Memorial Day weekend is supposed to be synonymous with quality. It developed that reputation in the '80s by serving as the premiere date for beloved films such as Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, Rocky III, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But, in the years following that halcyon period, Memorial Day weekend had become known for being a dumping ground of a weekend when it comes to the quality of movies studios release in this window.For every Thelma and Louise, there’s a Hudson Hawk, Crocodile Dundee II, and Super Mario Bros.

Nevertheless, studios bank on the long weekend to boost box office on blockbusters, and it’s been that way for decades. With that in mind, andwith a little help from the box office date provided by Box Office Mojo,I’ve gone over the last 15 years and ranked the weekend’s highest grossing movie from worst to best. I’d recommend that you prepare yourself for some painful memories — if most of these flicks weren’t so forgettable. I've also omitted 2020 because there obviously wasn't a major Memorial Day weekend release that year.

And, after reminding yourself what true clunkers came out on Memorial Days (of future) past, check out our round-ups of the best movies on Netflix, on Hulu, and on Amazon Prime Video you can stream right now if you're in need of some good movie viewing.

15. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

indiana-jones-nuke-the-fridge
Image via Paramount Pictures

Release Date: May 22, 2008

Opening Weekend: $126 million

Total Domestic Gross: $317 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

These films at the bottom will definitely spark some fierce discussion, but I had to give the lowest spot to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because of its legacy. The movie itself is pretty terrible, and it brought laughably bad moments to the esteemed franchise. It’s not only a black mark on Spielberg’s filmography (it feels like he’s doing a solid for Lucas and Ford, but his heart isn’t really in it), but it also tarnishes the legacy of how Indiana Jones used to rule Memorial Day. The holiday played host to Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade. Crystal Skull is a cruel reminder in more ways than one.

14. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-movie
Image via Disney

Release Date: May 28, 2010

Opening Weekend: $37.8 million

Total Domestic Gross: $90.7 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36%

In which we discover that Jake Gyllenhaal will probably never have his own franchise, although that’s through no fault of his own. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a potent reminder that video game movies are a fool’s errand (the best video game movie is Edge of Tomorrow, which isn’t based on a video game) because they take the controller out of the player’s hands and say, “Sit here and watch this.” Then again, this was before Twitch took off, so maybe it was a movie before it’s time. Although that time is still forgotten because the story is bad and the casting is kind of racist.

13. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

night-at-the-museum-2-ben-stiller
Image via 20th Century Fox

Release Date: May 22, 2009

Opening Weekend: $70 million

Total Domestic Gross: $177.2 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%

This is a movie that’s so formulaic that it crushes any strength it might have. The movie has a solid cast, a premise that could be good, and the potential for fun action scenes. Sadly, director Shawn Levy missed out on all of that. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian wasn’t even memorably tedious because this franchise is nothing. It’s the kind of film that parents bring their kids to in the hopes that they’ll be quiet for two hours. This movie is a babysitter.

12. X-Men: Apocalypse

x-men-apocalypse-oscar-isaac-image

Opening Day: May 27, 2016

Opening Weekend: $65 million

Total Domestic Gross: $155 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 48%

This is one that hurts. I have a soft spot for the X-Men movies because the X-Men animated series put me on the road to geekdom. But X-Men: Apocalypse signals a death knell for the franchise under director Bryan Singer.It takes a lot of hubris to insult Return of the Jedi and The Last Stand in your own film when that film is worse than both of them. Apocalypse is a movie devoid of a compelling antagonist, worthwhile character arcs, or even exhilarating action minus the Quicksilver mansion scene. I don't want the X-Men franchise to die, but it desperately needed new leadership after Memorial Day weekend 2016.

11. The Hangover Part II

Opening Day: May 26, 2011

Opening Weekend: $103.4 million

Total Domestic Gross: $254.5 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 34%

The Hangover Part II is a study in greenlighting a sequel before you have any idea what that sequel should be. The movie feels incredibly rushed because it’s pretty much the same plot as the first one but with a different setting and different crazy things. It’s kind of a reminder that Todd Phillips isn’t really that good of a director, but he’s stumbled across a couple successes through the course of his career before returning to lazy comedies.

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

pirates-of-the-caribbean-dead-men-tell-no-tales-johnny-depp
Image via Disney

Release Date: May 26, 2017

Opening Weekend: $78 million

Total Domestic Gross: $172 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 30%

While it wasn't as bad as On Stranger Tides, the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, showed a franchise that had clearly run out of steam. Attempts to invoke the older, better movies fell flat, and the plot was scattershot with uninteresting action. The big, climactic set piece involves people hanging on to a giant anchor if that gives you any indication of where they were operating by this point. Although the film did well internationally, it's clear that domestic audiences have lost interest in Captain Jack Sparrow.

9. Tomorrowland

tomorrowland-george-clooney
Image via Disney

Release Date: May 22, 2015

Opening Weekend: $42.7 million

Total Domestic Gross: $93.4 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

I was really hoping that Tomorrowland would deliver on its promise, especially with director Brad Bird at the helm. And yet the film is the equivalent of a grumpy old man yelling on his porch about how good things used to be (never mind that the time never existed). While the film's call for renewed optimism is a nice sentiment, it's presented in an incredibly clunky manner with the film's villain basically stopping the film to a halt to opine endlessly about the state of world affairs. And when we finally reach the fabled "Tomorrowland" it's a shell of the glorious, jetpack-filled world we glimpsed earlier in the picture. So perhaps its fitting that the film is a shadow of its own lofty ideals.

8. X-Men: The Last Stand

x-men-last-stand-patrick-stewart-ian-mckellen
Image via 20th Century Fox

Opening Day: May 26, 2006

Opening Weekend: $122.9 million

Total Domestic Gross: $234.4 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 58%

Re-watching X-Men:The Last Stand in recent years made me soften towards the movie a bit. It’s a mess, but I kind of pity it a little although I’m still kind of pissed about the plot. It completely screwed up the Dark Phoenix Saga, it didn’t deliver on “The Cure” plotline, and then it muddies things further with Magneto trying to wage war on humanity yet again. It felt like the franchise was out of ideas, but only because it crammed so many in here. Nevertheless, the film’s biggest flaw isn’t that it’s outright terrible, but that it’s so disappointing because it followed the terrific X2. Combined with its tortured pre-production, I can’t entirely fault The Last Stand despite its many faults.

7. Men in Black 3

will-smith-josh-brolin-men-in-black-3
Image via Sony Pictures

Opening Day: May 25, 2012

Opening Weekend: $69.2 million

Total Domestic Gross: $179 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%

The middle of this list is pretty much a study in mediocrity. Men in Black 3 felt forced into existence. No one really wanted it, but no one was really against it either. People liked the first one, they remembered it, but Men in Black 2 took the shine off, and by the time we hit this sequel, the MiB world wasn’t all that interesting. Watching this film, you can see Smith trying to reclaim his former glory, Jones cashing a paycheck, and Brolin stealing the film. It’s not a bad film; it’s just a film that exists.

6. Aladdin (2019)

aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott-mena-massoud
Image via Disney

Release Date: May 24, 2019

Opening Weekend: $86.1 million

Total Domestic Gross: $355.6 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 58%

Aladdin is…fine, I guess? It’s the perfect representation of the kind of mediocrity that plagues this weekend. Yes, there are some outright bombs like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Prince of Persia, but most of its just forgettable like Men in Black 3, Solo, or Tomorrowland. The only reason Aladdin will be remembered is that it comes from a far more memorable movie and the plot beats are basically the same. There’s nothing egregiously bad about the live-action adaptation, and it even has some bright spots like Will Smith’s Genie, but overall it’s just Disney cashing in on IP without much quality control.

5. Madagascar

madagascar
Image via DreamWorks Animation

Opening Day: May 27, 2005

Opening Weekend: $61 million

Total Domestic Gross: $193.6 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%

The “glory days” of DreamWorks Animation are movies kids like and parents can tolerate. Like Men in Black 3, Madagascar is a movie that happened, and the sequels are the same way. But it’s a formula that kind of worked back in the mid-2000s, and it’s a cute and funny movie that also happens to be utterly forgettable beyond its brand. The same could be said about other DWA franchises.

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past

x-men-days-of-future-past-nicholas-hoult-james-mcavoy-hugh-jackman
Image via 20th Century Fox

Opening Day: May 23, 2014

Opening Weekend: $110.6 million

Total Domestic Gross: $234 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

I quite enjoyed X-Men: Days of Future Pastwhen it came out, but when I re-watched the film, it didn’t hold up as well as I’d hoped. It has a really tough time balancing the characters; the climax doesn’t make a lot of sense; and Magneto keeps working from the same playbook (he likes to turn our weapons against us). But the thing that really bums me out is that it blinks every movie in the franchise other than X-Men: First Class out of existence and Days of Future Past doesn't really hold up on repeat viewings. Every time I see it, it falls further down this list.

3. Solo: A Star Wars Story

solo-alden-ehrenreich-social
Image via Disney

Release Date: May 25, 2018

Opening Weekend:$101 million

Total Domestic Gross: $213 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score:71%

This is a film that improves upon repeat viewings. Yes, it's fairly low stakes and yet with the success of The Mandalorian, it seems like there's a Star Wars audience that's happy to see familiar characters going on adventures in a galaxy far, far away where the fate of that galaxy isn't on the line. Ehrenreich makes for a surprisingly good Han, and the film's biggest failing was probably Star Wars fatigue and arriving only five months after the hotly debated The Last Jedi. That's a shame because once you remove massive expectations from Solo, you get a solid little adventure movie that could have spawned other fun adventure movies.

2. Fast & Furious 6

fast-furious-6-cast
Image via Universal Pictures

Opening Day: May 24, 2013

Opening Weekend: $177 million

Total Domestic Gross: $238.7 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%

Most people really got on board with the Fast & Furious franchise with Fast Five (it was the first film in the series to gross over $200 million domestic), and in retrospect, it’s more fun than I initially gave it credit for even though it’s low-rent Ocean’s Eleven and I hate it when heroes put innocent people in danger for their own ends. For me, the series finally came into its own with Fast & Furious 6. Director Justin Lin took his action skills to a new level, the franchise settled into a new identity, and everything clicked together. It’s a movie where you can look at the endless runway and smile rather than roll your eyes.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

pirates-of-the-caribbean-3-at-worlds-end
Image via Disney

Opening Day: May 25, 2007

Opening Weekend: $139.8 million

Total Domestic Gross: $309.4 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 45%

I don’t care what anyone says: I like this movie and I like the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. The films get progressively more insane to the point where the climax of At World’s End is two ships having a battle in the middle of a storm and a whirlpool. But the movie knows how to position Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), and I like that it genuinely invests in Will (Orlando Bloom)and Elizabeth’s (Keira Knightley) character arcs. These are goofy movies, but they’re also fun and well made. I would say that’s not too much to ask, but I guess it is when it comes to Memorial Day weekend.