10 Biggest Streaming Movie Disappointments Of 2026 (So Far)

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Streaming might be the way most people increasingly get their entertainment, but even releasing your motion picture directly to home media won't prevent your latest flick from bombing. Whether audiences simply stop watching the movie mid-stream, or just skip by it to watch an old favorite, audience retention numbers are never guaranteed. Neither is critical or audience approval. That could leave a very rotten mark behind on review aggregation websites like Rotten Tomatoes.

The movies listed below may have been viewed by consumers or been utterly ignored by them, but they all have one thing in common: critics or audiences loathed them. They hit a slump in one way or another, making them big disappointments to the websites that took a chance on them. Selected via a combination of Rotten Tomatoes scores, audience reaction ratings and streaming data, here are the biggest streaming movie disappointments so far of 2026.

• Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz
• Director: Jonah Hill
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 84 minutes
• Where to watch: Apple TV

• Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Paul Walter Hauser, Sacha Baron Cohen
• Director: Peter Farrelly
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

Folks still love the Farrelly brothers — or in this case, Peter Farrelly, whose "Balls Up" also did very well when it arrived on Prime Video. It even managed to draw more viewers than a fresh episode of "The Boys" during its initial release week. But that goodwill did not extend to either the audience or the critics' response to this movie. On Rotten Tomatoes, "Balls Up" only scored a 23% from critics. Fans liked it slightly more, but not enough to give it a fresh score, with the film landing at 30%.

Critics were not kind, to say the least, and many couldn't stop hammering on how poor the premise was and how the film seemed to belong to another era. "'Balls Up' would've been a bad movie in the Farrelly Bros. heyday. In 2026, it's the most undignified paycheck of Mark Wahlberg's career, which is genuinely saying something," remarked Dustin Rowles of Pajiba. "'Balls Up' is exactly the kind of workable Hollywood premise that back in the day would be reserved for D-List actors like Pauly Shore or one of Adam Sandler's buddies," remarked Will Hume of Flickering Myth.

The flick is about condom company worker Elijah DeBell (Paul Walter Hauser), who invents a rubber called the Testicle Sentinel that can be wrapped over the wearer's gonads. DeBell is teamed up with salesman Brad Lewison (Wahlberg), and they are sent to Brazil to sell the Testicle Sentinel to the country's travel ministry in the hope of getting a World Cup sponsorship. Calamity follows, of course.

• Cast: Uma Thurman, Iris Apatow, Maddie Ziegler
• Director: Vicky Jewson
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 88 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

A fun premise that mixes up ballet, murder and gunplay, "Pretty Lethal" should have soared with its target audience. But the film never struck a nerve with the general public, though those who have seen the flick seem to think it's an entertaining romp. It got middling reviews, landing at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the audience score is superior at 64% from over 250 respondents.

In the film, a group of Los Angeles ballerinas end up in big trouble when their bus breaks down on their way to a competition in Budapest. They take shelter at a local inn only to discover there's something very sinister afoot. Now they have to fight for their lives against some very bad company.

While critics appreciated the film's spirited irreverence, they felt let down by the way "Pretty Lethal" executed its themes. "Not only does the film fail to live up to its premise outside of a single action sequence, it's an ugly film that wastes Uma Thurman and sidelines the great Millicent Simmonds away in a room for a lengthy portion," opined Erik Childress of the Movie Madness podcast. "Pretty Lethal proves that ballet is hard, but maybe making good movies is harder," said John Serba of Decider.

• Cast: Tyler Perry, Jermaine Harris, Amber Reign Smith
• Director: Tyler Perry
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 111 minutes
• Where to watch: Netflix

Part of the Madea movie universe, "Joe's College Road Trip" did great numbers for Netflix, setting a new record for the biggest online-exclusive comedy movie opening ever. But critics and even Tyler Perry's loyal coterie of viewers had mixed thoughts about it. It holds a 42% critical approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it 50%. 

The film sends Madea's (Tyler Perry) brother, Joe (also Perry), on a cross-country road trip with his grandson, B.J. (Jermaine Harris). B.J. is shopping for a college but feels there's no need for him to look at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) because they have been socially outmoded. Chaos quickly sets in as the two men try to circumnavigate the country and B.J. quickly sets about figuring out who he is as a Black man.

While many pros on Rotten Tomatoes noted that certain things always happen in every Madea movie, they still cried foul about the pat simplicity of Joe's adventure. "Perry is back again with another cheap endeavor that mixes rough comedy with insincere messages on black history, remaining as slapdash as ever with his writing and direction," said Brian Orndorf of Blu-Ray.com. Added Joseph Robinson of Fish Jelly Film Reviews, "Despite a more overt message than we're used to from Mr. Perry, Joe's College Road Trip feels stuck in the same tired rhythms — recycling broad caricature, nonsensical plotting, and humor that rarely rises above offensive."

• Cast: Kate McKinnon, Rashida Jones, Daveed Diggs
• Director: Andrew Stanton
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 94 minutes
• Where to watch: Disney+

"In the Blink of an Eye" follows three groups of people which exist in three different time periods. One is a Paleolithic family. Another is headed by a research scientist studying paleontology and living in the 2020s. A third follows a group of astronauts as they prepare to enter the Kepler system. Each story is interconnected in a completely unexpected way.

Andrew Stanton's film has grand ambitions and even grander star power. It tries to retell the history of the world during its scant runtime and through three stories — but it might be too self-consciously brainy for its own good. Critics handed it a 16% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences loving it way more, giving it 72%.

The pros called the film out for its spiritual emptiness. "Where there should be profundity, there's a curious emptiness that suggests none of this was fully thought through before going to camera," said Andrew Parker of The Gate. "Both pretentious and comically bad," observed critic Matt Pais. 

• Cast: Mia Jenkins, Pepe Barroso Silva, Luca Melucci
• Director: Roger Kumble
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 99 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

Prime Video continues to search for the next big tween or young adult soap opera, which has led to them greenlighting a whole lot of romantic movies based on YA or new adult novels. Unfortunately, they have such a glut going on that "Love Me, Love Me" seems to have disappeared into the ether very quickly. While it's still hanging onto various spots in the international top 10 streaming charts as of this writing, it hasn't quite become the first-place hit that the streamer was likely looking for.

Critics weren't very keen on the love story, either; of the three reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes, only one was positive. "Ultimately, while I sometimes found myself entertained, it was more in a 'so cringe it's fun' kind of way than because it's an actually great piece of media," Maddy Castle of Decider remarked, summing up widespread sentiment regarding the movie. More than 100 viewers agreed, giving it a 34% approval score.

The movie revolves around a love triangle between June (Mia Jenkins) — who is coping with her brother's recent death — James (Pepe Barroso Silva) and Will (Luca Melucci). She meets both boys at her new school in Milan, Italy. While Will seems like the perfect guy and the perfect student, it's dangerous James who draws June in. James has taken up underground MMA fighting to deal with his own pain, and June cannot stop herself from following him into the dark. But which boy will she pick — and will their love survive? 

• Cast: Kelly Rowland, Cliff "Method Man" Smith, Robin Thede
• Director: Linda Mendoza
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

"Relationship Goals" is another example of a big streaming hit that didn't do well with the critics or with viewers. Though it succeeded at initially pulling in viewers and hit Prime Video's top 10 charts, critics gave it a paltry 24% on The Tomatometer, and over 50 viewers dunned it with a 46% approval score.

The film stars Kelly Rowland as Leah Caldwell, a television producer who finds herself coping with the presence of her ex, Jarrett Roy (Cliff "Method Man" Smith, who once played a forgotten character on "CSI"), as both begin vying for a leadership role at the morning talk show where they work. Jarrett claims he's a changed man, pointing to a self-help book to explain his new ways. But Leah is unwilling to forgive and forget, and wonders if he's really worth a second chance in the boardroom or anywhere else.

Plenty of critics had something to say about the way the movie turns itself into a promotional tool for a real-life self help book. "I'd say 'Relationship Goals' is as subtle as a fart in church," opined John Serba of Decider. Other critics noted that the movie was less a celebration of God than of money. "The endeavor tries to have heart and soul, but the only feeling viewers might feel is ickiness as the offering is nothing more than a grotesque commercial for a megachurch mogul," said Brian Orndorf of Blu-Ray.com.

• Cast: Belén Cuesta, Diana Gómez, Joaquín Furriel
• Director: David Victori
• Rating: TV-MA
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Where to watch: Netflix

Disaster movies and creature features are always reliable go-tos for streaming exclusives, and Netflix decided to lean on the former genre in releasing "Firebreak" on its platform. They've had a lot of success in the Spanish-language market and were apparently hoping this would break huge for them. Instead it disappeared into the ether, failing to make much of an international splash.

Critics liked it more than audiences; of the nine reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes, six are positive. But it landed with a resounding splat with viewers, with over 50 watchers combining for a paltry 33% score. Multiple user reviews flat-out called the movie trash.

In the film, Mara (Belén Cuesta) is a widow staying at her family's summer home. She's horrified when her daughter Lide (Candela Martínez) disappears into the woods one day. The situation turns dire when a forest fire breaks out, forcing Mara to act fast and team up with her family to make it out alive — and hopefully leave with her daughter in her arms.

• Cast: Lauren Call, Brec Bassinger, Charles Esten, Oded Fehr
• Director: Burke Doeren
• Rating:  R
• Runtime: 87 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

Speaking of B-movie creature features, "Grizzly Night" looks like it wanted to capture the magic of the bizarre "Cocaine Bear," but in a much more grounded way. "Grizzly Night" takes us to an August night in 1967, in which Joan Devereaux (Lauren Call) — a newbie ranger working in Glacier Park — has to cope with two separate bear attacks in a single evening. She ends up taking charge when a group of panicked campers stumble her way, and must lead them to safety through the darkness, dodging the roaming, malevolent predators.

The movie is actually based on a real-life tragedy in which two bears attacked and killed two women in the late 1960s in Glacier National Park, but it didn't garner much attention from cult audiences or otherwise. Someday it might be a huge hit on Tubi, but at the moment it's languishing in VOD and Prime Video looking for some new eyeballs. Those who choose to take a chance on it seem to love it: While 17 reviewers gave it middling reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, landing it at 53%, audiences gave it a roaring 71%.

Reviewers had plenty of praise for the animal actors in this one — but not so much for the humans. "There's much to admire about the bears, but it's the humans who let the film down," remarked John Townsend of Starburst. "The period details are spotty, and the message about responsible stewardship of nature is muted at best," opined Crooked Marquee's Josh Bell.

• Cast: Seth Green, Kevin Dillon, Charlie Weber
• Director: Tony Dean Smith
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 105 minutes
• Where to watch: Prime Video

This entry is about a thriller with an unusual topic — a high stakes poker game where the losers shed more than their cash if they're dealt a bad hand. A gleefully violent horror B-movie, "The Highest Stakes" was released directly to streaming and, like "Grizzly Nights," hasn't gotten a lot of attention on Prime Video.

At the moment, only a few audience members have weighed in on "The Highest Stakes" on Rotten Tomatoes — and the reviews are largely bad. "Execrable. Worse than amateur. Film students make much better films," said John F. "Some of the worst acting I've ever had the displeasure to watch," wrote Denise S.

The plot follows five separate strangers who are called to a poker game at a hotel, each with their own baggage and scars in tow. They are subjected to spooky magical occurrences, all hosted by the night's emcee, Samuel Nicholas (Seth Green). As each is picked off, the tension in the room grows greater and greater. A detective named Michael Quinn (Kevin Dillon) emerges as a possible spoiler, and soon a battle for survival emerges between Quinn, his fellow survivors, and the spirits watching them.