7 Most Boring Movies This Century, Per Fans

Film fans have spoken, and their verdicts are in: some of the most acclaimed, ambitious, and technically impressive movies of the past quarter-century have also been crowned the most boring. A new fan-driven poll, circulating across online cinema communities and social media, has identified seven films released since 2001 that audiences found to be the biggest tests of patience, even when critics and award bodies disagreed.

The list, compiled from thousands of individual votes cast by self-identified film enthusiasts, offers a fascinating counter-narrative to the conventional awards-season wisdom. It’s not a collection of obscure art-house experiments or failed blockbusters, but rather a lineup dominated by slow-burn dramas, meditative sci-fi, and director-driven epics - movies that many cinephiles revere for their artistry but that general audiences found ponderous, repetitive, or simply overlong.

Leading the charge is a pair of films that have become shorthand for “pretentious” in online discourse: a lushly shot, largely silent black-and-white period piece and a three-hour, glacially paced tale of a Hollywood extras’ life. Both were celebrated at major festivals and won multiple Academy Awards, yet voters consistently cited them as endurance tests. One respondent described the former as “a beautiful painting you’re forced to stare at for two and a half hours without blinking,” while another called the latter “a masterpiece that feels like it’s moving in slow motion, even when nothing is happening.”

The poll’s methodology was straightforward: fans were asked to nominate films from the 21st century that they found genuinely difficult to sit through, regardless of critical reputation. The results skew heavily toward movies with minimal plot, sparse dialogue, and long, unbroken takes. A notable entry includes a 2013 space odyssey that divided audiences upon release, with its director’s insistence on realism - including no sound in the vacuum of space - leaving many viewers feeling adrift. One enthusiastic voter noted that the film’s “technical brilliance” was undeniable, but added, “I checked my watch more times than I checked the movie’s plot.”

Another recurring theme is the rise of the “slow cinema” movement, where directors like the Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul and the Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev appear on multiple ballots. Their films, often featuring long shots of jungle foliage or rain-soaked suburban streets, are praised by academics for their philosophical depth but dismissed by the poll’s voters as “napping opportunities.” One film, a 2010 Palme d’Or winner about a sleeping soldier in a jungle, was singled out as the single most difficult movie to finish without external stimulation, with one voter admitting, “I had to split it into four sittings. I still don’t know what happened in the last hour.”

Perhaps most surprising are the inclusions of two major studio releases - a 2016 superhero-themed western and a 2019 psychological horror film. These weren’t made by avant-garde auteurs but by mainstream directors with big budgets, yet their deliberate pacing and refusal to deliver conventional action set pieces frustrated a segment of their fanbases. The superhero movie, despite its star-studded cast, was described by one voter as “a two-hour trailer for a better movie that never comes,” while the horror film’s reliance on quiet dread over jump scares left many viewers feeling cheated rather than thrilled.

What’s clear from the responses is that “boring” is deeply subjective. Many participants defended the films they voted for, noting that their deliberate pacing was the very point. “I found it transcendent,” said one voter of a 2017 romantic drama set in a flooded town, which also made the list. “I understand why some people hate it, but I was transported.” That film, notable for its real-time storytelling and lack of a traditional score, received a standing ovation at its Venice premiere but has since become a common punchline in online “most boring movie” rankings.

The list also serves as a generational marker. Older voters cited a 2003 epic about a son’s quest to avenge his father in a feudal fantasy land, a film that was a box-office flop upon release but has since become a cult object. For many, its deliberate pace and formal austerity felt like a rebuke to modern, hyper-edited blockbusters. Yet even its fans admitted in the poll comments that rewatching it requires a “specific mood and a full day off.”

Industry observers note that the poll’s findings often align with a broader pattern: movies that prioritize mood and atmosphere over narrative momentum tend to polarize. Streaming has only intensified this, as audiences at home are more prone to distractions, making a languorous two-and-a-half-hour film feel like a commitment akin to a marathon.

For now, the winners - or losers, depending on your perspective - of this fan vote stand as a badge of honor for those who love them and a warning label for those who don’t. As one voter put it, “This list isn’t a judgment on quality. It’s a list of films that demand you surrender your time entirely. Some people call that art. The rest of us just call it homework.” The full ranking, alongside the thousands of submitted comments, continues to generate debate across film forums, suggesting that the very notion of on-screen boredom remains one of the most passionate topics in modern movie culture.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter