“Instead of remaking a classic, which was already great, why not remake a bad movie, which has way more room for improvement?”
I have lost track of the number of times I’ve heard someone make a variation of this argument. Remaking a masterpiece is a losing game; you can’t improve upon perfection.
But that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from trying.
That’s because most remakes are not about improving upon the subpar execution of a good idea; they are about exploiting the name value of a famous film. It’s not that the people involved want to make a bad movie; no one sets out to make a piece of junk. It’s that when you’re making a new version of one of the greatest motion pictures in history, you have nowhere to go but down.
And down the films on this list went, all the way down to the bottom of our ranking of the worst remakes of the best movies. These films didn’t just pale in comparison to their predecessors (something that was probably inevitable) these films paled in comparison to most movies. Likewise, you’re not only better off watching the originals instead of watching these 15 titles, you might as well go do something else entirely with your time. Or better yet, go find a good remake of a bad movie. They’re rare, but they are out there.
The Worst Remakes of the Best Movies
These remakes too classic films and made them into, uh, not-classic films.
Honorable Mention: Downhill (2020), 47 Ronin (2013), The Little Mermaid (2023), The Producers (2005), Psycho (1998), Rebecca (2020), The Truth About Charlie (2002), The Vanishing (1993), When a Stranger Calls (2006), The Wolfman (2010)
READ MORE: The Worst Movies of the Last 30 Years
The 10 Best Franchises of the Last 10 Years (2016-2025)
These franchises had the best track records over the last decade.
