The Worst Movies Based on True Stories

An adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel of the same name, the movie did not find its mark. It follows fictional aspiring writer Sal Paradise as he sets out on a journey across the country – a tale that’s based on the real travels of Kerouac and friends. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus is “Beautiful to look at but a bit too respectfully crafted, On the Road doesn’t capture the energy and inspiration of Jack Kerouac’s novel.”

“Get Rich or Die Tryin'” is loosely based on the life of rapper 50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson III), who stars as himself, portraying a street drug dealer turned rapper. The “distinctly tedious piece of work” (according to Reel Film Reviews) resonated with its audience, but its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score is an abysmal 16%.

“At First Sight” is based on a case study by neurologist Oliver Sacks in which an adult blind man regains his sight. The story is based on the true story of Shirl Jennings, but did not capture the gravitas of the actual events. Critic Roger Ebert said “Its moments of fascination and its good performances are mired in the morass of romance and melodrama that surrounds it.”

“All Good Things” is based on the life of real estate heir Robert Durst, a man who was suspected of killing three people over the course of his life. The movie did terribly with critics and audiences but it inspired Durst to participate in the HBO docuseries “The Jinx,” also directed by Andrew Jarecki – during which he made revelations that would lead to his conviction for one murder in 2021.

“Eat Pray Love” is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert. The movie is a romantic drama that follows Gilbert, played by Julia Roberts, as she makes several life-changing decisions that take her across the world. However, the movie was not able to recreate the book’s success.

This film is based on a 2007 non-fiction book about a group tasked with saving art and culturally important items from the Nazis in the 1940s. George Clooney directed and starred along with an ensemble cast including the likes of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett. However, all that talent wasn’t enough to make it a successful movie.

“10th & Wolf” is based on the true story of a mob war in South Philadelphia in the 1990s. It follows the son of a mafia hitman who runs into legal trouble while serving as a soldier in Operation Desert Storm. He is then coerced by an FBI agent into informing on his criminal family members. Critic Frank Scheck called it “a routine mob thriller.”

“Gods and Generals” is a prequel to director Ron Maxwell’s 1993 film “Gettysburg,” about the infamous Civil War battle. The movie portrays the life of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, but did significantly worse with critics and audiences than the first film.

This 2004 film tells the story of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and its aftermath during the Texas Revolution. Numerous movies have been made about the battle between the ragtag defenders of the Alamo and the invading Mexican army. However, the 2004 version reportedly lost the studio over $146 million and did poorly with critics.

“The Fifth Estate” follows news-leaking site WikiLeaks from its creation by Julian Assange and Daniel Domscheit-Berg to its eruption on the world stage. The film is “heavy on detail and melodrama but missing the spark from its remarkable real-life inspiration,” according to Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus.

“Child 44” is based on a novel of the same name, which in turn is loosely based on the life of Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who murdered at least 52 women and children. The film is set in 1950s Russia and follows a Soviet government official who tries to investigate a series of child murders while dealing with bureaucratic pushback. The film was banned in Russia.

“Domino” was inspired by the life of Domino Harvey, a model and bounty hunter who was the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey. While Harvey worked with the filmmakers to tell her story, she was reportedly unhappy about changes they made – though she passed away from a drug overdose before the film was released. The movie failed to inspire critics, with only 18% giving it a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes.

The 2004 movie was loosely based on the kidnapping of Dutch businessman Gerrit Jan Heijn in the Netherlands in 1987. The setting of the film has been changed to the United States, with Robert Redford starring as a wealthy businessman who is kidnapped by a disgruntled employee. Critic Ty Burr said the film lacked emotion and “could have been more than it is.”

“Savage Grace” – which stars Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne – is based on the true story of wealthy socialite Barbara Daly Baekeland and the dysfunctional and ultimately deadly relationship she had with her son Antony. Only 38% of both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes liked the film, and critic Elizabeth Weitzman said “Grace may be based on a true story, but barely a moment in it feels real.”

The story of talented and influential rapper Tupac Shakur portrays him growing up as the son of a prominent member of the Black Panther Party, through the different stages of his music career to his tragically early death. Though more than half the audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes were favorable, only 18% of critics found the film had merit.

“Close” is an action thriller whose main character, Sam Carlson, is loosely based on Jacqueline Davis, one of the most prominent female bodyguards in the world. Carlson is hired by a wealthy mining heiress in Morocco to protect her amidst a conspiracy for her inheritance. Critic James Berardinelli said “Close feels like many of the numerous direct-to-DVD titles that were prevalent during the 2000s.”

Not to be confused with 2015s “Steve Jobs,” which did better with critics, “Jobs” tells the story of college dropout Steve Jobs, who goes on to found Apple and is eventually ousted from the company. Critics quoted by Rotten Tomatoes called it “bland and bloated,” “the equivalent of a feature-length slow clap,” and “a missed opportunity.”

The 2016 comedy is based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. The movie stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon and was directed by the same man who made 2004s “Napoleon Dynamite,” but most moviegoers and critics were not entertained nonetheless.

The 3-D film “47 Ronin” is a fantasy action film that is loosely based on the true story of a group of Japanese samurai who set out for revenge following the wrongful death of their lord. Even Keanu Reeves’s star power couldn’t bolster the film and it did abysmally with critics and at the box office, failing to break even against a $175 million budget.

This 3-D action thriller about a team of cave divers trapped underground by a flash flood, produced by blockbuster-maven James Cameron, didn’t score much better with audiences than it did with critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes. According to DVD Talk, it runs “through every cliché movie line from the last century-plus of cinema.”

“Devil’s Knot” is a direct adaptation of a novel about the story of the so-called West Memphis Three. The movie is centered on the trial of three teenagers accused of killing three little boys in a Satanic ritual. Critic William Goss disliked the movie for its lack of suspense, describing it as a stiff book report.

Adopted from the E. L. Doctorow novel of the same name, this gangster film, set in 1920s New York, follows fictional character Billy Behan, who becomes a trusted associate of real-life gangster Dutch Schultz. A critic at Entertainment Weekly said “The story sounds promising, yet there’s a joyless, dutiful air to everything that happens.”

“Aftermath” is loosely based on the events surrounding the 2002 Überlingen mid-air plane collision in Germany. The film follows the air traffic controller who was on duty during event and a father and husband who lost his whole family in the accident and is now seeking revenge. Critic Ed Gonzalez said “The film evokes nothing more strongly than a live-action adaptation of a Crate and Barrel catalog.”

“Silent House” is based on a 2010 Uruguayan film that is supposedly based in turn on events that actually occurred in a Uruguayan village in the 1940s. It follows a woman who is terrorized while cleaning her family’s vacation home with her father and uncle. The original holds a 68% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but the American remake did far worse.

“Mobsters” follows the creation of The Commission, the governing body of the American mafia that was formed in the 1930s. It portrays real-life mobsters like Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Al Capone but was unable to impress critics, scoring a mere 6% Tomatometer score.

Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin star as leaders of an elite special operations military force based on the real U.S. Army Delta Force. The pair and their team must intercede in a crisis that was loosely based on the hijacking of Trans World Airlines flight 847. The film spawned two sequels, though audiences and critics were not entertained.

“Texas Killing Fields” is inspired by a stretch of highway between Houston and Galveston where 33 bodies of mainly girls and young women have been found since the 1970s, with most of the murders remaining unsolved. The film was criticized for being confusing, and critic Lou Lumenick said it was “short on coherent story telling.”

“7 Days in Entebbe” is based on Operation Entebbe, a hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Force at Entebbe airport in Uganda in the 1970s. The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is that the movie managed to take extremely riveting real-life events and turn them into a dull movie.

“Phantom” is a submarine thriller film that is loosely based on the real-life sinking of Soviet submarine K-129 in 1968. Critic Laremy Legel said “(actor) Ed Harris and company can’t lift this one off the seafloor” and the film “fades away into the murky mist.”

“The Zodiac” is based on the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer active in Northern California in the 1960s and 1970s. In the film, as in real life, the killer sent encoded messages to local newspapers and stated he would reveal his identity if anyone could solve them. Meanwhile, he continued to kill. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus is that the film took one of the most captivating true crime stories in recent history and turned it into a forgettable movie.

“King of Thieves” fictionalizes the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary that took place in London in 2015 – one of the biggest burglaries in English history. In both the film and real life almost all of the thieves involved were older men, looking for the biggest score of their lives. Critics said the movie had a lot of potential but it never all came together.

“Caligula” is an erotic historical drama film based on the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Caligula. Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse magazine, produced the film with the intent of making an erotic film with high production values. Film critic Roger Ebert found the film so bad that he walked out of it before it ended.

The only movie on this list based on a viral video, “Bad Ass” draws inspiration from a 2010 clip of two men fighting onboard an AC Transit bus in Oakland, California. The movie follows a man who becomes internet-famous after the fight and then goes further to take justice into his own hands. The movie did not replicate the viral success of the video.

“The 15:17 to Paris” is based on a terror attack that happened aboard a train from Amsterdam to Paris in 2015. Director Clint Eastwood chose to cast the real-life individuals involved, who were not professional actors, and that did not make for a great film. The movie “pays clumsily well-intentioned tribute to an act of heroism, but by casting the real-life individuals involved, director Clint Eastwood fatally derails his own efforts,” is the consensus of critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Operation Dumbo Drop” is a 1995 comedy-drama Vietnam War film that stars Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, and Dennis Quaid as U.S. Green Berets who must transport an elephant through rugged jungle terrain. The plot is based on the true effort by U.S. forces to give elephants to villages in South Vietnam to win their support. However, this Disney production was panned by audiences and critics.

“Chapter 27” is a biographical film that tells the story of Mark David Chapman, the man who assassinated John Lennon in 1980. It follows Chapman in the days leading up to the killing, and includes his obsession with the novel “Catcher in the Rye,” which has 26 chapters. The film missed the mark and was unable to capture the intensity of Chapman’s spiral into insanity.

“Amelia” is based on the life of famed pilot Amelia Earhart, who is portrayed by Hilary Swank. Only 20% of critics and 31% of audiences gave the movie a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie was criticized for lacking depth and critic Derek Malcom said “Nowhere is there any sign of the passion that Amelia must have had.”

Werner Herzog is known for directing some powerful films, but “Queen of the Desert” is not one of his memorable works. Nicole Kidman stars as Gertrude Bell, a real British explorer, writer, and political officer who played a key role in the formation of the modern Middle East after World War I. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus is that a very compelling real-life story was turned into a muddled mess on screen.

“Alexander” is the story of Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia, who conquered a significant part of Europe and Asia by age 32. The epic historical drama was unable to capture the grandeur of the actual man. The nearly three-hour-long movie has been described by critics as emotionally and intellectually incoherent, flawed, and an excruciating disaster.

The 2015 crime thriller tells the story of the 1983 kidnapping of beer tycoon Freddy Heineken and his driver. A group of inexperienced criminals decide to kidnap the businessman in the hopes of making some quick money, but things do not go as planned. Critics saw the film as dull and devoid of characterization.

Crocodile-horror film “Primeval” is based on the Burundi crocodile – rumored to measure up to 20 feet long and to have eaten hundreds of men. Two reporters are dispatched to find the crocodile in an area that’s controlled by a ruthless warlord. The movie is a failure in the eyes of both critics and audiences, receiving 19% and 32% positive reviews, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics consensus is that it’s of low quality and has “inane political messages.”

The Billionaire Boys Club was a real group of wealthy young men in the 1980s who tried to start a Ponzi scheme of the same name. The film follows the rise and fall of the club, as well as the personal struggles of its members. Critics were not impressed by the movie in the least and it has a measly 7% on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Hick” is a dark comedy about a 13-year-old girl who runs away from her home in Nebraska, heading for Las Vegas. However, she ends up in a small town in Wyoming where she falls in with a rough crowd. The movie was criticized for its portrayal of sexual content involving a minor and critic Mark Olsen said it “mostly plays like some creepy-perv fantasia”

This dark comedy is a fictionalized version of the real-life 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal. It stars John Travolta as a local weatherman who tries to rig the on-air lottery drawing in his newsroom to fix his financial troubles. The film was a massive box office bomb and made $10 million but cost $65 million to make.

There have been several films about infamous mobster John Gotti, but this one, starring John Travolta as the “Teflon Don,” failed to please any of the 58 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. “He may have been a murderer, but even Gotti deserves better than this” lamented Brian Tellerico of RogerEbert.com. The film was directed by Kevin Connolly, who starred in the cable television series “Entourage.”