22 Movies People Expected To Hate But Ended Up Loving

    Don't knock it 'til you try it, right?

    Salimah McCullough
    by Salimah McCullough

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Have you ever seen a trailer for a new movie and just thought, “Well, this isn’t going to be that good.” Yeah, me too! But sometimes you watch it anyway out of boredom or curiosity and you end up being pleasantly surprised.

    NBC / Via giphy.com

    And this week, when redditor u/PinkClouds asked, “What movie which you’d expect to be terrible is actually unexpectedly really good?”, it really highlighted some rather unexpected candidates.

    Nickelodeon / Via giphy.com

    So, here are some movies that people expected to be terrible but found unexpectedly amazing.

    Megamind (2010)

    Megamind and Roxanne from "Megamind"
    Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I thought it was gonna be the normal cringy superhero movie, but it was actually just super funny! Actually funny, not cringy funny!”

    —u/Moonlitholly

    The Lego Movie (2014)

    Wyldstyle, Emmet, and Vitruvius from "The Lego Movie"
    Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I thought, 'Oh, this is just one of those movies for a product. I mean Batman and Superman on the poster; this screams paid product. I just hope the marketing isn't too obvious.' My god was I wrong. The Lego Movie is now in my top 20 animated movies, and I did not expect that movie to be that amazing. It proved to me that all those paid-product movies don't have any excuses to be as bad as they are.”

    —u/danielcube

    Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

    Major William Cage from "Edge of Tomorrow"
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    “I thought it was going to be a lame explosion movie since I’d never heard of it. It turned out to be one of the most clever takes on the Sci-fi action genre I’ve seen. Great story, and really well acted. Not surprised it’s become a cult hit.”

    —u/fetoid

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

    Miles Morales looking at himself in a mirror in a scene from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"
    Sony Pictures Animation / Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I was expecting a corny kids version of a Marvel movie; entertaining but no substance. Well, I was blown away! I probably had the most fun in a movie that I can remember with that one. And I think that’s a movie meant to be watched on a big screen.”

    —u/you_cant_pause_toast

    Stardust (2007)

    Charlie Cox and Claire Danes in "Stardust"
    Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw it purely by chance at the cinema after the film my friend and I wanted to see had sold out. I had no idea who was in it, that it was based on a book or the storyline, and I was blown away. It is so funny, charming, colorful, and just a buttload of fun in general."

    —u/Ela_De_Salisbury

    School of Rock (2003)

    Jack Black playing a guitar in a classroom in "School of Rock"
    Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw it on TV at least five years after it was first released. I remembered rolling my eyes at the previews and being all cynical about it. Turns out it was a magical musical journey full of laughter and learning.”

    —u/IronCreeksRico

    A Simple Favor (2018)

    Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick sitting on a couch and sipping drinks in "A SImple Favor"
    Peter Iovino / Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I watched this on Hulu mostly, thinking, ‘if nothing else, I got two hours of Anna Kendrick,’ and ended up being seriously entertained by this movie."

    —u/WilliamMcCarty

    Big Hero 6 (2014)

    Baymax hugging Hiro in "Big Hero 6"
    Walt Disney Co./ Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I was at my in-laws’ house, and we decided to watch it while my daughter was napping. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.”

    —u/Scrotal_abrasion

    Zootopia (2016)

    Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from "Zootopia"
    Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I had nothing else to watch and was browsing Netflix, bored out of my mind. I hadn't cared for any Disney movie for years. Scrolled over Zootopia and I decided, 'eh, sure why not.' I was going into it thinking I was going to be very disappointed. Who knew it would end up becoming my favorite Disney movie. It was funny, emotional, and the story was just amazing. I genuinely enjoyed the movie!”

    —u/HeyySaltyy

    Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

    Chris Pratt in "Guardians of the Galaxy"
    Walt Disney Co. / courtesy Everett Collection

    “An overwhelmingly CGI movie starring Andy from Parks and Recreation is already unbelievable. Then you throw in the panda, a green lady, and Vin Diesel as a tree; really just expected it to be trash, but it’s seriously THE best the MCU has to offer.”

    —u/KenJyi30

    Happy Death Day (2017)

    Thersea holding a hammer and standing with her back facing the killer
    Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I couldn’t have gone into it with lower expectations, but I think it does the time loop thing better than Groundhog Day."

    —u/RodneyFilms

    John Carter (2012)

    John and Dejah in "John Carter"
    Frank Connor/©Walt Disney Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “Just looked like a generic sci-fi action-adventure, but it’s easily one of my favorite movies now. It’s one of those movies where the marketing was just never going to work for it; you just have to see it.”

    —u/ReapItMurphy

    Lord of the Rings (2001)

    Frodo and Gandalf in "Lord of the Rings"
    New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everette Collection

    “The movie we were supposed to see was already sold out and everything else we had seen already, so we had no choice but to pick LotR. We never saw a trailer and didn't know what to expect, so we ridiculed it talking about fairies and elves. It turned out to be the best movie we had ever seen, and to our surprise, a sequel was already coming out the next year.”

    —u/GloomyBison

    Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

    Captain America
    Zade Rosenthal/©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The first Captain America was okay — like passable, but forgettable. Having him in the Avengers wasn't really a strong point. Nothing was really making him special. Then came this dramatically different thriller film that did a 180 on my perception of Steve Rogers. Also, everyone was at the top of their game! And Robert fucking Redford? A legendary actor in a Marvel film!”

    —u/dd801363

    Mean Girls (2004)

    Cady, Karen, Regina, and Gretchen standing in the hallway in "Mean Girls"
    Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

    "I knew nothing about Mean Girls going in but it actually turned out to be way more entertaining than I thought. The movie exaggerated many elements about high school, but it was honestly pretty in-touch with all of the petty drama that goes on in high school sometimes. That's probably why I found it so funny."

    —u/klarrynet

    Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

    Detective Pikachu
    Courtesy Of Warner Bros. Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I expected a basic 'family-friendly' movie seen a million times before, but I was surprised to see that they really worked on the universe and characters while making sure the children and the parents could understand and laugh at the jokes.”

    —u/RoyBF

    Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

    K-2SO and Jyn Erso looking at each other
    Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Lucasfilm Ltd. /Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I really didn’t want to see it and only went because my sister got me tickets for Christmas when it came out. I had no interest in watching the rebels get the plans for the Death Star. I really didn’t care to see it, but it’s now my favorite Star Wars movie.”

    —u/WarriorOfTheWord

    Paddington 2 (2017)

    Paddington bear
    Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection

    "I thought I would hate the CGI bears and whatnot, but it’s aggressively adorable and has excellent cozy vibes.”

    —u/pink_foliage

    How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

    Hiccup and Toothless in "How to Train Your Dragon 2"
    20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I liked the first one but did not have high expectations of the sequel. I did not expect the amount of emotional depth the movie had. It really stands on its own and does not feel like a sequel. I saw it with my dad, and we both loved it.”

    —u/uncool4skool

    Zoolander (2001)

    Derek Zoolander in "Zoolander"
    Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “At the time, Ben Stiller was mainly known for rom-coms and the movie just looked bad. 'So he’s a male model? And he’s dumb? And they want to stretch that for an entire movie? I bet the only remotely funny jokes are in the trailer.' It turned out to be a classic!"

    —u/MoobyTheGoldenSock

    Trolls (2016)

    Poppy and Branch in "Trolls"
    20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I really did not want to see that movie. We had a big 8+ hour road trip, so I downloaded it on the tablet and handed my kids some headphones. They wanted to watch it again the next day while on vacation, and I found myself sucked in. It really is a fun movie, and the studio did a great job with the '70s vibe as a nod to the original Troll dolls and the era they come from."

    —u/garbagegoat

    Finally, Pitch Perfect (2012)

    The Barden Bellas in "Pitch Perfect"
    Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I hate musicals and definitely thought this was going to be some High School Musical 2.0 BS. I just watched it recently because it’s still quarantine, and I think everyone here has delved into some movie genres we’re not quite fond of because we’re all running out of things to watch, however. Its probably the last movie to make me laugh out loud in a long time."

    —u/YoMan_DontEatThose

    Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.