Precursor: 37th Golden Raspberry Nominations (2016)

Sometimes the Razzie Awards nomination, a longtime pre-Oscar tradition, are a gestalt examination of the worst of the year. Sometimes, they are a sour grapes tribute. This year is a mixture of both. While the hate of Batman v. Superman is understandable, citing Ben Affleck as Worst Actor is pure sour grapes, not raspberries. Picking on the likes of Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Sela Ward, and Kate Hudson are also simple attacks on good actors who’ve made worse movies, but for some reason trigger hatred from this voting body.

Still, there are plenty of qualified choices from the execrable Hillary’s America, which probably should have gotten nominated for Worst Combo: documentary and a disregard for facts, but that’s a bit of a tough sell to folks who just want to be clever against movies and people they hate rather than being genuinely clever. I also applaud their recognition of the poor job Jared Leto did in Suicide Squad.

For the most part, this list is equal parts idiotic and equal parts inspired, but that seems to be part-and-parcel for them in recent years. I’d like to see a genuine examination of the worst films of the year rather than what this group deems to be bad, since they go for easy targets rather than deserving ones. Sometimes those two paths cross, but a lot of times they don’t.

Nominations Tallies

(8) Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
(7) Zoolander No. 2
(5) Dirty Grandpa, Gods of Egypt, Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, Independence Day: Resurgence
(3) Alice Through the Looking Glass, Boo! A Madea Halloween

The Nominations

Worst Picture

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Dirty Grandpa
Gods of Egypt
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Independence Day: Resurgence
Zoolander No. 2

Worst Director

Dinesh D’Souza – Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Roland Emmerich – Independence Day: Resurgence
Tyler Perry – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Alex Proyas – Gods of Egypt
Zack Snyder – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Ben Stiller – Zoolander No. 2

Worst Actor

Ben Affleck – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Gerard Butler – Gods of Egypt
Henry Cavill – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Robert De Niro – Dirty Grandpa
Dinesh D’Souza – HIllary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party

Worst Actress

Megan Fox – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Tyler Perry – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Julia Roberts – Mother’s Day
Becky Turner – Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Naomi Watts – Divergent Series: Allegiant; Shut-In
Shailene Woodley – Divergent Series: Allegiant

Worst Supporting Actor

Nicolas Cage – Snowden
Johnny Depp – Alice Through the Looking Glass
Will Ferrell – Zoolander No. 2
Jesse Eisenberg – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Jared Leto – Suicide Squad
Owen Wilson – Zoolander No. 2

Worst Supporting Actress

Julianne Hough – Dirty Grandpa
Kate Hudson – Mother’s Day
Aubrey Plaza – Dirty Grandpa
Sela Ward – Independence Day: Resurgence
Kristen Wiig – Zoolander No. 2

Worst Screenplay

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Dirty Grandpa
Gods of Egypt
Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party
Independence Day: Resurgence
Suicide Squad

Worst Screen Combo

Ben Affleck & His BFF (Baddest Foe Forever) Henry Cavill – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Any 2 Egyptian Gods or Mortals – Gods of Egypt
Johnny Depp & His Vomitously Vibrant Costume – Alice Through the Looking Glass
The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors – Collateral Beauty
Tyler Perry & That Same Old Worn Out Wig – Boo! A Madea Halloween
Ben Stiller & His BFF (Barely Funny Friend) Owen Wilson – Zoolander No. 2

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel

Alice Through the Looking Glass
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Fifty Shades of Black
Independence Day: Resurgence
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Zoolander No. 2