Hollywood can overnight make you a star—but overnight can also just as easily turn around and make you a cautionary tale. One career-destroying movie is all it takes to derail years of hard work and momentum. A few actors can recover, but some never quite get over it. Here are 10 of the worst box office bombs and critical flops that left Hollywood stars scrambling to find their footing.
10. The Love Guru (2008) — Mike Myers
For the majority of the ’90s and early 2000s, Mike Myers was comedy royalty due to Wayne’s World and Austin Powers. But The Love Guru was such a critical and box office failure that it all but drowned his career as a leading man. Myers then withdrew to safer terrain—such as voicing Shrek—while studios ceased to regard him as a bankable star.
9. Norbit (2007) — Eddie Murphy
Fresh from critical success on Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy was poised for a major comeback—until Norbit. Critics tore it apart as having offensive humor and cartoon performances, and the movie sabotaged Murphy’s chances at awards respectability. He continued working, but his status as a comedy giant was severely damaged.
8. From Justin to Kelly (2003) — Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson’s American Idol win should have been the start of a smooth ride to superstardom. Instead, she was forced into starring in this cheesy musical flop, which she later admitted was “a miserable time” in her life. Thankfully, her music career took off so powerfully that she never had to look back at acting.
7. In the Cut (2003) — Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan was the princess of romantic comedies until she attempted a comeback of sorts with Jane Campion’s erotic thriller In the Cut. The performance was a daring one, but audiences weren’t ready to see her in a raw, dark role like this. The backlash was harsh, and Ryan quietly faded from Hollywood’s leading-lady status.
6. Showgirls (1995) — Elizabeth Berkley
Seeking to shed her Saved by the Bell persona, Elizabeth Berkley fully committed to Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls. The risk paid off—big time. Critics decimated the film, and Berkley unjustly took most of the criticism with her. She went on to explain being forsaken by Hollywood following the debacle, forced to bear the brunt of its failure on her own.
5. Cutthroat Island (1995) — Matthew Modine & Geena Davis
This pirate blockbuster wasn’t only a box office failure—it was one of Hollywood’s greatest financial flops. Both leads suffered. Matthew Modine never again landed a big studio starring role, and Geena Davis lost her star status. Modine subsequently confessed that the harsh reviews reduced him to “the walking dead.”
4. Mommie Dearest (1981) — Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway’s take on Joan Crawford was supposed to be career-making—but not the way she wanted. Instead, her theatrical performance turned into camp gold and landed her a Razzie and forever changed Hollywood’s perception of her. Dunaway herself conceded the movie gave people “the wrong impression” of her as an actress.
3. Howard the Duck (1986) — Lea Thompson
Following Back to the Future, Lea Thompson looked like a sure thing for superstardom. Her subsequent starring turn in Howard the Duck, however—the strange comic-book adaptation that was a laughingstock—derailed that momentum. Thompson has since spoken about how appearing in both the year’s biggest hit and biggest flop likely killed her movie career.
2. Superman Returns (2006) — Brandon Routh
Brandon Routh was the full package for a breakout star when he played Superman. But though the film did respectable box office, it failed to become a cultural phenomenon that Warner Bros. expected. With no sequel in sight, Routh was left stranded, confessing afterwards that Superman wound up keeping him back more than advancing him.
1. His Glorious Night (1929) — John Gilbert
One of the silents’ greats, John Gilbert, was a legitimate Hollywood stud before sound. His clumsy shift to “talkies” exposed vocal problems that broke his leading-man aura. Overnight, he was transformed from icon to also-ran, in one of Hollywood’s greatest falls from grace.
Hollywood is unforgiving. These tales demonstrate that regardless of how brightly your star burns, one bad picture—or one merciless flop—can reset everything.