Unexpected Tumbles: Hollywood A-Listers Unforeseen Box Office Flops

Hollywood’s leading actors dedicate significant effort to uphold positive reputations among movie enthusiasts. Their popularity not only secures ongoing employment but also convinces movie studios to entrust them with pivotal roles in high-budget productions. However, even the most renowned and bankable movie stars are not immune to professional missteps.

In an effort to identify A-list actors associated with significant box office flops, CEOWORLD magazine conducted a review of the filmographies of nearly 50 of today’s most popular actors.

Only movies where the actor held a position among the top four performers listed on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, were taken into consideration.

The selected criteria focused on the film starring the actor that generated the least revenue in the U.S. Additional data, including box office figures, audience scores, and Tomatometer critics’ scores, were sourced from Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator.

Various factors contribute to a movie’s failure, ranging from a script that strains credibility to uninspired direction, unattractive subject matter, or poor timing for its release. Regardless of the cause, financial catastrophe often results in what is commonly termed a “box office bomb.”

It’s worth noting that some films, despite initial failure, may eventually attain cult status. Furthermore, it is essential to acknowledge that box office failures don’t always align with critical reception. Occasionally, movies that perform poorly commercially receive positive reviews from professional critics, showcasing a disparity in public and expert opinions.

The impact of the movies on our list varies in terms of negative effects on the stars’ careers. Some actors remain relatively unknown, with their appearance in a flop going unnoticed by most fans.

In contrast, for others, these failures may overshadow the roles that initially earned them widespread acclaim, akin to the movie roles that launched some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Here’s a list of Hollywood’s A-List Actors’ Most Unexpected Box Office Flops:

Angelina Jolie

• Movie: Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
• Domestic box office: $7,300,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 62%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86%

Anne Hathaway

• Movie: Song One (2014)
• Domestic box office: $20,200
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 32%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29%

Anthony Hopkins

• Movie: Slipstream (2007)
• Domestic box office: $6,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 4.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29%

Ben Affleck

• Movie: To the Wonder (2012)
• Domestic box office: $586,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 47%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37%

Bradley Cooper

• Movie: Serena (2014)
• Domestic box office: $176,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 16%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 23%

Cate Blanchett

• Movie: Manifesto (2015)
• Domestic box office: $161,100
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 75%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55%

Channing Tatum

• Movie: The Son of No One (2011)
• Domestic box office: $28,900
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 22%

Charlize Theron

• Movie: Sleepwalking (2008)
• Domestic box office: $169,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 17%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 43%

Chris Evans

• Movie: Before We Go (2014)
• Domestic box office: $37,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 27%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57%

Chris Hemsworth

• Movie: Blackhat (2015)
• Domestic box office: $7,800,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 32%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24%

Denzel Washington

• Movie: For Queen & Country (1989)
• Domestic box office: $62,800
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 29%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 28%

Dwayne Johnson

• Movie: Southland Tales (2006)
• Domestic box office: $273,400
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 41%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41%

Emma Stone

• Movie: Movie 43 (2013)
• Domestic box office: $8,800,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 4.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 4%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24%

Gal Gadot

• Movie: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
• Domestic box office: $46,500,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73%

George Clooney

• Movie: Welcome to Collinwood (2002)
• Domestic box office: $334,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 55%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 55%

Halle Berry

• Movie: Frankie & Alice (2010)
• Domestic box office: $693,200
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 21%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59%

Harrison Ford

• Movie: Crossing Over (2009)
• Domestic box office: $454,100
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 49%

Jennifer Aniston

• Movie: Life of Crime (2013)
• Domestic box office: $261,700
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 68%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37%

Jennifer Lawrence

• Movie: Winter’s Bone (2010)
• Domestic box office: $6,500,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 7.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76%

Johnny Depp

• Movie: Happily Ever After (2004)
• Domestic box office: $252,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 57%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%

Julia Roberts

• Movie: Full Frontal (2002)
• Domestic box office: $2,500,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 4.7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 27%

Kate Winslet

• Movie: Ammonite (2020)
• Domestic box office: $160,900
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 69%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85%

Keanu Reeves

• Movie: Knock Knock (2015)
• Domestic box office: $34,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 4.9/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 37%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 19%

Kevin Costner

• Movie: Ever Again (2006)
• Domestic box office: $10,800
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 50%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54%

Leonardo DiCaprio

• Movie: Total Eclipse (1995)
• Domestic box office: $339,900
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61%

Mahershala Ali

• Movie: Moonlight (2016)
• Domestic box office: $27,900,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 7.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79%

Margot Robbie

• Movie: I, Tonya (2017)
• Domestic box office: $30,000,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88%

Matt Damon

• Movie: Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004)
• Domestic box office: $120,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 7.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84%

Matthew McConaughey

• Movie: The Sea of Trees (2015)
• Domestic box office: $14,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 17%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 43%

Meryl Streep

• Movie: Dark Matter (2007)
• Domestic box office: $30,000
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40%

Michelle Pfeiffer

• Movie: Love Field (1992)
• Domestic box office: $519,200
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 56%

Morgan Freeman

• Movie: The Long Way Home (1997)
• Domestic box office: $13,300
• IMDb avg. rating: 7.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83%

Natalie Portman

• Movie: The Other Woman (2009)
• Domestic box office: $20,600
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 45%

Nicole Kidman

• Movie: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
• Domestic box office: $220,900
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 32%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63%

Reese Witherspoon

• Movie: Freeway (1996)
• Domestic box office: $283,800
• IMDb avg. rating: 6.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 76%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76%

Robert De Niro

• Movie: Killing Season (2013)
• Domestic box office: $27,700
• IMDb avg. rating: 5.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29%

Robert Downey Jr.

• Movie: The Singing Detective (2003)
• Domestic box office: $336,500
• IMDb average rating: 5.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 39%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 40%

Ryan Gosling

• Movie: The United States of Leland (2003)
• Domestic box office: $343,800
• IMDb average rating: 7.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 34%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81%

Ryan Reynolds

• Movie: The Nines (2007)
• Domestic box office: $62,700
• IMDb average rating: 6.2/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 65%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61%

Scarlett Johansson

• Movie: A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
• Domestic box office: $159,200
• IMDb average rating: 7.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80%

Susan Sarandon

• Movie: Safe Passage (1994)
• Domestic box office: $1,600,000
• IMDb average rating: 6.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 54%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73%

Sylvester Stallone

• Movie: Kambakkht Ishq (2009)
• Domestic box office: $1,400,000
• IMDb average rating: 3.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 0%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 31%

Tom Cruise

• Movie: Legend (1985)
• Domestic box office: $12,300,000
• IMDb average rating: 6.3/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73%

Tom Hanks

• Movie: A Hologram for the King (2016)
• Domestic box office: $4,200,000
• IMDb average rating: 6.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 70%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54%

Viola Davis

• Movie: Lila & Eve (2015)
• Domestic box office: $37,900
• IMDb average rating: 5.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41%

Will Ferrell

• Movie: Everything Must Go (2010)
• Domestic box office: $2,700,000
• IMDb average rating: 6.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 73%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52%

Will Smith

• Movie: Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
• Domestic box office: $6,300,000
• IMDb average rating: 6.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71%

Woody Harrelson

• Movie: The Sunchaser (1996)
• Domestic box office: $23,100
• IMDb average rating: 6.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 17%
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 41%

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