Nicolas Cage, known for his offbeat and often intense movie performances, has been nominated for two Academy Awards and took home a Best Actor statue for “Leaving Las Vegas.”
Cage has more than 80 acting credits and 10 of his movies have received a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critics’ score of 90% or above. On the other hand, 11 Nicholas Cage films have received Tomatometer scores of 10% or less – so clearly there have been plenty of failures to counterbalance his successes. (He does not appear, however, in any of the worst movies of all time.)
To determine the worst Nicolas Cage movies, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of September 2022, weighting all ratings equally. Only movies where Nicolas Cage was credited as one of the leading four actors on IMDb were considered. Directorial credits are from IMDb.
Click here to see the worst Nicolas Cage movies
Cage’s off-screen activities are movie fodder themselves. Cage, whose personal worth once soared as high as $150 million, has purchased a haunted mansion in New Orleans, two castles in Europe, and a private island in the Bahamas. His other curious acquisitions included a pet octopus and a dinosaur skull.
Cage’s spendthrift ways nearly bankrupted him, forcing him to take roles in movies that were widely panned and tainted his career. Of his 10 lowest-rated movies according to the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, eight were made within the last eight years. (His financial issues were compounded when he endured one of the biggest celebrity IRS audits.)
25. Trapped in Paradise (1994)
> Combined index score: 1.035
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (14,438 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41% (11,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 5% (19 reviews)
> Directed by: George Gallo
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24. Amos & Andrew (1993)
> Combined index score: 1.030
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (9,009 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 31% (7,675 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 17% (24 reviews)
> Directed by: E. Max Frye
23. Zandalee (1991)
> Combined index score: 1.008
> IMDb user rating: 4.4/10 (3,666 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29% (1,179 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (6 reviews)
> Directed by: Sam Pillsbury
22. Army of One (2016)
> Combined index score: 0.975
> IMDb user rating: 5.1/10 (7,267 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 25% (562 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (12 reviews)
> Directed by: Larry Charles
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21. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)
> Combined index score: 0.970
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (12,294 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 30% (2,237 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 17% (12 reviews)
> Directed by: Mario Van Peebles
20. Grand Isle (2019)
> Combined index score: 0.965
> IMDb user rating: 4.7/10 (2,810 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 45% (100 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 9% (11 reviews)
> Directed by: Stephen S. Campanelli
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19. Season of the Witch (2011)
> Combined index score: 0.923
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (92,285 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 30% (79,899 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (125 reviews)
> Directed by: Dominic Sena
18. Fire Birds (1990)
> Combined index score: 0.888
> IMDb user rating: 4.8/10 (6,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 35% (6,844 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (21 reviews)
> Directed by: David Green
17. The Runner (2015)
> Combined index score: 0.885
> IMDb user rating: 4.7/10 (5,411 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 22% (1,262 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 24% (38 reviews)
> Directed by: Austin Stark
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16. The Humanity Bureau (2017)
> Combined index score: 0.883
> IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (12,254 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 22% (202 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (8 reviews)
> Directed by: Rob W. King
15. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
> Combined index score: 0.865
> IMDb user rating: 4.3/10 (114,735 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 31% (112,890 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 18% (114 reviews)
> Directed by: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
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14. Rage (2014)
> Combined index score: 0.863
> IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (24,040 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 28% (7,145 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 12% (42 reviews)
> Directed by: Paco Cabezas
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13. Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
> Combined index score: 0.853
> IMDb user rating: 5.4/10 (55,974 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 26% (132,373 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 8% (96 reviews)
> Directed by: Danny Pang & Oxide Chun Pang
12. Pay the Ghost (2015)
> Combined index score: 0.838
> IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (16,745 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 25% (1,054 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (31 reviews)
> Directed by: Uli Edel
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11. Trespass (2011)
> Combined index score: 0.830
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (42,696 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 22% (7,264 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (76 reviews)
> Directed by: Joel Schumacher
10. Vengeance: A Love Story (2017)
> Combined index score: 0.768
> IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (7,390 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 28% (303 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 0% (4 reviews)
> Directed by: Johnny Martin
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9. A Score to Settle (2019)
> Combined index score: 0.743
> IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (4,547 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 18% (100 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (20 reviews)
> Directed by: Shawn Ku
8. Looking Glass (2018)
> Combined index score: 0.713
> IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (6,296 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 9% (139 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 21% (24 reviews)
> Directed by: Tim Hunter
7. Outcast (2014)
> Combined index score: 0.673
> IMDb user rating: 4.6/10 (13,115 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 22% (1,373 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 4% (23 reviews)
> Directed by: Nick Powell
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6. Dying of the Light (2014)
> Combined index score: 0.660
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (10,326 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 15% (990 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (37 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul Schrader
5. The Wicker Man (2006)
> Combined index score: 0.620
> IMDb user rating: 3.7/10 (66,068 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 17% (88,611 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (108 reviews)
> Directed by: Neil LaBute
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4. Deadfall (1993)
> Combined index score: 0.588
> IMDb user rating: 4.0/10 (3,233 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 25% (1,370 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 0% (5 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Coppola
3. Arsenal (2017)
> Combined index score: 0.538
> IMDb user rating: 4.0/10 (4,093 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 17% (250 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 3% (30 reviews)
> Directed by: Steven C. Miller
2. 211 (2018)
> Combined index score: 0.528
> IMDb user rating: 4.4/10 (7,507 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 10% (182 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 4% (24 reviews)
> Directed by: York Alec Shackleton
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1. Left Behind (2014)
> Combined index score: 0.275
> IMDb user rating: 3.1/10 (38,531 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 4% (14,271 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 1% (70 reviews)
> Directed by: Vic Armstrong
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