7 Bad Movies That Killed An Actor’s Hot Streak

It’s rare for an actor to star in several hit movies consecutively – especially films that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. But even the most popular actors eventually face a flop that interrupts their winning streak. These are the movies that disappointed audiences and made people question if the actor’s best work was behind them. For this list, we focused on films where the actor played a leading role. We also excluded actors who’ve primarily found success within a single franchise, like some stars from the Marvel Cinematic Universe who haven’t been able to find success outside of those films.

These movies aren’t necessarily bad, and some people certainly dislike them. However, they temporarily hindered the careers of at least one actor each.

7) The Bonfire of the Vanities

By 1990, Bruce Willis was riding a wave of successful films like Die Hard, In Country, Look Who’s Talking, Die Hard 2, and Look Who’s Talking Too. However, things quickly went downhill. After the mildly forgettable Mortal Thoughts, he starred in The Bonfire of the Vanities, a film widely considered a failure, followed by the equally unsuccessful Hudson Hawk.

1990 marked a turning point for several stars. Melanie Griffith had recently received an Oscar nomination for the hit film Working Girl and found success with Pacific Heights. Director Brian De Palma was coming off the acclaimed The Untouchables and Casualties of War. While Tom Hanks was on the verge of even bigger achievements, he’d already enjoyed some success with films like Dragnet, Punchline, The ‘Burbs, Turner & Hooch, Joe Versus the Volcano, and the popular Big.

Stream The Bonfire of the Vanities for free with ads on Fandango at Home.

6) The 13th Warrior

1999’s The 13th Warrior was a massive box office failure – one of the biggest in film history – and nearly derailed Antonio Banderas’ career as a leading actor. While he’d had successes before, and a few minor flops, the 1990s were generally kind to Banderas, thanks to hits like Philadelphia, Interview with the Vampire, and Desperado.

Looking back at Antonio Banderas’ career leading up to The 13th Warrior, he was riding high. Evita in ’96 was a bit of a gamble – critics were divided – but The Mask of Zorro in ’98 was a clear win with audiences and reviewers alike. That pairing really established him as a box office draw. And honestly, things have been a little hit-or-miss for him ever since. The early 2000s were particularly interesting. Spy Kids in 2001 proved he could appeal to families, but 2002 was a wild ride – we got the truly awful Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, but also the successes of Frida and Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams. It was a real mixed bag, even then.

5) Staying Alive

I remember when Staying Alive came out, and honestly, it felt like a real blow after how much I loved Saturday Night Fever. It seemed to stall John Travolta’s career, and it wasn’t until Pulp Fiction that he really bounced back – though sadly, even that momentum was lost with Battlefield Earth. Looking back, it’s easy to see why Staying Alive didn’t work; it just didn’t live up to the magic of the original, and frankly, it felt like a disappointment.

Before Staying Alive, John Travolta starred in a string of well-known films including Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, the less successful Moment by Moment, Urban Cowboy, and Brian De Palma’s critically acclaimed Blow Out. Five out of these six were instant classics. Following Staying Alive, he appeared in Two of a Kind, Perfect, The Experts, and the two Look Who’s Talking films. While the talking baby movies were profitable, they weren’t considered high-quality films. Travolta’s career didn’t truly rebound until he starred in Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed movie in 1994.

Stream Staying Alive on Hoopla.

4) Baywatch

From 2014 to 2016, Dwayne Johnson starred in a string of successful films. These included Hercules (2014), Furious 7 and San Andreas (2015), and Central Intelligence and Moana (2016), all of which were either financially successful, well-received by critics, or both.

To be honest, 2017 wasn’t a bad year for him. The Fate of the Furious and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle were both huge box office successes, and Jumanji was a genuinely good movie. However, Baywatch was an expensive comedy that just didn’t land many jokes. Because it came between the successes of Fate and Jumanji, it quickly brought an end to what had been a very strong streak.

Stream Baywatch (2017) on Philo.

3) Ghost in the Shell

From 2012 to 2016, Scarlett Johansson starred in a remarkable series of successful films. Each year brought at least one, and often several, critically acclaimed or commercially successful movies. Highlights included The Avengers and Hitchcock in 2012, Don Jon, Under the Skin, and Her in 2013, Chef, Lucy, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014, Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, and Captain America: Civil War, Hail, Caesar!, The Jungle Book, and Sing in 2016.

Scarlett Johansson has consistently proven her talent in both big-budget Marvel films and smaller, critically acclaimed projects. However, Ghost in the Shell wasn’t one of her successes. While not a terrible movie – though the casting choices were controversial – it was a significant critical and commercial failure that could have stalled her career momentum, and it did just that. Fortunately, she quickly recovered with a string of successful films including Rough Night, Isle of Dogs, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Marriage Story, and Jojo Rabbit.

2) Last Action Hero

Released after a string of successful films like Predator, The Running Man, Red Heat, Twins, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Last Action Hero was a critical and commercial disappointment, though some Arnold Schwarzenegger fans still enjoy it. The film also marked a downturn for director John McTiernan, whose previous work included hits like Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October. While Medicine Man hadn’t been a major success, it was Last Action Hero, along with The 13th Warrior, that stalled his career momentum.

Arnold Schwarzenegger bounced back with the hit film True Lies in 1994, but his follow-up, Junior with Danny DeVito, didn’t recapture the magic of their earlier film, Twins. He had some modest successes with Eraser and Jingle All the Way, but his role as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin further hurt his career, even more so than Last Action Hero had.

1) Wild Wild West

After the huge success of films like Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, and Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West unfortunately didn’t live up to expectations. Those earlier movies had made Will Smith a major, highly reliable star in the 1990s, but Wild Wild West‘s confusing mix of tones damaged his reputation and audience trust.

The film wasn’t helpful to director Barry Sonnenfeld, especially considering his recent successes. He had just come off directing popular movies like The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Get Shorty, and the highly successful Men in Black, which starred Will Smith. After this film, Sonnenfeld only found success by returning to the Men in Black franchise with its sequels, Men in Black II and Men in Black 3.

Stream Wild Wild West on TNT.

https://comicbook.com/movies/list/5-great-1990s-action-movies-nobody-talks-about/embed/#

2025-11-04 03:44