worst-looking movies – A lineup of blockbuster titles—ranging from Disney remakes to major Marvel and Star Wars entries—faces the same harsh verdict: massive budgets spent on visuals that don’t land. From The Little Mermaid’s $250 million price tag to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantuman
Watching a movie that just doesn’t look right is already a disappointment. What hits harder is when the numbers come later—hundreds of millions of dollars spent, then you’re left staring at visuals that never fully earn the price of admission.
The list below sticks to one rule: any title with an estimated budget where the lowest figure is over $200 million. And once you start, the pattern is hard to ignore—big studio spending, big expectations, and a lot of images that somehow still fall flat.
At the start is The Little Mermaid (2023), a live-action remake of the beloved 1989 musical.. It cost $250 million. and the movie is described as looking worse than the original 1989 film. with special emphasis on that earlier version’s animation style as “timeless.” The piece also nods to a dishonorable mention: The Lion King (2019). which uses computer-generated characters rather than CGI talking to live-action actors—presented as a small technical difference that makes it “a bit less uncanny” to look at.
Next comes The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).. The writing points the contrast back to The Lord of the Rings: all three films were made for under $300 million.. By comparison. the Hobbit trilogy is framed as inevitably worse visually. with The Battle of the Five Armies singled out as the most unpleasant-looking of the group.. The reason offered is the effects work piled into the big battle promised by the title—plus the fact it still cost more than any individual Lord of the Rings movie. was made and released a decade later. and “overall looks considerably worse.”
Then there’s Snow White (2025). another live-action remake aimed at a classic that the piece treats as both historically significant and technically impressive—especially as a 1930s production.. But 2025’s version is called out for being visually “uncanny. ” “flat. ” and “uninspired.” It’s also listed as costing an estimated budget of at least $269 million. with some estimates suggesting it’s higher.. The comparison lands bluntly: Snow White is said to look worse than The Little Mermaid while costing more. and the article adds that Disney’s recent movies can have “net” and “gross” budgets that complicate things.
From there. the Star Wars entry is Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). described as the “nadir” of theatrically released Star Wars visuals from the late 2010s.. The piece contrasts it with movies that did look expensive—The Force Awakens. Rogue One. and The Last Jedi—and then positions Rise of Skywalker as the opposite.. Its reported budget is given as as low as $490 million and as high as $593 million. with the added note that at the time of writing. The Mandalorian and Grogu aren’t out yet. so time will tell how that compares.
The list keeps rolling with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). where the direction is explicitly framed as a “bullet dodged” scenario because Steven Spielberg wasn’t attached.. The piece calls the film bloated, messy, and unusually drab-looking, while pegging its budget at $419 million.. It also argues that the original three Indiana Jones movies likely didn’t cost nearly that much when adjusted for inflation. and even if they did. they’re still said to look better.
One surprise spot is Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).. The article stresses that the movie is “liked by a lot of people” and says it’s not about writing or comedy—some of it is “kind of fun”—but still concludes the visuals are “shoddy” for something with one of the highest budgets in cinema history.. It points out that nothing in Deadpool & Wolverine looks better than either of the first two Deadpool movies. which cost considerably less: $58 million for the first. about double for the second. and then approximately five times the second’s budget for the third.. It also suggests the high budget could be tied to the “sheer number of famous involved” across major cameos and roles. while describing the resulting landscapes and effects as desolate. uninteresting. and often lacking special effects.
Warner Bros.. shows up again with Justice League (2017), which is described as having production impacted by reshoots.. The article says that even without the reshoots. it was always expected to be expensive—yet it still landed at an estimated $300 million. with “so much of the movie seemingly being cut altogether.” That cutting is presented as a major reason behind the push for the eventual director’s cut. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). which is said to have things going for it visually. while the 2017 theatrical cut “looks generally terrible.” It then brings up The Flash (2023) as a possible contender. adding that the lowest estimate for The Flash’s budget is right on $200 million. meaning it might not have cost more than $200 million. so it “gets off on a technicality. ” though it’s still noted.
After that comes Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). labeled worthy of being considered the second-worst-looking out of the franchise’s $200+ million movies for long.. The previous Thor film is given as $180 million. and the piece says inflation can’t fully explain the difference versus Love and Thunder’s $250 million budget.. It also claims that Thor: Ragnarok “put that money to better use. ” even while naming a few infamous shots—like the floating head projection and an image of Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman looking garish against a background described as garish and flat at the same time.. The broader framing ties the look to fatigue. saying it contributed to a sense of exhaustion with the cinematic universe post-Avengers: Endgame.
At number two is The Electric State (2025).. It’s positioned among upcoming stakes tied to the Russo brothers. who the piece says directed two Captain America movies and two Avengers movies. then worked on other projects before Marvel pulled them back to direct Avengers: Doomsday.. Those four Marvel movies are described as “all expensive. ” with sometimes shaky effects that looked a little unpolished. though usually “pretty expensive.”
Against that backdrop, The Electric State is described as not looking very good at all.. The reason isn’t only visuals; the article says people also talk about it “missing the mark” as an adaptation of a beloved and unique illustrated novel.. Still. it’s the look that’s emphasized as ugly. with a reported budget of $320 million presented as “preposterous” based on the visuals and special effects.
Finally, the number one spot goes to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).. The article lays out why special effects are expected to be extensive: the film takes place almost entirely within the Quantum Realm.. That extensive effects work is said to have likely contributed to the movie costing more than $300 million.. The piece then claims the movie either has “the most green screen out of any MCU movie” or at least the most instances of poorly-executed green screen so far in theatrically released MCU entries.
It drives the point home by focusing on how unfinished the effects look: special effects are described as genuinely unfinished in so many places. and the piece says it would not be surprising if post-production was rushed.. It also mentions massive problems with writing and adds that the film set up a big villain for the ongoing series who has since been removed.. But visually. the verdict is the same: it’s “two hours of being smacked in the eyeballs. ” even though it’s in an alien landscape and still “looks all wrong.”
The thread running through the whole list is the same sequence again and again: budgets land above $200 million. but the visuals are repeatedly described as worse than the movies being used as comparisons—whether it’s The Little Mermaid versus the 1989 original. The Battle of the Five Armies versus The Return of the King. or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania being singled out for unfinished special effects despite the Quantum Realm’s need for extensive effects.
worst-looking movies $200 million budgets The Little Mermaid 2023 Snow White 2025 The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Deadpool and Wolverine Justice League 2017 Thor Love and Thunder The Electric State Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania