The films of 2024 left Us with some incredible moments that made Us laugh, cry and ponder the meaning of life. Others, meanwhile, left Us simply saying, “WTF?”
To be clear, WTF is not always a bad reaction: Challengers’ ability to leave Us wanting more was admirable, while Nicolas Cage’s performance in Longlegs only helped the film feel more unnerving. Sure, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley’s Monstro Elisasue transformation grossed Us out, but the performances are undeniably brilliant.
Then there are, of course, the WTF moments that feel like they could have been helped. Madame Web’s failure at the box office was followed by criticism of the flimsy plot, clunky dialogue and questionable editing. While some superhero fans were surprised the film didn’t deliver, star Dakota Johnson wasn’t one of them.
“Unfortunately, I’m not surprised that this has gone down the way it has,” the actress told Bustle in March. “It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee. Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them. You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms.”
Johnson claimed that studio executives have started to believe that audiences are not as “smart” as they actually are, which is why they can “sniff out the bulls—.”
“It was definitely an experience for me to make that movie,” she continued. “I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”
Keep scrolling for all the biggest WTF movie moments of 2024:
Not Knowing Who Won That ‘Challengers’ Match
Every iota of tension that builds between trio of tennis phenoms Tashi (Zendaya), Art (Mike Faist) and Patrick (Josh O’Connor) comes to a head in the climactic moment of this Luca Guadagnino-directed sports drama when the two men face off in a tennis match after years of estrangement — with Tashi sat right smack in the middle.
Guadagnino captures the moment through unique angles on the court, placing the audience behind the players, under the net and even as the ball itself. The bass-thumping techno beats blaring as Art and Patrick go point for point only makes the sequence more dizzying. And oh, did we mention the match comes one day after Patrick sleeps with Tashi, who happens to be Art’s wife?
And while the moment is nothing short of phenomenally executed, Guadagnino’s decision to end the movie without revealing who actually wins is what lands it on this WTF list. Some might say that’s exactly how it should have concluded, leaving the results up to the viewer’s imagination, but after two hours of complex relationships building only to shift and fray, learning where these three end up would have left Us satisfied.
Being Robbed of Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones Making Out in ’Twisters’
Everyone knows the best part of a rom-com is when the two rivals-who-couldn’t-stand-each-other-two-hours-ago end up running into each other’s arms to share a passionate kiss. It’s a staple for the genre, but one Lee Isaac Chung ultimately chose to do without when directing the sequel to the 1996 original film.
It turns out a kiss was initially shot for Twisters. When Glen Powell’s Tyler runs into the airport to chase love interest Kate, played by Daisy Edgar Jones, the pair were supposed to give into their desires. That changed when producer Steven Spielberg suggested going a different way.
Edgar-Jones told Collider in August that Spielberg felt ending the film without a kiss “stops the film feeling too clichéd” and that the understanding that “this isn’t the end of their story. They’re united by their shared passion for something.” (We’re not usually one to question an absolute icon like Spielberg, but … huh?)
So, what actually happens? Tyler still does his hero mad dash into the airport to catch Kate before she flies away, but instead of laying on her, he tells her he wants to chase more storms together. Cue credits. And Us saying “WTF.”
Nicolas Cage’s Song of Our Nightmares in ‘Longlegs’
When NEON dropped its creepiest, most intricate marketing campaign of all time, horror fans everywhere knew Longlegs would be the can’t-miss event of the year. When it finally premiered in July, it didn’t disappoint — and that’s largely thanks to Cage’s unnervingly eerie performance as the titular character.
Longlegs, real name is Dale Ferdinand Kobble, is a devil worshiper who murders entire families and leaves no physical evidence at the scene of his crimes. The film follows Maika Monroe as FBI Special Agent Lee Harker, a rookie who has special connection with the serial killer, as she is tasked with figuring out how, and why.
Every second (an entirely unrecognizable) Cage is on screen is terrifying, but his performance of “Fire Fire Fire, Hiss” — an original song the actor recorded and released in its entirety — remains the movie’s top “WTF” moment.
The song can be found on YouTube with the caption, “The last known musical recording by Dale Ferdinand Kobble before the voices took over.” Yikes!
Jenna Ortega’s ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Demon Baby
Any Tim Burton-directed movie is ensured to have a wide array of head-scratching moments — especially one about a demon (played by Michael Keaton) who haunts people’s lives after they say his name three times.
The 1988 film was beautifully weird, but the sequel manages to deliver an even more heightened experience while still mainly depending on practical effects rather than CGI. That approach makes one particular sequence in which Lydia’s (Winona Ryder) daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) gives birth to a demonic baby Beetlejuice even more insane. The decrepit looking infant pops up from between Astrid’s legs — complete with its dad’s hair, ghostly-white complexion and covered in blood — declaring his arrival.
Baby Beetlejuice turns out to just be a figment in a nightmare Lydia is having about her daughter (whew!), but that little creature is still haunting our brains months later.
‘Monstro ElisaSue’ in ’The Substance’
Demi Moore gives one of the best performances of her career in The Substance, a body horror film that follows her character, Elizabeth, as she begins taking a mysterious pill that allows her to share an existence with a younger body double, Sue (Margaret Qualley).
The transformations are hard to watch from the very beginning — it is body horror, after all — but it’s when Sue decides she wants to be the duo’s primary body, and breaks the rules of The Substance, that things take a turn for the truly gruesome.
Rules are rules, so when Sue decides to take matters in her own hands, she forces herself and Elizabeth to face the consequences, turning them into director Coralie Fareat’s creation: Monstro Elisasue.
The monster is a hideous amalgamation of both women, one that starts to decay and melt more by the second. Despite the transformation, Sue still heads to her New Year’s Eve show — she’s a famous fitness instructor — but horrifies the audience, who become showered in blood once Elisaue explodes and leaves nothing more than a pile of guts in her wake.
Yeah, WTF.
Jennifer Garner’s Divorce Joke About Ben Affleck in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Jennifer Garner referencing her divorce with Ben Affleck on screen in 2024 wasn’t on our bingo cards! The actress returned to her role as Elektra for Deadpool & Wolverine after first playing the character opposite Affleck in 2003’s Deadpool. The two fell in love while working together and married two years later. They divorced in 2018 after welcoming three children.
For Deadpool & Wolverine, Elektra is scouted to help the titular characters (played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, respectively) defeat super villain Cassandra (Emma Corrin). When Elektra mentions that someone always dies when they fight Cassandra and her troupe — noting Quicksilver, Hawkeye and Daredevil as three of her victims — Deadpool gives his deep condolences about Elektra losing her longtime love.
Elektra’s reaction, however, is less than emotional. “It’s fine,” she responds with an unaffected shrug. The moment is an obvious meta play on Garner and Affleck real-life split, and surprising enough to make this list.
Madame Web’s ADR Nightmare
Despite having an all-star cast in Dakota Johsnon, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott and more, Sony’s Madame Web made waves for its convoluted story, unrealistic dialogue and questionable special effects.
A “so bad it’s good” movie can be a delicious watch, but the superhero flick — which currently has an 11 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes — crossed into nearly unwatchable with the misalignment in the dialogue of Tahar Rahim’s character, Ezekiel Sims.
Using Automated Dialogue Replacement (ADR) for certain moments in TV and film is nothing new, and it’s usually not much of a distraction. In Madame Web’s case, however, Rahim often mouths something that doesn’t match up with the ADR recording, while in other scenes show the character speaking without his lips moving at all.
Chances are Madame Web will become a campy classic as the years progress, ADR mishap and all.
‘Mean Girls’ Making a Movie Musical Off a Broadway Show Off a Movie
Hear Us out. It’s not that the Mean Girls movie musical adaptation wasn’t fun. But it was a confusing choice to bring the 2018 broadway adaptation, which is based on a 2004 film, to the big screen in 2024.
Add in some actors returning to their original movie roles — creator Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury and Tim Meadow as Principal Duvall, for example — while also recasting other actors from the original in new parts — like OG lead Lindsay Lohan — and things start to get unnecessarily twisted.
The layers don’t end there. Original Broadway cast member Renee Rapp, who played Queen Bee Regina George on stage, also reprised her role in the movie musical, while other characters — like Aaron Samuels, Gretch Weiners, Karen Smith and Janis Ian — were recast entirely. Consider Us confused.
The Fact ‘Megalopolis’ Exists
Here’s what Megalopolis is supposed to be about: Set in an alternate, 21st century New York City, Cesar (Adam Driver), a genius artist, and Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Espocito), face off about their plans for the future of society. Cesar hopes to create a utopia (yes, Megalopolis), while Cicero wants to keep control of his corrupt establishment.
What is Megalopolis actually about? Great question. There are flashes of that plot — which clearly draws inspiration from Roman history — but it all eventually becomes so convoluted and bizarre it’s hard to keep track of what is happening on screen.
The film is meant to be Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus; a dream project he spent four decades trying to execute, and what is likely to be his last major project.
From that perspective, maybe it doesn’t matter what Megalopolis is. But those of Us who jetted out to theaters were left with confusing plot lines, characters who speak in Shakespeare, Ovid or even Latin, and a question of WTF, exactly, we just watched.
Joker Not Being Joker — We Think? — And Then Dying
Still stuck inside Arkham State Mental Hospital and standing trial for five murders two years after the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux catches back up with Arthur (Joaquin Phoenix) as he meets fellow patient Lee (Lady Gaga). Together, the maniacal duo set out to find true love, drama — and their own musical fantasia — as they embrace chaos and anarchy in Gotham City.
The first Joker was an incredible success, which meant the sequel garnered serious anticipation. And while the movie had its moments, some fans were left confused by some of director Todd Phillips’ creative choices.
For one, Folie à Deux was turned into a quasi-musical, which felt a little out of place. The film also swaps settings, spending the back half of the story becoming a lengthy courtroom drama, which heavily alters the movie’s pace.
The real WTF moment, however, lies in the film’s final moments when Harley breaks up with Arthur, realizing the Joker isn’t his actual personality but a mere performance he puts on for other people. When he’s brought back to the mental hospital, he’s fatally wounded after a young inmate stabs him in the stomach. As Arthur bleeds out, dying, the inmate carves a smile on his own face — much like the one that Heath Ledger is seen sporting in The Dark Knight.
Does this mean the mysterious character is the new Joker? Or a younger version of Ledger’s Joker? Was Arthur ever actually the Joker in the Batman universe or a simple stepping stone to the real story? Those answers remain unclear, but they certainly elicit one last WTF?
