44th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 44th Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, were the annual satirical ceremony organized by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to recognize the worst films and performances of 2023, held digitally on March 9, 2024, and hosted by the comedy duo The Mean Gays.[1][2] The ultra-low-budget horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey dominated the proceedings, securing five awards including Worst Picture, Worst Director for Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Worst Screenplay, Worst Prequel, Remix, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Screen Combo for the titular characters Pooh and Piglet portrayed by Craig David Dowsett and Chris Cordell.[1] Among performers, Megan Fox won both Worst Actress for Johnny & Clyde and Worst Supporting Actress for her role in Expend4bles, marking a rare double Razzie sweep for an individual.[3][1] Jon Voight claimed Worst Actor for Mercy, setting a Guinness World Record as the oldest recipient in that category at age 85.[4][1] The Sylvester Stallone-led Expend4bles topped nominations with seven nods, underscoring ongoing critiques of franchise fatigue in action cinema.[1][5]Overview
Event Background and Context
The Golden Raspberry Awards, commonly referred to as the Razzies, were established in 1981 by publicist John J.B. Wilson as a satirical alternative to the Academy Awards, specifically to recognize the worst films, performances, and technical elements from the prior year. The inaugural ceremony occurred on March 31, 1981, in Wilson's Hollywood home alcove, deliberately scheduled on the same evening as the Oscars to draw a humorous contrast between cinematic excellence and failure. Winners are determined through balloting by members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, a group comprising film enthusiasts, critics, and industry observers, with the awards emphasizing public accountability for subpar productions via categories like Worst Picture and Worst Actor.[6][7] The 44th edition, held on March 9, 2024, at a private venue, focused on 2023 theatrical releases and maintained the Razzies' tradition of critiquing both high-budget disappointments and low-effort independents. Nominations were announced on January 22, 2024, with Sylvester Stallone's action ensemble Expend4bles topping the list at seven nods, including Worst Picture, followed by David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer with five. The ceremony was hosted by the comedy duo The Mean Gays, who presented the event in a livestreamed format, aligning with the awards' ongoing adaptation to digital accessibility while preserving their irreverent tone.[8][1] This installment highlighted a trend of ultra-low-budget films gaining outsized attention, as the £100,000 British horror Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey—a public-domain exploitation of A.A. Milne's characters—swept multiple categories despite its intentional cheesiness and critical derision, amassing over 50,000 viewer dislikes on YouTube for its perceived cash-grab quality. Such outcomes reflect the Razzies' voter base's inclination toward punishing perceived cynicism in filmmaking, though the awards' subjective nature has drawn occasional criticism for overlooking artistic intent in favor of populist disdain.[1]Ceremony Details
The 44th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony took place on March 9, 2024, honoring the worst films of 2023 through a digital presentation rather than a live in-person event.[1] The results were unveiled via the official Razzie YouTube channel and website, maintaining the tradition of "Super Saturday" releases immediately preceding the Academy Awards.[2] This virtual format, adopted in recent years, allowed for satirical commentary without a physical venue, emphasizing the event's low-budget, mock-awards ethos.[9] The ceremony was hosted by Jake Jonez and Aaron Goldenberg, billed as "The Mean Gays," who scripted and performed the announcements in a campy, irreverent style.[10] Their hosting marked a departure from prior Razzie traditions, incorporating scripted sketches and producer John J.B. Wilson's archival input to highlight winners like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey for multiple categories.[1] No formal red carpet or audience attendance occurred, aligning with the event's focus on online accessibility and critique over spectacle.[11]Nomination Process
Announcement and Voting Mechanics
The nominations for the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards were announced on January 22, 2024, one day prior to the Academy Awards nominations, via a video presentation on the official Razzies YouTube channel and website.[12][13][14] This timing adheres to the longstanding tradition of the Golden Raspberry Foundation to preemptively highlight cinematic low points in advance of the Oscars.[12] Voting for both nominations and winners is conducted exclusively by members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, a group comprising film enthusiasts rather than industry professionals.[15] Membership is open to the public for an annual fee of $40, which grants access to online ballots distributed via the Election Runner platform; participants hail from all 50 U.S. states and approximately 25 foreign countries.[15] In the nominating phase, members receive ballots listing 7 to 12 potential candidates per category—derived from recent releases deemed eligible—along with options for write-in entries; the highest vote recipients (typically five or six per category) advance as official nominees.[15] The final ballot follows, focusing solely on these nominees, with results tallied to determine "winners" announced on March 9, 2024, the evening before the Oscars ceremony.[12][1] This democratic, public-driven process contrasts with peer-voted awards like the Oscars, emphasizing broad audience perceptions of mediocrity over insider consensus.[15]Leading Films and Performances
Expend4bles received the most nominations at seven, leading the field for the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards announced on January 22, 2024. These included categories for Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Worst Supporting Actor (50 Cent), Worst Director (Scott Waugh), Worst Screenplay, Worst Prequel, Remix, Rip-Off or Sequel, and Worst Screen Combo (Sylvester Stallone and entire "man-o-pause" cast).[11][8][16] Tied for second place with five nominations each were The Exorcist: Believer and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. The Exorcist: Believer earned nods for Worst Picture, Worst Director (David Gordon Green), Worst Actor (Leslie Odom Jr.), Worst Actress (Lidya Jewett or Olivia Marcum), Worst Screenplay, and Worst Prequel, Remix, Rip-Off or Sequel.[11][12] Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director (Rhys Frake-Waterfield), Worst Screenplay, Worst Prequel, Remix, Rip-Off or Sequel, and Worst Screen Combo (Pooh and all other "honey-voiced" characters).[11] Among individual performances, Sylvester Stallone's role in Expend4bles highlighted the leading acting nominations, alongside multiple nods for the film's ensemble. Other prominent entries included Megan Fox for Worst Actress in Johnny & Clyde and Russell Crowe for Worst Actor in The Pope's Exorcist, reflecting critiques of over-the-top or poorly received portrayals in low-regarded productions.[13][12] Superhero films like Shazam! Fury of the Gods (four nominations) targeted supporting turns by Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren, underscoring perceived weaknesses in blockbuster acting.[13]Award Categories and Results
Worst Picture and Related Categories
The Worst Picture category at the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards nominated five films released in 2023 as exemplifying the year's lowest standards in cinematic production: Expend4bles, The Exorcist: Believer, Meg 2: The Trench, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.[11][17] Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a £100,000-budget independent horror film that reimagined A. A. Milne's public-domain characters as murderous figures, received the award for Worst Picture as voted by Razzie members.[18][3] The film's selection highlighted criticisms of its amateurish execution, including substandard effects, acting, and narrative coherence, despite generating over $7 million in global box office from curiosity-driven viewership.[19] Related categories underscored the film's dominance in Razzie derision, with director and co-writer Rhys Frake-Waterfield earning Worst Director for his handling of the production's technical and storytelling deficiencies.[18] The screenplay by Frake-Waterfield and Scott Jeffrey won Worst Screenplay, cited for its simplistic plot and failure to capitalize on source material beyond exploitative violence.[19] Additionally, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey claimed Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel for its loose, unauthorized adaptation of the 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh book, which entered public domain in 2022, and Worst Screen Combo for the depictions of Pooh and Piglet.[18][20] This sweep of five awards marked a rare instance of a single low-budget title capturing multiple core production critiques.[19]Acting Categories
The acting categories of the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards, honoring the worst performances in 2023 films, featured wins by established actors in low-budget and action genres. Jon Voight, an Academy Award winner for Coming Home (1978), received the Worst Actor award for his portrayal in the dystopian thriller Mercy.[21][22] Megan Fox claimed the Worst Actress Razzie for her lead role as a bank robber in the crime drama Johnny & Clyde, a film produced on a modest budget that also drew nominations for Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay.[18][22] Fox achieved a rare double by also winning Worst Supporting Actress for her appearance in the ensemble action film Expend4bles, marking her third and fourth Razzie wins overall.[21][22] In supporting roles, Sylvester Stallone, a frequent Razzie nominee with prior wins including Worst Supporting Actor for Oscar (1992), took the Worst Supporting Actor award for his performance in Expend4bles, an installment in the long-running action franchise that received seven nominations total.[18][22] Other nominees in acting categories included Russell Crowe for The Pope's Exorcist and Helen Mirren for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, highlighting critiques of over-the-top or miscast efforts in major releases.[12] The results underscored recurring Razzie themes of targeting exaggerated acting in exploitative or poorly received projects, with Fox's dual victories drawing particular attention for spanning lead and supporting fields.[21]Technical and Screenplay Categories
The Technical and Screenplay Categories of the 44th Golden Raspberry Awards, held on March 9, 2024, targeted flaws in filmmaking craft beyond performances, including direction, writing, character pairings, and unoriginal premises from 2023 releases. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey achieved a sweep in these areas, winning Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Combo, and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, reflecting voter consensus on its execution as emblematic of substandard horror exploitation.[1][23] Rhys Frake-Waterfield earned the Worst Director award for helming Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a low-budget slasher reimagining A. A. Milne's characters that premiered at FrightFest in August 2023 and grossed approximately $785,000 worldwide against a production cost under $100,000.[3][24] Critics and Razzie voters cited amateurish staging, poor pacing, and ineffective tension-building as key failings.[20] In the Worst Screenplay category, Frake-Waterfield again prevailed for penning the film's script, which adapted public-domain elements into a narrative faulted for illogical plotting, underdeveloped characters, and gratuitous violence lacking motivation.[1][25] The award underscored broader issues in direct-to-streaming horror, where rushed production timelines often prioritize shock value over coherent storytelling.[23]| Category | Winner | Film |
|---|---|---|
| Worst Director | Rhys Frake-Waterfield | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey |
| Worst Screenplay | Rhys Frake-Waterfield | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey |
| Worst Screen Combo | Pooh & Piglet as Blood-Thirsty Slasher/Killers (!) | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey |
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | N/A (film-level award) | Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey |
Multiple Wins and Nominations
Films with Highest Counts
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey achieved the highest number of wins with five, sweeping all categories in which it was nominated, including Worst Picture, Worst Director for Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Worst Actor for Craig David Dowsett, Worst Actress for Amber Doig-Thorne, and Worst Screenplay.[18][26] This low-budget horror film, a loose adaptation of A. A. Milne's public-domain characters, drew criticism for its execution and perceived exploitation of intellectual property entering the public domain.[18] Expend4bles, the fourth installment in the action franchise, received the most nominations at seven, spanning Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Prequel, Remix, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Actor for Sylvester Stallone (who also received a supporting nod).[12][13] It won two awards: Worst Supporting Actor for Sylvester Stallone and Worst Supporting Actress for Megan Fox.[18] The Exorcist: Believer tied for second in nominations with five, including Worst Picture and Worst Director for David Gordon Green, but failed to win any awards.[13][12]| Film | Nominations | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Expend4bles | 7 | 2 |
| Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey | 5 | 5 |
| The Exorcist: Believer | 5 | 0 |