One Bad Opening Weekend Can Change Everything
Hollywood careers rarely collapse for only one reason, but a spectacular flop can change how studios see a star overnight. The performers below faced lost momentum, disappearing offers, long hiatuses, or damaged reputations after one notorious release. Some rebuilt everything. Others never returned to quite the same level.
Elizabeth Berkley Got Locked Out After Showgirls
Elizabeth Berkley expected Showgirls to launch her post-Saved by the Bell movie career. Instead, the 1995 film was savaged by critics, with much of the backlash aimed at her. Berkley later said she was effectively unable to audition for about two years and felt abandoned by people involved with the production.
Screenshot from Showgirls, MGM (1995)
Faye Dunaway Could Not Escape Mommie Dearest
Faye Dunaway entered the 1980s as an Oscar winner with Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, and Network behind her. Then came 1981’s Mommie Dearest. Her Joan Crawford performance became a camp touchstone, and The Guardian later described the film as the project credited with destroying Dunaway’s career.
Distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts., Wikimedia Commons
Ben Affleck Became A Punchline After Gigli
Ben Affleck was already an Oscar-winning writer and established leading man when Gigli arrived in 2003. The movie opened weakly, drew brutal reviews, and landed amid nonstop coverage of his relationship with Jennifer Lopez. Contemporary reporting said Affleck suddenly faced the task of rebuilding his reputation as a bankable star.
Screenshot from Gigli, Sony Pictures Releasing (2003)
Jennifer Lopez Took The Same Gigli Hit
Jennifer Lopez was hit just as hard by Gigli. The backlash spilled into the marketing of her next screen collaboration with Affleck, Jersey Girl, where her presence was minimized in promotional material. At the time, observers openly questioned whether the pair could recover as reliable Hollywood leads.
Screenshot from Gigli, Sony Pictures Releasing (2003)
Chris O'Donnell Walked Away After Batman & Robin
Chris O’Donnell looked positioned for long-term blockbuster stardom after Batman Forever. Then 1997 brought Batman & Robin, a widely mocked sequel that ended that version of the franchise. After a rough run of films, O’Donnell took a two-year hiatus before returning in smaller projects and eventually finding steadier television success.
Screenshot from Batman & Robin, Warner Bros. Pictures (1997)
Alicia Silverstone Lost Her Clueless Momentum
Alicia Silverstone was one of Hollywood’s hottest young stars after Clueless. Two years later, Batman & Robin brought brutal reviews, a Razzie, and cruel tabloid attention focused on her body. Silverstone later said she stopped loving acting for a long time, and her post-Clueless studio momentum never returned in quite the same way.
Screenshot from Batman & Robin, Warner Bros (1997)
Madonna's Swept Away Ended Her Leading-Lady Run
Madonna had survived plenty of uneven movie reviews before starring in Guy Ritchie’s 2002 remake of Swept Away. This time the response was devastating. The film performed poorly in America, its British theatrical release was pulled, and Madonna essentially stopped pursuing feature-film starring roles afterward.
Screenshot from Swept Away, Sony Pictures Entertainment (2002)
Taylor Kitsch Wondered If John Carter Finished Him
John Carter was supposed to turn Taylor Kitsch from a Friday Night Lights favorite into a major movie lead. Instead, Disney’s expensive 2012 adventure became a spectacular box-office disappointment. Kitsch later told GQ he was so devastated that he genuinely wondered whether anyone would let him act again.
Screenshot from John Carter, Walt Disney (2012)
Halle Berry Went From Oscar Winner To Catwoman Target
Halle Berry had already won an Oscar when she starred in 2004’s Catwoman. The film was heavily criticized, and Berry famously mocked the setback while accepting a Razzie. She later stressed that the backlash did not derail her, but the movie became a major reputational blow at a crucial post-Oscar moment.
Screenshot from Catwoman, Warner Bros. Pictures (2004)
Battlefield Earth Put John Travolta Back On The Defensive
John Travolta had completed a remarkable comeback with Pulp Fiction when he backed Battlefield Earth. The 2000 science-fiction film was demolished by critics and became an infamous flop. Reports soon linked its failure to the delayed release of another Travolta movie, with industry observers suggesting he should stay out of the spotlight temporarily.
Screenshot from Battlefield Earth, Warner Bros. Pictures (2000)
The Love Guru Made Mike Myers Disappear
Mike Myers had turned Wayne’s World, Austin Powers, and Shrek into huge comedy brands. Then came 2008’s The Love Guru, a critical and commercial failure. When GQ profiled Myers six years later, it noted that the movie remained his last major self-created starring vehicle and that he had largely vanished from screens.
Screenshot from The Love Guru, Paramount Pictures (2008)
Glitter Nearly Wiped Away Mariah Carey's Empire
Mariah Carey was primarily a music superstar, but Glitter was designed as a major movie crossover. Its 2001 failure became part of a wider professional crisis involving poor sales, harsh reviews, and the collapse of her enormous Virgin Records deal. By 2005, coverage was explicitly framing her new success as a comeback.
Screenshot from Glitter, 20th Century Fox (2001)
Sean Connery Retired After The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Sean Connery’s experience making The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was famously unpleasant. Reports described repeated clashes with director Stephen Norrington, while the 2003 film drew a chilly critical response. It became Connery’s final live-action movie before retirement, and he later declined an opportunity to return for another Indiana Jones film.
Screenshot from The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 20th Century Fox (2003)
The Island Of Dr Moreau Helped Knock Val Kilmer Off The A-List
Val Kilmer entered The Island of Dr Moreau as the star of Batman Forever and one of Hollywood’s most visible leading men. The chaotic 1996 production generated damaging stories about his behavior. Later assessments have called the film a major factor in his fall from the A-list, even though Kilmer kept working.
Screenshot from Batman Forever, Warner Bros. (1995)
Pinocchio Crushed Roberto Benigni's American Momentum
Roberto Benigni became an American awards-season sensation with Life Is Beautiful. His lavish 2002 version of Pinocchio was supposed to extend that success, but its U.S. release was savaged. Years later, The Guardian described the flop as a movie that almost ended Benigni’s career, especially his Hollywood-facing momentum.
Screenshot from Life is Beautiful, Miramax (1997)
Jade Stalled David Caruso's Big-Screen Gamble
David Caruso left NYPD Blue at the height of his television fame to chase movie stardom. His 1995 thriller Jade opened poorly after Kiss of Death had already disappointed. The Los Angeles Times reported that his attempt at big-screen stardom had stalled. Caruso eventually rebuilt his career on television with CSI: Miami.
Screenshot from Jade, Paramount Pictures (1995)
Howard The Duck Made Lea Thompson Think It Was Over
Lea Thompson had Back to the Future behind her when she starred in 1986’s Howard the Duck. The expensive comic-book adaptation drew terrible reviews and became one of the decade’s most notorious flops. Thompson later said the reaction was so bad that she genuinely thought her acting career was over.
Screenshot from Howard The Duck, Universal Picture (1986)
Abduction Stalled Taylor Lautner's Action-Star Plans
Taylor Lautner left Twilight with studios testing whether he could carry his own franchise. Abduction was the big test. The 2011 thriller opened modestly and failed to establish him as a major action lead. Industry reporting warned that studios would be reluctant to finance expensive movies around him if the film underperformed.
Screenshot from Abduction, Lionsgate (2011)
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