# Huge movies that failed to produce a star? (Or, actors who failed to turn a hit into stardom) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236 "2018-03-08T13:56:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/21 "2018-03-08T16:50:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t think that a star has ever been able to bring in the audience _regardless_ of how good or bad a movie was. Name any star of the past, and I’m sure you could find one or two flops in their repertoire. That’s why I said “reliable” and not “inevitable.” > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > In the last 4 years, Hanks did Captain Phillips, Saving Mr. Banks, Bridge of Spies, Sully, and The Post. A) You left out Inferno, A Hologram for the King, and The Circle. Plus the two movies right before that period, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Cloud Atlas, both from major novels and expected to do well. B) None of the movies you did mention grossed over $125 million in the U.S. The best was Sully, which ranked 24th for 2016. Behind the Ghostbusters remake. What about DiCaprio? His last five movies were J. Edgar, a flop; Django Unchained, not a starring role; The Great Gatsby, a disappointment; The Wolf of Wall Street, 28th for the year; and The Revenant, a success and the highest grosser, almost as much in the U.S. as Pitch Perfect 2. Tom Cruise. His last five movies were Edge of Tomorrow, 33rd for the year; Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, a true starring hit that ranked one spot above Pitch Perfect 2; Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, a flop; The Mummy, a huge flop; and American Made, which I thought was an indie but had a $50 million budget, grossed $51 million, and ranked 54th. You can argue that foreign box office and ancillary rights are the true determiners of profitability. I agree. I’d respond that if you’re talking “stars” then the lack of huge top ten hits is a major flaw. Not one of the three have starred in a top ten grossing film since 2010’s Inception. And that did not make its millions because of DiCaprio. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/22 "2018-03-08T16:52:06Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > How about My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Over $240 million in domestic box office and an enormous cast, none of whom I can really remember seeing in anything that didn’t also have “Big Fat Greek” in the title. Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin? All extremely successful character actors before and since. Joey Fatone is famous for being Joey Fatone and always seems to be working on something. Other character actors like Gia Carides and Louis Mandylor were in it. They were able to get Ian Gomez cheap because he is married to the star/writer and was the inspiration for the movie. He certainly was successful before with the Drew Carey Show and after with Cougar Town. Basically it was a relatively low budget movie that employed working character actors who continued to work in that capacity after the movie. > [@DCnDC](#): > > He was known. I wouldn’t consider him a _star_. _The Fly_ was in 1986 and was one of his few roles as leading man; his career, while prolific, is primarily comprised of supporting roles. He’s too quirky to fit the star role. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Look at _Gone With The Wind_. Gable was already an established star. But what happened to the rest of the cast? Leigh’s only other memorable role was _A Streetcar Named Desire_ twelve years later. De Havilland’s career pretty much moved along at the same level. Howard, of course, joined the British war effort and died four years later. > > The only member of the GWTW cast who would go on to become more famous for another role was George Reeves, who would play Superman in the fifties TV series. Vivien Leigh’s career suffered because of her bipolar disorder more than anything else. When she was able to she did theater work. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/23 "2018-03-08T17:50:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > De Havilland’s career pretty much moved along at the same level. de Havilland won two Oscars after appearing in GWTW and was nominated for two more. She reliably got top billing for at least twenty years after the film was released and ranked 9th in top box office grosses of the 1950s. And she managed this after being blacklisted for a couple of years for challenging the studio system. But nowadays there are few actors that can draw people in automatically. Hanks, Cruise (though maybe no longer), probably a couple of others. But for a blockbuster, people go to see the franchise, not the actors. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/24 "2018-03-08T18:04:40Z")
After True Lies came out, everyone said it would salvage Tom Arnold’s career after the fiasco that was his association with Roseanne (not that he had much of a career before that, but whatever). If he appeared in anything after True Lies, I don’t know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/25 "2018-03-08T18:12:49Z")
**Porky’s** , despite being critically reviled, was a huge hit in 1982 but did it boost the career of any of its lead actors? Kim Cattrall did become a recognizable name but that was years later with “Sex and the City”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/26 "2018-03-08T18:18:21Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Lord of the Rings: the actors from that are still working on something or other, but they will never be in such a HUGE movie again. (Didn’t Frodo have some tv series where he was talking to a toy bear?? And what is Aragorn doing lately? Orlando Bloom is still hanging in there in PotC, but no one ran to see it just because he had a role in it.) With a few exceptions (Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies), most of the main cast of LotR were comparatively unknown – and you’re probably right, none of them really went on to major stardom. Elijah Wood (Frodo) has been one of the stars of the extremely quirky [Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4047038/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1) on BBC for the past couple of years. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) seems to have largely chosen to make smaller, artsier films. John Noble (Denethor) has apparently leveraged that role into a career of playing crazy / creepy old men (Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, etc.) Other than Bloom, and the already-established stars, you could argue that the two actors who’ve gone on to the biggest success (relatively speaking) after LotR have been Karl Urban (Eomer), who plays Bones in the Star Trek reboot films, and Andy Serkis (Gollum), who’s become the go-to actor for motion-capture work (Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot series, Snoke in the new Star Wars films), plus getting live-action work (e.g., Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther). And, of course, Sean Bean keeps dying on film. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/27 "2018-03-08T18:43:07Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > With a few exceptions (Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies), most of the main cast of LotR were comparatively unknown – and you’re probably right, none of them really went on to major stardom. > > Elijah Wood (Frodo) has been one of the stars of the extremely quirky [Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4047038/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1) on BBC for the past couple of years. > > Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) seems to have largely chosen to make smaller, artsier films. > > John Noble (Denethor) has apparently leveraged that role into a career of playing crazy / creepy old men (Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, etc.) > > Other than Bloom, and the already-established stars, you could argue that the two actors who’ve gone on to the biggest success (relatively speaking) after LotR have been Karl Urban (Eomer), who plays Bones in the Star Trek reboot films, and Andy Serkis (Gollum), who’s become the go-to actor for motion-capture work (Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot series, Snoke in the new Star Wars films), plus getting live-action work (e.g., Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther). > > And, of course, Sean Bean keeps dying on film. 😃 Both Elijah Wood and Sean Astin were very successful child actors prior to the movie. The fact that both were able to transition into steady work as adults is a rarity. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/28 "2018-03-08T19:01:58Z")
Miranda Otto (Eowyn) doesn’t seem to be doing too bad for herself, either. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/29 "2018-03-08T19:02:13Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > What about DiCaprio? His last five movies were J. Edgar, a flop; Django Unchained, not a starring role; The Great Gatsby, a disappointment; The Wolf of Wall Street, 28th for the year; and The Revenant, a success and the highest grosser, almost as much in the U.S. as Pitch Perfect 2. > > Tom Cruise. His last five movies were Edge of Tomorrow, 33rd for the year; Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, a true starring hit that ranked one spot above Pitch Perfect 2; Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, a flop; The Mummy, a huge flop; and American Made, which I thought was an indie but had a $50 million budget, grossed $51 million, and ranked 54th. > > You can argue that foreign box office and ancillary rights are the true determiners of profitability. I agree. I’d respond that if you’re talking “stars” then the lack of huge top ten hits is a major flaw. Not one of the three have starred in a top ten grossing film since 2010’s Inception. And that did not make its millions because of DiCaprio. But both guys are still huge stars, regardless of box office numbers. It’s been said already, but number one movies are products of the environment more than the stars. Using the two guys you mentioned, Cruise is the closest to a star. No one is seeing Jack Reacher or the Mission Impossible movies because of the rest of the cast…they are going to see HIM. The fact these movies make anything at all in the box office are because of him. DiCaprio’s movies are never made to be blockbusters/popular like Cruise’s because Leo is just taking movies for Oscar bait. The closest he had to non-Oscar bait in recent years was probably Inception, and given the writer/director it’s not outside the realm of possibility he could have been nominated. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/30 "2018-03-08T19:23:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Miranda Otto (Eowyn) doesn’t seem to be doing too bad for herself, either. Agreed; she’s had a solid career post-LotR, mostly in TV, though, like most of the others from the cast, she’s not become a headliner. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/31 "2018-03-08T19:49:52Z")
My first thought was Cabaret. You have three stellar performances in a huge film, and afterward…gee. I guess they were more stage actors than film actors, which is why they were chosen for their parts. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/32 "2018-03-08T20:10:41Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > My first thought was Cabaret. You have three stellar performances in a huge film, and afterward…gee. > > I guess they were more stage actors than film actors, which is why they were chosen for their parts. That has more to do with the fact musicals were mostly on their way out during the 70s. Liza Minnelli was one of the most visible and recognizable women in the world during the decade so it’s not like she disappeared after winning her Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/33 "2018-03-08T20:10:41Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Lainie Kazan, Michael Constantine, Andrea Martin? All extremely successful character actors before and since. Joey Fatone is famous for being Joey Fatone and always seems to be working on something. Other character actors like Gia Carides and Louis Mandylor were in it. They were able to get Ian Gomez cheap because he is married to the star/writer and was the inspiration for the movie. He certainly was successful before with the Drew Carey Show and after with Cougar Town. I have heard of Joey Fatone, but off the top of my head, I couldn’t name a single thing he has done. The others were character actors before “Wedding” and they are still character actors? I would say that definitely means that the movie failed to launch them into stardom. You’re kind of making my point for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/34 "2018-03-08T20:49:52Z")
Avatar? It had some name actors in it, but its lead actor has been kind of a box-office dude. It’s Sam Worthington. I mean, he’s been in some big stuff, but I think there were higher expectations for him. Now he is up there filming Avatar 2-4 for over a year, I think. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/35 "2018-03-08T20:54:02Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Avatar? > > It had some name actors in it, but its lead actor has been kind of a box-office dude. It’s Sam Worthington. I mean, he’s been in some big stuff, but I think there were higher expectations for him. Now he is up there filming Avatar 2-4 for over a year, I think. Mentioned repeatedly in the first few posts of the thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/36 "2018-03-08T20:56:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Mentioned repeatedly in the first few posts of the thread. 😃 I’m tired and it isn’t reasonable to expect me to read things before posting. I’m an American!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/37 "2018-03-08T20:56:31Z")
I think Avatar is a good example. I mean when was the last time we saw the star in it? What was the name? Oh yeah Sigourney Weaver. What’s SHE been in? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/38 "2018-03-08T20:57:16Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m tired and it isn’t reasonable to expect me to read things before posting. I’m an American!!! > > 😃 It’s in one of those amendments, I’m sure of it!! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/39 "2018-03-08T21:02:42Z")
Avatar as a whole has made almost no impact on the culture. Titanic was much more of a cultural moment than Avatar, even if it made more money. I was telling my friend the other day that when Avatar-world opens in Disney, I can literally hear kids saying, “Hey, this place is awesome. They should make a movie out of this!” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2018, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236/40 "2018-03-08T21:11:36Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Sam Worthington and Avatar. Avatar is just a weird thing altogether. If you look at all the other top grossing movies of all time (you need to adjust for inflation to get a clear picture) they’re all important. Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, Jaws, Snow White, The Godfather… these were movies that became cultural touchstones, part of the collective consciousness. I can’t even name three characters from “Avatar.” It seems to just kind of be something you remember you watched. Does it even have FANS? I assume there are some but I have never met any. Titanic, the movie that was the top unadjusted box office champ before it, is still something people quote and talk about. The Godfather remains a revered movie. People still sing songs from The Sound Of Music. Star Wars is a goddamn religion. Avatar, though? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-movies-that-failed-to-produce-a-star-or-actors-who-failed-to-turn-a-hit-into-stardom/810236.md?page=3)