This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed during the awards year of 2006. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date; year is 2006 unless otherwise noted.
01.06.07: This list is now finalized. I’ll continue to add links to reviews, but I won’t add any more films, and the ranking won’t change.
(See here for an explanation of why my 10 worst films earned that dishonor.)
other yearly rankings:
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003

The top 10:
1. The Science of Sleep (09.24/09.22) [why top 10?]
2. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (10.25/11.03) [why top 10?]
3. Children of Men (12.13/12.25) [why top 10?]
4. Stranger Than Fiction (11.02/11.10) [why top 10?]
5. The Departed (10.04/10.06) [why top 10?]
6. The Queen (10.07/09.30) [why top 10?]
7. United 93 (04.26/04.28) [why top 10?]
8. Bobby (11.13/11.17) [why top 10?]
9. Letters from Iwo Jima (12.14/12.20) [why top 10?]
10. Happy Feet (11.13/11.17) [why top 10?]
and the rest:
Fast Food Nation (10.31/11.17)
Tideland (09.27/10.13)
Babel (10.11/10.27)
The Good German (11.30/12.15)
Little Miss Sunshine (07.17/07.26)
Dreamgirls (12.07/12.15)
Infamous (10.04/10.13)
Blood Diamond (11.30/12.08)
V for Vendetta (03.15/03.17)
Brick (03.08/03.31)
Water (04.13/04.28)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (06.28/07.07)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (02.01/02.17)
The Last King of Scotland (09.14/09.27)
Hard Candy (03.21/04.14)
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (01.27/11.11)
The Dead Girl (12.15/12.29)
The Good Shepherd (12.05/12.22)
Rocky Balboa (12.11/12.20)
For Your Consideration (11.13/11.17)
Flushed Away (10.28/11.03)
Miami Vice (07.24/07.28)
Joyeux Noël (02.21/03.03)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (08.02/08.04)
The Prestige (10.16/10.20)
Pan’s Labyrinth (10.05/12.29)
Notes on a Scandal (12.17/12.27)
Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny (11.22/11.22)
Charlotte’s Web (12.09/12.15)
Catch a Fire (10.19/10.27)
An Inconvenient Truth (05.18/05.24)
The Road to Guantanamo (06.06/06.23)
The Illusionist (08.02/08.18)
Casino Royale (11.14/11.17)
Deliver Us from Evil (09.28/10.13)
Open Season (09.26/09.29)
Flyboys (09.06/09.22)
Half Nelson (08.07/08.11)
A Prairie Home Companion (06.02/06.09)
Jesus Camp (09.14/09.22)
Superman Returns (06.22/06.28)
Man Push Cart (09.06/09.08)
Tsotsi (02.03/02.24)
A Scanner Darkly (06.08/07.07)
The Descent (07.27/08.04)
Monster House (07.10/07.21)
Accepted (08.09/08.18)
The Devil Wears Prada (06.21/06.30)
Thank You for Smoking (03.03/03.17)
Venus (12.18/12.20)
Hollywoodland (09.05/09.08)
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (09.16/09.08)
Jet Li’s Fearless (09.20/09.22)
American Dreamz (04.17/04.21)
The Ground Truth (09.16/09.15)
The Great New Wonderful (06.17/06.23)
16 Blocks (02.23/03.03)
Idiocracy (12.16/no NYC release, 09.01 elsewhere)
Strangers with Candy (06.06/06.28)
Loverboy (06.13/06.16)
Over the Hedge (05.15/05.19)
Idlewild (08.16/08.25)
Shut Up & Sing (11.07/10.27)
Everyone’s Hero (09.06/09.15)
Jailbait (06.08/07.28)
13 Tzameti (07.13/07.28)
Who Killed the Electric Car? (11.26/06.28)
Conversations with Other Women (07.31/08.11)
WTC View (09.19/06.05)
Trust the Man (07.25/08.18)
On a Clear Day (03.16/04.07)
Feast (09.18/09.22)
The Omen (06.02/06.06)
You, Me and Dupree (07.06/07.14)
Wordplay (06.07/06.16)
Friends With Money (03.22/04.07)
The Last Kiss (09.13/09.15)
Slither (03.29/03.31)
The Proposition (03.30/05.05)
Factotum (12.27/08.18)
Keeping Mum (09.12/09.15)
The Ant Bully (07.23/07.28)
The Great Warming (11.26/11.04)
Kinky Boots (03.15/04.14)
The Lake House (06.12/06.16)
Invincible (08.21/08.25)
Snakes on a Plane (08.17/08.18)
The Pursuit of Happyness (12.05/12.15)

Little Children (12.17/10.06)
The Fountain (11.20/11.22)
Apocalypto (11.30/12.08)
Volver (12.12/11.03)
Marie Antoinette (10.17/10.20)
Lassie (08.10/09.01)
The Painted Veil (12.07/12.20)
A Good Year (10.31/11.10)
Flags of Our Fathers (10.12/10.20)
Crank (09.01/09.01)
Brothers of the Head (06.07/07.28)
Candy (11.07/11.17)
The Architect (11.28/12.01)
Home of the Brave (11.14/12.15)
Lady in the Water (07.13/07.21)
The Holiday (12.05/12.08)
The Night Listener (06.29/08.04)
Lucky Number Slevin (04.04/04.07)
Winter Passing (02.13/02.17)
Roving Mars (01.23/01.27)
Bubble (01.17/01.27)
Free Zone (03.30/04.07)
Sorry, Haters (02.01/03.01)
Death of a President (10.18/10.27)
School for Scoundrels (09.19/09.29)
Off the Black (12.27/12.08)
Running with Scissors (10.04/10.20)
Mission: Impossible III (05.02/05.05)
Unknown White Male (02.25/02.24)
Nanny McPhee (01.22/01.27)
Scoop (07.18/07.28)
Poseidon (05.03/05.12)
Akeelah and the Bee (04.18/04.21)
Miss Potter (12.06/12.29)
Gridiron Gang (09.11/09.15)
ATL (03.22/03.31)
Quinceañera (07.31/08.04)
Eight Below (02.13/02.17)
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (02.22/03.03)
The Hills Have Eyes (03.01/03.10)
Curious George (02.02/02.10)
One Last Thing (06.17/05.05)
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (03.01/03.10)
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (01.04/01.20)
Through the Fire (02.01/02.10)
Tristan & Isolde (01.11/01.13)
Fateless (01.03/01.06)
Nacho Libre (06.16/06.16)
Goal!: The Dream Begins (05.08/05.12)
Ask the Dust (03.03/03.10)
A Good Woman (01.30/02.03)
Annapolis (01.24/01.27)
Glory Road (01.09/01.13)
Hoodwinked (12.06.05/01.13)
The History Boys (12.08/11.21)
All the King’s Men (09.21/09.22)
Renaissance (09.13/09.22)
Night at the Museum (12.19/12.22)
The Da Vinci Code (05.17/05.19)
I Am a Sex Addict (05.10/04.14)
X-Men: The Last Stand (05.22/05.26)
Cars (05.31/06.09)
Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (05.23/06.21)
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (06.10/06.16)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (12.12/12.27)
Deja Vu (11.22/11.22)
Lonesome Jim (04.07/03.24)
Harsh Times (10.30/11.10)
The Guardian (09.25/09.29)
We Are Marshall (12.19/12.22)
The Break-Up (05.30/06.02)
Take the Lead (04.03/04.07)
Inside Man (03.21/03.24)
An American Haunting (05.01/05.05)
Eragon (12.13/12.15)
Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) (03.17/02.17)
The Nativity Story (11.20/12.01)
My Super Ex-Girlfriend (07.19/07.21)
Hoot (04.29/05.05)
The Sentinel (04.19/04.21)
Find Me Guilty (03.09/03.17)
Something New (01.26/02.03)
Firewall (02.07/02.10)
The Shaggy Dog (03.06/03.10)
American Gun (04.20/03.22)
Just My Luck (05.10/05.12)
Click (06.19/06.23)
The Quiet (07.27/08.25)
Basic Instinct 2 (03.27/03.31)
Imagine Me and You (02.06/01.27)
Last Holiday (01.10/01.13)
Barnyard (07.29/08.04)
The Wild (04.10/04.14)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (06.12/06.16)
The Black Dahlia (09.12/09.15)
The Wicker Man (09.01/09.01)
See No Evil (05.19/05.19)
Adam & Steve (03.16/03.31)
Waist Deep (06.20/06.23)
The Covenant (09.08/09.08)
Film Geek (09.17/02.10)
Hostel (01.03/01.06)
Big Momma’s House 2 (01.29/01.27)
The Pink Panther (02.06/02.10)
Failure to Launch (03.07/03.10)
RV (04.24/04.28)
Final Destination 3 (02.02/02.10)
and the bottom 10:
10. Ultraviolet (03.04/03.04)
9. Phat Girlz (04.07/04.07)
8. Scary Movie 4 (04.12/04.14)
7. Curse of the Golden Flower (12.06/12.21)
6. Running Scared (02.21/02.24)
5. Man of the Year (10.09/10.13)
4. The Benchwarmers (04.07/04.07)
3. Little Man (07.12/07.14)
2. World Trade Center (08.07/08.09)
1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (10.03/10.06)