Movie Odds – Worst of 2016 (The Razzies!)

Every year, the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies) scrape the bottom of the barrel to celebrate the film industry’s worst offerings. And, as it does every year, Hollywood delivered in 2015.

Leading the pack is Fifty Shades of Grey, a trainwreck so bad and lazily written that even Twilight fans are like WTF? Horny housewives everywhere strapped in with the promise of an erotic thrill ride, only to have the steamy action from the book replaced with painful, boring dialogue and recycled rom-com cliches (imagine a smutty Katherine Heigl flick). Thanks to a strong showing in the box office, however, there are two more of these terrible films on the way. Somebody slap me!

Another contender for Worst Picture is Mordecai starring Johnny Depp and Gwenyth Paltrow. This spoofy book adaptation is like a Pink Panther novel without the laughs. The film bombed at the box office raking in a meager $30 million. Luckily for Depp, his over-the-top performance didn’t kill his career outright (Black Mass came out shortly after). But his uninspired role in this misguided flop will likely land him a Razzie nomination for worst actor, regardless.

While we’re on the subject of one-dimensional characters, Adam Sandler is back this year with a film that nobody asked for: The Cobbler. Sandler plays a depressed shoe repairman who, with the help of a magic sewing machine, gains the ability to transform into another person (by wearing their shoes). Not even a funny performance from Dustin Hoffman could save this “sole”-less film from crashing. The Razzies have already bestowed a pair of Worst Actor awards to Sandler. A win for The Cobbler would make it a tidy trifecta.

And finally, in a sea of remakes and reboots, Taken 3 looks to be a solid choice for the Worst Sequel category. The film series that defied all expectations is back for one more round of Liam Neesan beat downs. With so little plot left after the first two films, the last chapter of this overworked franchise was pretty incoherent. Despite being universally panned by critics, Taken 3 did pretty well in the box office, grossing just over $326 million worldwide. That’s on you, America!

Although nominations have yet to be released, we have narrowed the field down to the worst of the worst. Here are some early 2016 Razzie nomination odds for your consideration.

2016 Golden Raspberry Awards Odds:

Worst Picture:

• Fifty Shades of Grey (Focus Features): 4/1

• Fantastic Four (20th Century Fox): 6/1

• Mordecai (Lionsgate): 8/1

• The Cobbler (Image Entertainment): 15/1

• Jupiter Ascending (Warner Bros. Pictures): 20/1

Honorable Mentions:

• Hot Pursuit (Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Jem and the Holograms (Universal Studios)

• Unfinished Business (20th Century Fox)

Worst Actor:

• Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey): 3/1

• Johnny Depp (Mordecai): 5/1

• Adam Sandler (The Cobbler): 8/1

• Channing Tatum (Jupiter Ascending): 13/1

• Kevin James (Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2): 15/1

Worst Actress:

• Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey): 3/1

• Mila Kunis (Jupiter Ascending): 6/1

• Gwenyth Paltrow (Mordecai): 10/1

• Reese Witherspoon (Hot Pursuit): 17/1

• Salma Hayek (Everly): 20/1

Worst Director:

• The Wachowskis (Jupiter Ascending): 4/1

• Sam Taylor-Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey): 5/1

• David Koepp (Mordecai): 10/1

• John M. Chu (Jem and the Holograms): 15/1

• Josh Trank (Fantastic Four): 20/1

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel:

• Taken 3 (20th Century Fox): 5/1

• Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (Paramount Pictures): 7/1

• Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (Columbia Pictures):  10/1

• The Transporter Refueled (EuropaCorp): 14/1

• Terminator Genisys (Paramount Pictures): 18/1

(Photo credit: By Nigel Horsley [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)