7. Regression
The Hype: Acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes, The Sea Inside, The Others) returns with his first film in 6 years, a mysterious thriller starring Emma Watson and Ethan Hawke. With a US release date originally set for August 28th, it was pushed back to December 31st just a week before the planned August release, further suggesting that it was being released later in the year with the hope of increasing its Oscar chances.
Why It's Lost The Oscar Race: Regression has since been screened at festivals around the globe and released in the UK, where it's opened to universally negative reviews, scoring a
jaw-droppingly bad 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 3.5/10 average. Critics tore the film apart for being a disappointingly dull and generic horror-thriller which not even the solid efforts of Watson and Hawke could save. Much blame was laid at the feet of Amenábar, who most assert turned in a low-effort story that goes nowhere especially interesting. Given that many were touting Watson for a potential Oscar nomination at the start of the year, this one's pretty crushing.