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