8 comedy films so bad they were removed from cinemas

David BenjaminNovember 24, 2025

Comedy is one of the most subjective genres out there. When it comes to making people laugh, not everybody’s going to be in on the joke. Cinemas have dished up plenty of smash-hit laugh-fests over the decades – from the gag-packed likes of Airplane! and the Naked Gun movies through to classics from the likes of Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and other great directors. Many of them have struck gold at the box office too with Home Alone, The Hangover, Beverly Hills Cop and Mrs Doubtfire among some of those to have made a fortune. But at the other end of the scale, what about those comedies which fell so flat that they played to empty cinemas before being yanked just days or weeks into their run? Read on for some of those comedy films considered so terrible they were pulled from cinemas. Laugh? We thought we’d never start…(Picture: SHUTTERSTOCK/REX)

1. Son Of The Mask (2005)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by ILM/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock (5884556v) Son Of The Mask (2005) Son Of The Mask - 2005 Director: Lawrence Guterman New Line USA Scene Still Family Le Fils du Mask — First up, let’s consider the case of this belated sequel to the 1994 comedy that turned Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz into household names overnight. Son Of The Mask, released in 2005, replaced Carrey with Jamie Kennedy, playing an aspiring animator whose child is born with the powers of the Mask. All of which might have been promising except the film opened to scathing reviews – it holds a rating of just 6% on Rotten Tomatoes – with some critics suggesting the movie was sorely missing Carrey’s presence, although others praised it for its special effects. It opened in fourth place behind the likes of Hitch and Constantine, but went on to make just $17m (£12m) in the US – and lasted just three weeks before it vanished from cinemas. (Picture: ILM/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock)

2. Gigli (2003)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Columbia/Revolution Studios/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5883814t) Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez Gigli - 2003 Director: Martin Brest Columbia/Revolution Studios USA Scene Still Amours troubles — As flop movies go, Gigli is notorious. The 2003 movie featured Ben Affleck as a mobster who is hired for a kidnapping job – except his new employer doesn’t trust him and hires an assassin (Jennifer Lopez) to keep tabs on him. Except, of course, romance inevitably rears its head. The film grabbed a lot of headlines on account of Affleck and Lopez becoming involved for real – giving rise to ‘Bennifer’ – but none of that could save it. Disputes between director Martin Brest and the studio led to post-production being shut down for several months, and when the movie eventually appeared in cinemas it was almost universally panned by critics, and lasted just three weeks in theatres before it was withdrawn. While Lopez and Affleck did go on to better things, Brest has not directed another movie since. (Picture: Columbia/ Revolution Studios/Kobal/REX/ Shutterstock)

3. The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Topps Chewing Gum Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock (5874885c) The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987) The Garbage Pail Kids Movie - 1987 Director: Rod Amateau Topps Chewing Gum Prods USA Scene Still Family — We’re heading back to the 80s for this one, with a movie which surely must be filed under ‘things which seemed like a good idea at the time’. The Garbage Pail Kids found fame during the decade as a series of sticker trading cards featuring characters who had bad habits, deformities, or who suffered a terrible fate or death. Given how popular they were a film seemed like a no-brainer. Except the finished product, featuring a mix of live actors and animatronics, was anything but great. Critics hated it, hitting out at its gross-out humour, its effects, its acting…well pretty much everything really, and despite opening in around 374 cinemas in the US, it was showing on just 48 screens across the entire country a mere fortnight later. Now that’s – ahem – garbage. (Picture: Gum Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock)

4. Mortdecai (2015)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Appleby/Huayi Brothers Media/Infinitum Nihil/Mad Chance Prods/Odd Lot Entertianment/Kobal/Shutterstock (5882164e) Johnny Depp Mortdecai - 2015 Director: David Koepp Huayi Brothers Media/Infinitum Nihil/Mad Chance Productions/Odd Lot Entertianment USA Scene Still Action/Comedy Charlie Mortdecai — Here’s one which, on balance, should have had all the ingredients for success, with a big-name cast (Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Jeff Goldblum), a writer/director (David Koepp) who’s also penned screenplays for the Jurassic Park movies, and a plot which screams ‘fun action-comedy caper’. Depp – still in his Pirates Of The Caribbean/Fantastic Beasts phase at this point – plays the title character, an art dealer who tries to settle his debts by pursuing a stolen Goya painting. The movie was originally due to open in the spring of 2014 but was shunted around several times before being bumped to early 2015. It struggled with poor reviews and a general lack of interest from cinemagoers, opening in a lowly ninth place at the box office with just $4.2m (£3.1m) in its opening weekend. It was subsequently pulled from 2,395 cinemas just a fortnight later – the 10th biggest cinema drop in history at the time. (Picture: Entertianment/Kobal/Shutterstock)

5. From Justin To Kelly (2003)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Jon Farmer/20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5878261g) Kelly Clarkson From Justin To Kelly - 2003 Director: Robert Iscove 20th Century Fox USA Scene Still Musical — You might be familiar with Kelly Clarkson, the first ever winner of American Idol who shot to stardom after the show before scoring a string of hits including All I Ever Wanted and Stronger. But how many of you have actually seen the movie she made after the series with runner-up Justin Guarini? Not many of you, we’d imagine, since the musical comedy, in which the pair find themselves caught in a love triangle, is widely regarded as one of the worst films ever made. Produced in just two and a half months after the series – and gone from cinemas within five weeks of release – it became so notorious that it even won a special Golden Raspberry award for ‘Worst Musical of our first 25 years’. Now that’s quite an achievement. (Picture: Jon Farmer/20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

6. Swept Away (2002)

A scene from the film 'Swept Away' (2002) starring Madonna. — She might have been wowing us with chart-topping tracks and classic tunes for decades, but Madonna’s acting career has been a bit more hit and miss at times – such as in this notorious 2002 flop. Swept Away, directed by Guy Ritchie, is a remake of a 1974 Italian romcom by Lina Wertmuller, with the singer starring as a socialite who is stranded on a Mediterranean island during a cruise, and is forced to depend on her shipmate (Adriano Giannini) to survive. The film holds a mere 6% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with many critics saying it wasn’t a patch on the original film, while it won no less than five gongs at the Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actress for Madonna. Worse still, the film had an opening US weekend of just $354,052 (£263,455) and made a swift exit from cinemas after two weeks. But at least it was released there, which is more than can be said for the UK, where it suffered the sad fate of being released straight to DVD. Ouch. (Picture: SKY TV)

7. It’s Pat (1994)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock (5872114c) Julia Sweeney It's Pat - 1994 Director: Adam Bernstein Touchstone USA Scene Still Comedy — Most of the films on this list might have had a short-lived run in cinemas, but at least they got themselves a week or two to try and get punters in before being yanked. Not so for It’s Pat, a notorious 1990s flop from the Saturday Night Live stable. The comedy brings Julia Sweeney’s title character – an androgynous misfit whose gender is never revealed – to big screen life, with a plot which sees them going to extreme lengths to fend off an obsessed neighbour. This one has the indignity of a rare 0% Rotten Tomatoes rating – with Variety calling it ‘shockingly unfunny’ – and while it was released in only 33 cinemas in the US, it lasted just one weekend, grossing a mere $60,000 (£44,655) before it was pulled from screens. It’s on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video if you really want to see what you missed. And to be honest, we’re tempted. (Picture: Touchstone/Kobal/ Shutterstock)

8. Postal (2007)

Editorial use only. No book cover usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Everett/Shutterstock (763569m) 'Postal', from left: Jackie Tohn, Zack Ward 'Postal' Film - 2007 — Finally, let’s spare a thought for this Uwe Boll-directed live-action take on a popular video game. Postal was a 1997 action/shooter about a man on the rampage in Paradise, Arizona. The action comedy didn’t get universally awful reviews in spite of having only a 9% Rotten Tomatoes rating, but that didn’t stop it from struggling to fill cinema seats. However, this one wasn’t pulled from screens due to poor performance, it was dropped by many even before release, with just four screens putting it on. The director attacked the decision, accusing theatres of not showing the film ‘because of its political content’. Although the screen count eventually increased it still only made it into 21 cinemas. (Picture: Everett/Shutterstock)

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