Alan Ritchson’s Playdate Lands Among 2025’s Biggest Film Flops

The annual rundown of the least impressive cinematic efforts has just dropped, and it’s not great news for Alan Ritchson. His latest outing, Playdate, has found itself just a notch below the year’s most panned release, with only a 4% rating separating it from the bottom of the barrel. The film, which hit screens in November, has been widely criticised and now sits near the top of the year’s worst, according to Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Star Power Can’t Save Playdate or War of the Worlds

Playdate, a buddy action-comedy directed by Luke Greenfield, features Ritchson as Jeff Eamon, a fit and charming stay-at-home dad who’s new in town. He teams up with Kevin James, playing Brian Jennings, a recently redundant forensic accountant struggling to adjust to life at home with his stepson. Their chance meeting quickly spirals into chaos, with both blokes being chased by a crew of mercenaries. Despite a cast stacked with the likes of Sarah Chalke, Alan Tudyk, Benjamin Pajak, Banks Pierce, Hiro Kanagawa, Stephen Root, and Isla Fisher, the film failed to win over critics. It managed a measly 20/100 on Metacritic, with reviewers calling it ‘no energy, no wit, just a tasteless and tacky sequence of events’.

Meanwhile, War of the Worlds, a new screenlife sci-fi adaptation of H. G. Wells’s classic, directed by Rich Lee, didn’t fare any better. The film stars Ice Cube as Will Radford, a government computer security analyst whose routine is upended by an alien invasion. Despite a solid cast including Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, Andrea Savage, Henry Hunter Hall, Iman Benson, Devon Bostick, and Michael O’Neill, the film was hammered by critics. Metacritic gave it a dire 6/100, with one review stating, ‘hodgepodge of shoddy CGI and dead-eyed reaction shots from Ice Cube that make you feel like you can identify individual brain cells mid-death cycle.’

Full List of 2025’s Most Disappointing Films

It’s not just Ritchson and Ice Cube copping flak this year. The top 15 worst films, as ranked by Metacritic, include a surprising number of big names and much-hyped projects. Nicolas Cage’s Gunslingers, Sylvester Stallone’s Alarum, Rebel Wilson’s Bride Hard, and Josh Hutcherson’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 all made the cut. Other entries include Kerry Washington’s Shadow Force, Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 2, The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, Millie Bobby Brown’s The Electric State, Timothy Scott Bogart’s Juliet & Romeo, Rihanna’s Smurfs, Johnny Depp’s Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness, McKenna Grace’s Regretting You, and Christoph Waltz’s Old Guy.

Here’s how the top of the list shapes up, with their Metacritic scores: War of the Worlds (6/100), Playdate (20/100), Gunslingers (20/100), Alarum (23/100), Bride Hard (23/100), Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (26/100), Shadow Force (27/100), The Strangers: Chapter 2 (28/100), Hurry Up Tomorrow (29/100), The Electric State (30/100), Juliet & Romeo (31/100), Smurfs (31/100), Modi – Three Days on the Wing of Madness (32/100), Regretting You (33/100), and Old Guy (33/100). Even with streaming deals and big-name stars, these films couldn’t dodge the critics’ ire.

Fans React: Disbelief, Sarcasm, and a Bit of Defensiveness

The list has sparked plenty of chat online, with punters quick to share their takes. Some reckon the rankings are spot on, while others are baffled by a few inclusions—or omissions. There’s also a fair bit of banter, with some taking the mickey out of the films’ premises and performances.

Ice Cube fighting aliens via Zoom while plugging Amazon Prime deliveries? Finally, a War of the Worlds where the tripods win by boredom. Peak 2025 cinema! 😂

hard to believe anything was worse than the strangers chapter 2

I watched electric state and I wish I never watch electric state. It will make your IQ drop 20 points.

Bro take five nights off here 😭

Like it or not you gotta admit the animatronics in the fnaf 2 movie are amazing

How TF is Snow White not on this list???!!?

five nights at freddy’s 2 is the best movie of the year

Me, who really enjoyed "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," seeing it on this list:

Whether you agree with the critics or reckon they’ve missed the mark, there’s no denying this year’s list has got everyone talking.