the invite-only Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that selects the winners of the Oscars, anyone who pays a $40 membership fee can join the Razzies and vote on its awards. Get enough of your friends together and form a voting bloc and you too could influence the future of bad movie awards.
The Razzies are well-known in the movie world because they have been around for almost half a century, and because they give out their awards the day before the Oscars. A few famous filmmakers have even acknowledged them. Sandra Bullock showed up in person to collect her prize for All About Steve, and last year Francis Ford Coppola wrote a lengthy acceptance speech for his trophy on his social media.
“In this wreck of a world today, where ART is given scores as if it were professional wrestling,” Coppola wrote, “I chose to NOT follow the gutless rules laid down by an industry so terrified of risk that despite the enormous pool of young talent at its disposal, may not create pictures that will be relevant and alive 50 years from now.”
He might be on to something. Through the years, some winners of the Razzies’ highest — or really lowest — honor have gone on to fame, not as ridiculed disasters, but as beloved cult classics. Below, I’ve selected the 10 best winners of the Razzies’ Worst Picture award. Admittedly, few qualify as cinematic masterpieces. The worst movies of their years, though? I don’t know about that…
The Best Razzie Worst Picture Winners
These films were wrongly awarded with a Golden Raspberry award for the Worst Picture of the Year. They deserved better.
READ MORE: This Year’s Razzie Nominees Are Here
The Worst Razzie Nominees in History
The Razzies honor the worst in movies. But sometimes, their picks are even worse.