Despite many years of hype and anticipation for a LeBron James-led sequel to Space Jam, 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy was panned by critics to the point of earning James an award he likely wasn’t hoping to get out of it.
Space Jam: A New Legacy was well-represented at the 42nd Golden Raspberry awards, earning four nominations and winning three of them. LeBron James came away with the award for Worst Actor, and the film itself earned the awards for Worst Screen Combo (LeBron with any Warner Bros. character or product) and Worst Prequel, Rip-off, or Sequel. Space Jam: A New Legacy was also nominated for Worst Picture, an honor it lost out on to Diana The Musical.
James has now become the latest NBA star to win a Razzie Award. Dennis Rodman won three for his performance in 1997’s Double Team, including Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star. That same year, Shaquille O’Neal was nominated for Worst Actor for his performance in Steel.
Despite earning $162.8 million at the box office, more than enough to cover its $150 million budget, Space Jam: A New Legacy was met with poor reviews by critics. According to Jordan Williams of ScreenRant, critics cited the film’s lack of humor, overtly heavy product placement and promotion of Warner Bros. properties, and long runtime compared to the original Space Jam starring Michael Jordan.
Presently, Space Jam: A New Legacy has a 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, but has an audience score of 79%. For comparison’s sake, the original Space Jam has a 44% Tomatometer with a 63% audience score.
