23 Surprisingly Accurate Signs Your Next Movie Night Could Be a Total Disaster—Can You Spot Them All?
So there you are, clutching your oversized tub of perfectly salted popcorn, all set to get lost in the dark velvet embrace of the cinema seat. The previews? Spot on. Your excitement? Peaking at warp speed. But then—the lights dim, the movie starts, and suddenly you’re trapped in what feels like a cinematic dumpster fire. Ever wonder why you just knew it was gonna be a flop from the get-go? Well, turns out you’re not the only one playing detective on what spells disaster at the box office. Over on Reddit’s r/AskReddit, moviegoers have spilled the tea on all those unmistakable signs that scream, “Run, don’t walk, away from this flick!” And guess what? A budding filmmaker jumped right into the mix, gathering insights to decode what really makes a movie bad… so we can better appreciate the good ones, of course. Ready to dive into a whirlwind of hilarious and painfully accurate red flags that might save your hard-earned cash next time you buy a ticket? Buckle up, Pandas, it’s showtime for some brutally honest movie wisdom.
You grab your giant tub of delicious crispy popcorn (salted, not sweet, of course) and with a wide smile on your face, you take a seat in one of the red velvet cinema chairs. It’s been ages since you’ve seen a movie at the cinema and you’re practically vibrating with happiness!
The previews are always awesome, but then the movie starts and… oh, sweet Jesus no! It’s–it’s terrible. Yuck. You should’ve seen it coming—there were plenty of signs after all. And now you feel like you’ve wasted your money and time. Oh well, at least you’ve still got your popcorn, right?
You’re not alone if you’ve started mentally collecting all the telltale signs that a film’s going to be a waste of your time. The folks over on r/AskReddit have shared their own red flags that a movie is bound to be awful and we invite you to scroll down and have a read. Got any other signs that they missed but you’d love to share? That’s what the comment section is for, dear Pandas! Meanwhile, let’s check out these horror movie signs and pick out the most accurate ones.
I had a lovely and in-depth chat about the line between good and bad movies with redditor Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d who is an aspiring filmmaker and who created the viral thread in the first place. They told Bored Panda that everyone’s responses helped them get a sense of where quality does and doesn’t lie.
“I wanted to create this thread because I want to make movies myself, and I thought that if I could get some of Reddit’s opinions on what makes a bad movie, then I could get a better sense as to what makes a good one. I had wanted to get at least a little bit of attention so I can get some answers to what makes a bad movie, but I didn’t expect this much attention,” they shared. You’ll find our full interview with the original poster below, so be sure to read on.
When you’ve basically seen the entire plot of the movie and all main scenes in the trailer.
The preview shows a girl who’s Just Too Focused On Career to find love going back to her small hometown for whatever reason.
If the whole synopsis is a terrible idea, like making a movie about emojis
If there are multiple trailers for a comedy movie, but they use the same joke in all of them.
If the character points out something that is blatantly obvious. IN A WORLD, WHERE ONE MAN, HAS TO SAVE THE WORLD. Man: ‘I have to save the world.’
Blatantly bad re-casting to the point where you wonder if it would have been better to just drop the character (Mummy 3)
Critics did not receive an advance screening in order to write a review. It means the studio is hoping to at least recover an opening weekend of ticket sales before word gets out.
When I can tell how it’s going to end by just watching the trailer.
When the advertising is “[Famous movie] meets [Famous movie]”…
An exposition in which one character explains everything that’s going on to another character that should already know what is going on.
A comedian who hasn’t been funny in ten years stars in it and plays multiple roles. (Looking at you Sandler, Murphy, and Myers)
Starts with too much exposition: “Mary, just because you have a medical degree from Harvard, I’m still your older brother!”
When they hype the movies soundtrack more than the film it’s self
Ex. Suicide squad
Shaky cam and quick cut editing. Jumping over a fence? 20 quick cuts. Take it or leave it.
“Get ready to see ____ back in action in the big screen!” This line is used in many bad movie trailers of old properties which are made into movies
ANY movie made that stars Melissa Mccarthy where it happens to also be directed by her husband. She is incredibly funny and extremely talented as is he when they’re acting. But when he’s in the director’s chair, It always spells out “doomed-to-fail.”
It’s been in production for too long. There’s always a reason, for a recent example; ‘Chaos Walking’. It changed screenwriter, director and production company so many times over 10 years but was sold on it been “A Charlie Kauffman movie starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland”. Kauffman left in 2013, Ridley and Holland filmed it over years due to so many reshoots and failed screenings. Then Lionsgate said the negative reviews were shocking to them.. Really??
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