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New ‘100 Worst Movies’ Addition ‘War of the Worlds’ Is Thriving on Amazon Prime Video

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Jeff Smith | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 6:39 PM ET

It appears the old saying that “no publicity is bad publicity” still stands true today. The proof of that comes from the new release film on Amazon Prime Video’s streaming platform, War of the Worlds . The film, starring Ice Cube, received brutal reviews on the popular site Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but it's now become one of Prime's most-viewed movies of the week..

‘War of the Worlds' Lands on Rotten Tomatoes' List of '100 Worst Movies of All Time'

The July 30 release of War of the Worlds from Universal Pictures was initially stuck in the mud after receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics, holding a 0 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes for several days.

Actor Ice Cube and wife Kim Jackson arrive at the Los Angeles fan screening of 'War of the Worlds' at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.Kevin Winter/Getty Images

While it's not much of an improvement, the movie currently sits with a score of 3 percent based on 36 reviews from critics. The fan feedback hasn't been much better, checking in at 21 percent with 2,500-plus verified reviews.

The dismal start for War of the Worlds ultimately led to its inclusion on a list no movie wants to join, Rotten Tomatoes' 100 Worst Movies of All Time. At the time this is being written, War of the Worlds sits in the No. 88 spot, just ahead of The Whole Ten Yards and Serving Sara.

Fortunately, there is some good news for Universal and its new release.

'War of the Worlds' Becomes a Streaming Hit on Amazon Prime Video

Following the brutal stretch of reviews that poured in, the Amazon Prime Video release grabbed plenty of attention. And from the look of it, that attention has led to viewers wanting to check out War of the Worlds, resulting in the film becoming a top-10 streamer this week on the service.

Photo of the 'War of the Worlds' preview on the Amazon Prime Video website.Amazon Prime Video

While it's listed on the main "most popular" list as the No. 2 movie in the United States, when you click on the film, it shows War of the Worlds as No. 4.

For good measure, Flix Patrol, which updates daily streaming numbers for movies across various services, lists War of the Worlds as the No. 2 most-viewed for Wednesday, Aug. 13, with 392 streams, behind only The Pickup, with 499.

Regardless, the new release and new addition to the painful "100 worst movies" list now finds itself in the top five on Amazon Prime Video.

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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