A new verdict has declared the worst Christmas movie of all time — and it’s probably not the obvious pick you’d expect. The film has been slammed by critics and, surprisingly, even fans of cheesy seasonal films struggled to defend it. Rotten Tomatoes released a list of 22 of the worst Christmas films of all time.
The film review site commented: « From painful family reunions to sequels no child asked for to multiple Vince Vaughn and Tim Allen vehicles, these are all the Christmas films that scored less than 30% on the Tomatometer. » However, the worst one of all time, with a 0% score, is The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2010).
What is the plot?
In 1920s Vienna, lonely nine-year-old Mary receives a wooden nutcracker from her uncle. That night, the nutcracker comes to life and whisks her into a magical world where toys are giant and rat creatures led by the sinister Rat King plan to conquer.
When Nutcracker is captured, Mary, her brother Max, and a band of toy friends join forces to save him and stop the Rat King’s evil scheme.
Why The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2010) is the worst
The film received an unfortunate 0% on the Tomatometer. Top critic Frank Scheck, from The Hollywood Reporter, commented: « Delivering the cinematic equivalent of a lump of coal in a Christmas stocking, The Nutcracker in 3D is an apparent Scrooge-like attempt by Russian filmmaker Andrei Konchalovsky to forever ruin children’s associations with the classic Yuletide ballet. »
David Edelstein, from the New York Magazine, shared: « [It] has so many terrible ideas that the terrible execution is almost irrelevant: Even if the film were well done, it would still be a travesty. »
Dana Stevens from Slate commented: « This non-balletic adaptation by the Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky is something gnarled and stunted and wrong, something that should never have been allowed to see the light of day. How’s that for a holiday-ad pullquote? »
Claudia Puig, from USA Today, said: « Who had the lamebrained idea for a post-apocalyptic 3-D Nutcracker that is lacking any. trace of ballet? »
The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is also quite low at 26%. One viewer said: « How did this get produced. Offensive parallels with history, terrible songs, questionable characters and storytelling, and some nightmare fuel imagery. I can’t believe this exists »
Top 10 worst Christmas movies of all time, according to Rotten Tomatoes
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The Nutcracker: The Untold Story (2010)
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Christmas With the Kranks (2004)
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Deck the Halls (2006)
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Surviving Christmas (2004)
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Mixed Nuts (1994)
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An American Carol (2008)
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Black Christmas (2006)
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A Merry Friggin’ Christmas (2014)
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Jingle All the Way (1996)
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The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
