With Optimus Prime searching the cosmos for the Creators, a new alien threat arrives on Earth. USA TODAY NETWORK
The Razzies' favorite punching bag is getting pummeled yet again.
Transformers: The Last Knight, last summer's latest chapter in the savagely criticized film franchise about transforming robots, leads the field with nine nominations at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, which fetes the very worst films Hollywood has to offer. "Winners" will be announced March 3, the day before the Academy Awards hands out its honors for cinema's finest.
Fifty Shades Darker, the second installment in the adult-themed romance saga, snagged eight nominations and will compete with Transformers, the horror-tinged action film The Mummy (which received seven Razzie nods), comedy redo Baywatch and animated The Emoji Movie for worst picture.
More: Every 'Transformers' movie (including 'Last Knight'), definitively ranked
Also: The best critic slams of 'Fifty Shades Darker,' women's edition
The worst actor category is full of A-listers: Mark Wahlberg (The Last Knight), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and Tom Cruise (The Mummy), plus Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades Darker) and Zac Efron (Baywatch). Boo 2! A Madea Halloween star Tyler Perry adds some testosterone to the worst actress slate, which also includes Katherine Heigl (Unforgettable), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Darker), Jennifer Lawrence (mother!) and Emma Watson (The Circle).
Transformers films have a long history with the Razzies. The last film, 2015's The Age of Extinction, also paced the field with seven nominations — sadly, it did lose worst picture to Saving Christmas. In 2010, Revenge of the Fallen won three of its seven Razzie categories, including worst picture, and Dark of the Moon had eight nominations in 2012 but walked away empty-handed. The first Transformers movie only managed one Razzie nomination in 2008: worst supporting actor for Jon Voight.
Here is the complete list of this year's Razzies nominees:
WORST PICTURE
Baywatch
The Emoji Movie
Fifty Shades Darker
The Mummy
Transformers: The Last Knight
WORST ACTRESS
Katherine Heigl (Unforgettable)
Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades Darker)
Jennifer Lawrence (mother!)
Tyler Perry (Boo 2! A Madea Halloween)
Emma Watson (The Circle)
WORST ACTOR
Tom Cruise (The Mummy)
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades Darker)
Zac Efron (Baywatch)
Mark Wahlberg (Daddy's Home 2 and Transformers: The Last Knight)
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Javier Bardem (mother! and Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
Russell Crowe (The Mummy)
Josh Duhamel (Transformers: The Last Knight)
Mel Gibson (Daddy's Home 2)
Anthony Hopkins (Collide and Transformers: The Last Knight)
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Basinger (Fifty Shades Darker)
Sofia Boutella (The Mummy)
Laura Haddock (Transformers: The Last Knight)
Goldie Hawn (Snatched)
Susan Sarandon (A Bad Moms Christmas)
WORST SCREEN COMBO
"Any combination of two characters, two sex toys or two sexual positions" (Fifty Shades Darker)
"Any combination of two humans, two robots or two explosions" (Transformers: The Last Knight)
"Any two obnoxious emojis" (The Emoji Movie)
"Johnny Depp & his worn-out drunk routine" (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
"Tyler Perry & either the ratty old dress or worn-out wig" (Boo 2! A Madea Halloween)
WORST REMAKE, RIPOFF OR SEQUEL
Baywatch
Boo 2! A Madea Halloween
Fifty Shades Darker
The Mummy
Transformers: The Last Knight
WORST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky (mother!)
Michael Bay (Transformers: The Last Knight)
James Foley (Fifty Shades Darker)
Alex Kurtzman (The Mummy)
Tony Leonidis (The Emoji Movie)
WORST SCREENPLAY
Baywatch
The Emoji Movie
Fifty Shades Darker
The Mummy
Transformers: The Last Knight