From disappointing sequels to disastrous events, 2024 had its fair share of letdowns. Join us as we revisit the year's most underwhelming moments in pop culture, covering film, TV, gaming, and entertainment news. Prepare for a journey through the "year of the let down" that left fans shaking their heads.
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00:00There's a light, I'll set you down a light, that's never shone on me.
00:12Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 most disappointing
00:17pop culture moments of 2024. For this list, we're revisiting the most underwhelming,
00:22disappointing, and unexpectedly terrible pop culture moments in the year of the letdown 2024.
00:28This list covers film, TV, gaming, and entertainment news, but doesn't cover war
00:34and politics. What? Most people never get what they want. Set your expectations low,
00:44and prepare to be disappointed.
00:4510. Uzumaki misses the mark
00:59The doubters said it would never work, and well, they were probably right. 2024 in general was a
01:05pretty strong year for anime, but the long-awaited adaptation of horror master Junji Ito's most
01:10famous manga just couldn't hit the billing. With only a four-episode run, the first of those
01:15four actually turned out pretty well, but it was a rapid decline from that point onwards.
01:19Reported problems behind the scenes at Adult Swim hardly helped matters,
01:23but viewers generally felt that the pacing was a major issue. The show tries to squeeze too much
01:28of the original greatness into far too short of a run, and it and we ended up paying the price.
01:349. Katy Perry's comeback disaster
01:52With the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Beyoncé all hitting new heights in 2024,
01:58a Katy Perry comeback might have felt like it made a lot of sense. But boy, oh boy,
02:02how badly wrong it went. Her seventh album, 143, was her first in four years,
02:08and the lead single, Woman's World, was apparently meant to carry an empowering message.
02:21But it was met with near-universal criticism. The main headline? Perry had made the song with
02:27the producer Dr. Luke, the same Dr. Luke who had previously been accused by Kesha of physical,
02:32sexual, and emotional abuse. In the accompanying video for Woman's World,
02:37Perry channeled the iconic Rosie the Riveter for yet another massive
02:40misstep that left fans feeling let down to say the least.
02:518. Apple's year of nothing much
03:03Traditionally speaking, if you need a measure of what the cutting edge of technology looks like,
03:09you tune into an Apple-organized event. But not so this year.
03:13The annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June was taglined as
03:17action-packed, but delivered very little, and nothing by way of new hardware.
03:26Another event on September 9th was widely criticized for just how much of a non-event
03:31it ultimately was. For fans and onlookers, the company appears to have gotten very
03:35bogged down in Apple intelligence. But at a time when AI is the next big thing,
03:40Apple so far isn't offering anything that's particularly exciting.
03:44The brief global outrage at the cost of a PS5 Pro was another
03:48tech story that left many shaking their heads.
03:50But in 2025, it'll be all eyes on Apple to up its game again.
04:057. The River Seine
04:07It is official, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are now underway. The opening ceremony was a
04:14spectacle to behold as thousands of athletes traveled down the Seine River and witnessed
04:19the lighting of the Olympic torch. Up until the Olympic Games in the summer of 2024,
04:24the River Seine was just an unassuming waterway flowing through what many still thought of as
04:29the most romantic city in the world. With all eyes on Paris for the planet's greatest sporting
04:34spectacle, however, the Seine became an always-looming symbol of dirt and pollution.
04:38It was at 3.30 this morning this water was tested again.
04:42The data showed risky levels of E. coli bacteria. Again.
04:46The constant headlines relating to poor water quality and sewage drainage eventually led to
04:51some of the open-water swimming events being delayed and cancelled. The Games didn't start
04:56off swimmingly for the Seine either, with organizers opting to stage the opening ceremony
05:00along the river rather than inside the Olympic Stadium as usual. It was a bold and creative move,
05:06but not everyone was on board.
05:28When it comes to the Star Wars universe, it takes something special to be widely deemed
05:32worthy of the franchise, and ultimately, the acolyte fell short. It was never universally
05:38panned. There were elements that fans felt did have promise, and arguably intriguing
05:42storylines that hinted at something new. But the show became tied up in claims of
06:02a review-bombing campaign, and at best, it divided fans while never fully convincing
06:07the masses. It was cancelled after just one season, and despite online petitions to reverse
06:12that decision, it now seems destined to simply be forgotten. Whether or not you enjoyed the
06:17show itself, this was a disappointing episode in the saga as a whole.
06:32This could have been the epic blockbuster to end all epic blockbusters, but instead,
06:51it turned into a film that not many people knew about and even fewer went to see.
06:55Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis was more than 40 years in the making. A long-held passion
07:00project for the legendary Godfather director, the story tells of an alternate New York City
07:05shaped as though by the history of ancient Rome. There's action, corruption,
07:31an epic vision of the future, and an ensemble cast laden with big names. But it all came
07:35together like a rocket that never went bang. After decades of not being able to get the
07:40project off the ground, Coppola reportedly self-funded the movie, and by all accounts,
07:44took a huge loss. Kinder reviews called it inventive, others labeled it incoherent.
07:50Was it worth all these years of waiting? Probably, and unfortunately, no.
08:00Coliseum falls, and Rome falls too. And when Rome falls, the world falls with it.
08:09Willie's Chocolate Experience
08:11One movie that certainly was a success, commercially at least, was Wonka. After
08:33debuting in late 2023, it comfortably ran beyond the holidays and well into 2024,
08:39with Timothee Chalamet in the title role, surely nothing could go wrong.
08:53Except it really did for those who decided to attend Willie's Chocolate Experience in Glasgow,
08:58Scotland in February. The experience was an unlicensed event that promised visitors
09:04stunning and intricately designed settings and an array of delectable treats.
09:09Upon arrival, they found a barely decorated, essentially abandoned warehouse,
09:13and were given half a plastic cup of lemonade. The laughable letdown soon became a viral sensation,
09:19as secondhand anger spread across the internet. With tickets costing up to £35 or around $45,
09:26the outrage was all too real, as were the disappointed faces of many, many children.
09:333. Concord Quickly Crashes and Burns
10:04There's no doubt that 2024 was a rough year for gamers. From Kill the Justice League to Skull and
10:11Bones to the ongoing meltdown at Ubisoft, it was just a mess. But easily, the standout letdown
10:27was Concord for PS5. A first-person shooter set against a retro-futuristic backdrop in a world
10:32populated by humanoid alien beings. It sounds like it should have been quite a lot of fun.
10:37With a reported $400 million budget as well, you might have expected massive hype, queued-out
10:43stores and global surges online as avid gamers eagerly settled in for the next great console
10:48title. What actually happened, though, was an extremely huge lack of interest,
10:52to the point that Sony admitted defeat and pulled the game after only two weeks.
11:022. Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson
11:25In the age of YouTube boxing, this was billed as being the biggest and best fight to date.
11:30What actually transpired, though, was a slow, sad, and awkward contest that only truly served
11:36to highlight how age catches up with us all. Paul won the fight on points via unanimous decision,
11:42while Tyson appeared spent even in the early rounds. Which ultimately is fair enough. The
11:46guy was 58 years old at the time, and 31 years Jake Paul's senior. He had previously been forced
11:52to postpone the fight in May 2024 after a stomach ulcer flared up, causing him to cough up blood.
11:58For many, the fight simply should never have gone ahead. Nevertheless, a reported 65 million did
12:05tune into Netflix, all to follow the lack of drama as it laboriously unfolded.
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12:35In 2019, Joaquin Phoenix's Joker shone as the cinematic psychopath that Gotham needed,
12:41wanted, and that the watching world praised all the way to a win at the Oscars.
12:46And when a sequel was announced, perhaps there was some trepidation because where would,
12:57or where could, Phoenix, under the guidance of Todd Phillips, go next? As it turns out,
13:02the only way was down. In Joker Folie à Deux, the musical elements fell flat,
13:07the story went nowhere, the character dissolved into a sorry shadow of his former self.
13:13Many critics were unimpressed, many fans felt laughed at by the movie itself.
13:30While there is still some debate about the film's overall message,
13:33it ultimately gets entered into the Hollywood annals as a prime example of spectacular failure.
13:42Which 2024 pop culture moment left you feeling most disappointed of all?
14:00Let us know in the comments. And if you do want to look on the bright side as well,
14:04then why not tell us something that pleasantly surprised you this year while you're there?
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