This list was ranked by CoveredGeekly and/or with CoveredGeekly’s audience via exclusive polls and surveys – enjoy!
Whether it’s a box office smasher or straight-to-DVD b-flick, movies all typically aim to create one thing; the perfect antagonist.
Good guys in movies can be tough to come up with, but creating a good baddie that obtains so much infamy that they live on far after they’re gone is the true challenge.
Characters that become solidified as one of the most hated typically come from performances that truly sell how evil or disgusting or unlikable that said character comes across as – and in honour of this, we’ve decided to rank what we believe to be Hollywood’s 20 most hated movie characters of all time.
20 / 20 Regina George
Rachel McAdams’ Regina George in Tina Fey’s 2004 classic Mean Girls movie is by far one of the most famously hated antagonists of all time in movie history.
Although the character is “hated”, that was more or less the goal as Regina is the movie’s villain – that is until Lindsay Lohan’s character starts to slowly become Regina’s evil replica, personality-wise.
19 / 20 Meredith (The Parent Trap)
There are plenty of evil stepmothers that could easily make this list, however, there’s one above more than most out there – Elaine Hendrix’s Meredith from the Lindsay Lohan and Dennis Quaid-led remake of The Parent Trap.
Although Meredith doesn’t technically become an official stepmother in the movie, she is still seen as the film’s main antagonist and her goal would have seen her become the stepmother to Lohan’s characters, if successful.
18 / 20 Bella Swan (Twilight)
Sorry Twilight fans but Bella Swan makes it to number 18 on our list, which may surprise some due to her being the series’ main co-protagonist – however, Kristen Stewart’s performance as Bella in the live-action adaptations just didn’t quite hit the mark for most moviegoers.
It should be noted that Stewart’s co-star and ex-flame Robert Pattison also received more negative responses than positive ones to his performance of Bella’s love interest Edward – with the two characters later being spoofed and parodied in various sketches and movies.
Although the two stars took the brunt of the criticism, it wasn’t entirely their fault as the overall setting, effects, tone, and dialogue delivery of the entire movie series played a heavy part too.
17 / 20 Hans (Frozen)
Santino Fontana’s voiced role as Hans in the first Frozen movie at Disney has famously become one of the most hated movie characters of all time.
Hans is the perfect antagonist for a story such as Frozen.
His character is a liar, manipulative, and is only out for himself – the most impactful reason for Hans being hated is that audiences initially think he’s just a typical good-guy Disney prince… until it’s revealed that he is the main villain of the piece during the later moments of the movie.
16 / 20 The White Witch (Narnia)
Tilda Swinton is by far one of the most talented actors in the industry, whether she’s working on a project overseas in Hollywood or back home here in Scotland – her ability to fully sell her character to the audience never fails to impress.
This is why her performance as the sinister White Witch in 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe comes in at number 16 on the most hated movie characters of all time.
Swinton’s White Witch was the talk of the town back in 2005, and for many years beyond that, due to how well she made moviegoers believe how evil she was – so job well done making it to CoveredGeekly’s top 20!
15 / 20 Koba (Planet of the Apes)
Next, we have Koba, the talking ape that started the war in the newly rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise.
It was a hard choice between the Andy Serkis-led trilogy’s final villain played by Woody Harrelson and Koba, however, it’s hard to argue how satisfying it was to see Koba fall to his doom after causing the mess in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
14 / 20 Hopper (A Bugs Life)
Anyone who’s watched Pixar’s 1998 classic A Bugs Life shouldn’t find it surprising why Hopper makes it at number 14 on this list – the animated flick’s main villain voiced by Kevin Spacey.
Hopper isn’t just one of the most hated movie characters, but he’s also one of the most hated villains of all time – and it all boils down to one commonly agreed-on reason: he’s a big mean and nasty bully.
13 / 20 Mama Fratelli (The Goonies)
Sorry Mama Fratelli but you’re number 13 on this list!
The Goonies features various characters that moviegoers, generation after generation, keep falling in love with – however, the flick also has a fair few baddies that also leave quite the impression.
Such as Mama Fratelli, the classic adventure flick’s primary antagonist who has no issue with taking children looking for treasure hostage, chasing them down with guns, and even locking up her children in chains.
Yep, it’s surprising that Mama Fratelli didn’t make it into the top 10!
12 / 20 Alfrid Lickspittle (The Hobbit)
J. R. R. Tolkien is still to this day the best storyteller of all time, his Middle-earth stories such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have inspired almost every major piece of geeky fiction since – a true legend.
That being said, Peter Jackson’s take at a live-action adaptation of The Hobbit brought a new character to the mix: Alfrid Lickspittle, played by actor Ryan Gage.
The suck-up coward was most definitely one of the most annoying characters to come out of the movie trilogy, which was the intention of both Jackson and Gage as every Middle-earth story needs its brilliant antagonists.
11 / 20 Veruca Salt (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Veruca Salt is one of the children who get to attend Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory tour in the classic Roald Dahl novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.
The character has also been played by actors in live-action adaptations such as the Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp-led movies, however, no matter where this character appears – she would still make it to the #11 spot on this list.
10 / 20 Ace Merril (Stand by Me)
Rob Reiner’s 1986 adaptation of the Stephen King story “Stand by Me” is one of the most interesting and captivating movies to come out of King’s mind onto the screen.
Kiefer Sutherland plays the story’s antagonist Ace Merril, who doesn’t get in the way too much as the real struggle for the main characters is simply traversing on a dangerous journey – however, he still makes it to the 10 spot.
Ace Merril proves on several occasions that he’s just a mean and petty bully slash criminal who even at one point puts the young protagonists in harm’s way – until one thankfully manages to scare him off.
09 / 20 Darla (Finding Nemo)
Remember that annoying brace-wearing kid with the fish in the bag from Finding Nemo, the one who tapped relentlessly on a fish tank glass window? Yeah? So do we.
Darla deserves the number 9 spot on this list for simply becoming an iconically hated movie character, so much so that people even dress up as her at conventions and on Halloween.
08 / 20 Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars)
Jar Jar Binks isn’t a bad guy, but he is an annoying one (sorry Jar Jar!).
Back when the George Lucas Star Wars prequels were released in theatres, the CGI character Jar Jar Binks was quick to receive nothing but harsh criticism from both fans and critics alike.
Although the character received more love as the years went on, the character will always be remembered for being one of the most hated movie characters of all time.
Related: 10 Playable Characters Who Should Be In Mortal Kombat
Moviegoers often found Jar Jar Binks’ comedic relief during tense scenes taking them out of the experience, leaving them underwhelmed at what was going on during the events of the movie.
07 / 20 Eddie Brock (Spider-Man 3)
Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock aka Venom has become one of the most successful live-action Marvel characters these past few years, however, Topher Grace’s take on the character in Sam Raimi’s Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man 3 wasn’t met with quite the same response.
Due to the sequel’s wacky nature and villain/plot-packed storyline, it was met with negative reviews from both the critics and fans – which ultimately led to Maguire’s Spider-Man 4 being cancelled by the studio.
Grace’s Venom has often been at the centre of complaints, due to the character being played the way it was or because of how the movie decided not to follow the comics as much as future Marvel flicks proceeded to do.
06 / 20 Miss Trunchball (Matilda)
Another Roald Dahl-created character, Miss Trunchball from “Matilda” makes it to number 6 on the most hated movie characters of all time list – and it doesn’t matter who’s reading or playing this character, she’s just evil.
Miss Trunchball is a sadistic and evil head teacher who wakes up with the excitement of torturing her young school students, and regardless of which adaptation, this character makes it to the top of many minds worldwide for being a simply hated character all around.
05 / 20 Voldemort (Harry Potter)
Expelliarmus!
Yep, Voldemort is an easy number 5 for this list, Tom Riddle is one of the most evil on-screen characters as well as the most hated of all time due to resembling every evil trait that a muggle or wizard could ever possibly have.
Not only is he just evil, but his actions in the Harry Potter saga are unredeemable from the jump.
His actions by the end of the entire saga are even more so, making his defeat one of the most – if not the most satisfying defeats of all time in cinema history.
04 / 20 Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmations)
Cruella De Vil, the fashion-obsessed sadistic mad lady who wanted to capture over 100 puppies to turn them into a coat? Yeah, this one’s making number 4 on this list – need we explain more?
03 / 20 Scar (The Lion King)
At number 3, we have Scar from The Lion King, the animated classic’s primary antagonist who causes nothing but pain for both its leading characters and its viewers of all ages.
Scar’s actions quite literally mentally scarred moviegoers of all ages worldwide from its initial release and for years to come, generation after generation.
02 / 20 Denethor II (Lord of the Rings)
Peter Jackson’s original The Lord of the Rings trilogy not only changed cinema forever but also introduced the world to the perfect adaptation of a Tolkien novel – giving us characters such as Aragorn and Frodo in live-action played by actors whom its fans would come to love for decades to come.
However, not all characters were loved, one especially being the 26th ruling Steward of Gondor aka Denethor II, played by John Noble – his performance, as intended, left everyone in agreement that he was despicable.
01 / 20 Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
Yet another evil teacher makes it to not only the top 20 most hated movie characters of all time but the most hated, none other than Harry Potter character Dolores Umbridge perfectly played by Imelda Staunton.
