Hollywood is full of big swings that don’t always land, and sometimes the actors involved end up taking the blame. Whether the script was weak, the budget spiraled out of control, or off-screen drama overshadowed everything, a bad movie can seriously damage a star’s reputation.
Some of these actors bounced back, while others never quite recovered. Here’s a look at 18 actors who felt the heat when their films went up in flames.
1. Alden Ehrenreich in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Stepping into Harrison Ford’s shoes as a young Han Solo was always going to be a massive challenge. When Solo: A Star Wars Story hit theaters in 2018, Vanity Fair called it the first Star Wars movie to officially flop.
Audiences and critics questioned whether Ehrenreich had the charisma to carry the franchise forward.
The film’s troubled production, including a director change midway through, didn’t help his case. His career momentum stalled noticeably after the film’s disappointing run.
2. Tom Cruise in The Mummy (2017)
Tom Cruise was supposed to be the anchor of Universal’s ambitious Dark Universe franchise. Instead, The Mummy bombed spectacularly, earning a brutal 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics didn’t just blame the script — many pointed directly at Cruise’s performance as a core problem.
Reports surfaced that Cruise had enormous creative control over the film, which many felt hurt the final product. The Dark Universe collapsed entirely after this misfire, making it one of the costliest franchise launch failures in Hollywood history.
3. Chris Hemsworth in Blackhat (2015)
Fresh off Thor’s success, Chris Hemsworth tried to prove his range with Blackhat, a cyber-thriller directed by Michael Mann. The film earned just $19.6 million against a $70 million budget — a painful loss by any measure.
Critics specifically called out Hemsworth’s performance, with some describing it as flat-out awful.
What’s remarkable is that Hemsworth himself later agreed with the criticism, publicly admitting the performance wasn’t good. That kind of self-awareness is rare in Hollywood, and it probably helped him recover.
4. Annabelle Wallis in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur reboot had plenty of problems, but one criticism stood out above the rest. The director and co-star Charlie Hunnam both hinted that a casting mistake had crippled the film’s central storyline — and many believed they were referring to Wallis.
The movie underperformed badly at the box office, earning far less than its massive budget. Being indirectly called a piece of miscasting by the film’s own director is a tough reputation hit that’s hard to shake off quickly.
5. Ezra Miller in The Flash (2023)
By the time The Flash finally reached theaters in 2023, Ezra Miller’s off-screen behavior had completely overshadowed any excitement about the film. Accusations of violence, harassment, burglary, and disorderly conduct dominated headlines instead of movie buzz.
Warner Bros. chose to minimize press appearances, which hurt the film’s marketing significantly.
The movie underperformed despite strong visual effects and a nostalgic multiverse storyline. Miller’s personal controversies made it nearly impossible for audiences to separate the actor from the character on screen.
6. Sydney Sweeney in Christy (2024)
Sydney Sweeney’s star had been rising fast before Christy hit theaters and landed with a thud. Critics actually praised her performance, but the film bombed commercially.
Then things got messier when fellow actress Ruby Rose publicly blamed Sweeney, claiming audiences didn’t want to support someone they felt was inauthentic to the LGBTQ+ community.
The public callout sparked a fierce online debate. Sweeney faced backlash that felt unfair to many fans, given the positive reviews she personally received for her work in the film.
7. Ben Affleck in Gigli (2003)
Gigli is practically shorthand for Hollywood disaster at this point. The film grossed just over $6 million against a $54 million budget and earned a jaw-dropping 6% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Affleck walked away with a Worst Actor Razzie and a badly damaged public image.
His real-life romance with co-star Jennifer Lopez turned the production into tabloid fodder, making it nearly impossible for critics to take the film seriously. It took years and a string of smart career choices before audiences fully forgave him.
8. John Travolta in Battlefield Earth (2000)
John Travolta had spent years trying to bring Battlefield Earth to life as a passion project deeply tied to his Scientology beliefs. The result was one of the most mocked films in modern cinema history.
Critics called it aggressively bad, and audiences stayed far away from theaters.
Travolta, who also co-produced the film, took home the 2001 Razzie for Worst Actor. The movie became such a cultural punchline that it essentially undid much of the career goodwill he had built after Pulp Fiction’s massive comeback success.
9. Halle Berry in Catwoman (2004)
Two years after winning an Academy Award, Halle Berry starred in Catwoman — a film that failed to recoup its $100 million budget and left critics scratching their heads. Some reviewers acknowledged Berry as a bright spot, but others felt the movie was designed more to showcase her looks than her talent.
Berry famously showed up to accept her Razzie Award in person, clutching her Oscar in the other hand. That self-deprecating move won her enormous public respect, even if the film itself was a genuine disaster.
10. George Clooney in Batman & Robin (1997)
Ask George Clooney about Batman & Robin and he won’t hesitate to apologize. The film is widely considered one of the worst superhero movies ever made, drowning in neon colors, campy villains, and the now-infamous bat-nipple suit.
Clooney has openly stated he personally feels he killed the Batman franchise with that performance.
Despite the disaster, his career somehow survived and thrived. His willingness to own the failure with humor and honesty actually made audiences like him more, proving that accountability can be a powerful career tool.
11. Mike Myers in The Love Guru (2008)
The Love Guru wasn’t just a bad movie — it was a career-altering catastrophe. Myers wrote it, co-produced it, and starred in it, meaning he collected Razzie nominations for all three roles simultaneously.
Critics found the humor dated and offensive, and audiences largely ignored it at the box office.
What makes this story especially striking is that Myers hasn’t had a leading film role since. One misfire essentially ended a comedy career that had produced Austin Powers and Shrek.
Few box office bombs carry that kind of lasting damage.
12. Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
Released at the peak of Lindsay Lohan’s tabloid notoriety, I Know Who Killed Me never stood a chance. The psychological thriller was panned by nearly every critic and earned eight Golden Raspberry Award nominations — an almost unheard-of sweep of shame for a single film.
The movie arrived during a genuinely turbulent chapter of Lohan’s personal life, making it easy for critics to pile on. Many industry insiders point to this film as the moment her promising Hollywood career shifted from rising star to cautionary tale.
13. Taylor Kitsch in John Carter (2012)
Disney spent an astronomical amount producing John Carter, and when it barely earned back its domestic budget, the studio took a reported $200 million loss. Taylor Kitsch, positioned as the film’s breakout star, bore much of the public criticism despite delivering a committed performance in a deeply flawed production.
The failure effectively stalled his momentum as a leading man before it ever truly got started. Kitsch had also starred in Battleship that same year, another high-profile flop, making 2012 an especially brutal stretch for his career prospects.
14. Jamie Kennedy in Son of the Mask (2005)
Following up a beloved Jim Carrey classic was always going to be risky, but Son of the Mask turned out to be far worse than anyone feared. Kennedy stepped into the lead role of a sequel nobody was really asking for, and critics absolutely tore it apart.
The CGI baby and cartoonish humor left audiences cold and confused.
The film marked a sharp turning point in Kennedy’s film career. He had been building solid momentum in Hollywood, but the commercial and critical disaster made it much harder to land significant leading roles afterward.
15. Francesca Hayward in Cats (2019)
Francesca Hayward was a celebrated Royal Ballet principal dancer when she landed the lead in the film adaptation of Cats. Her dancing was genuinely impressive, but the movie became notorious for its deeply unsettling CGI and baffling creative choices.
Critics and audiences alike found the human-cat hybrid visuals more disturbing than enchanting.
Despite her performance earning some sympathy, the film’s overwhelming failure made it nearly impossible for her to land another major movie role. Cats remains one of the most talked-about cinematic disasters of the entire decade.
16. Marilyn Monroe in River of No Return (1954)
Even Hollywood’s biggest icon wasn’t immune to on-set criticism. Director Otto Preminger was openly dismissive of Marilyn Monroe throughout the production of River of No Return, famously stating that she was merely a star rather than a real actress.
He blamed her reliance on acting coach Natasha Lytess for disrupting the entire shoot.
Monroe’s habit of requiring dozens of takes and deferring to her coach infuriated Preminger publicly. The controversy highlighted the tension between Monroe’s instinctive screen magnetism and Hollywood’s traditional expectations of professional discipline on a film set.
17. Kevin Costner in Waterworld (1995)
Waterworld became a symbol of runaway Hollywood excess before it even reached theaters. The budget ballooned to an estimated $175 million, making it the most expensive film ever made at that time.
Director Kevin Reynolds didn’t stay quiet about why — he publicly criticized Costner’s relentless micromanaging and suggested he should only star in movies he personally directs.
Reynolds actually left the project before it was finished. Costner took over editing duties himself, and the resulting tension between star and director became as famous as the film’s troubled production history.
18. Bruce Willis in Cop Out (2010)
Director Kevin Smith had a genuinely miserable experience making Cop Out, and he made no secret of it afterward. Smith publicly called out Willis for showing minimal enthusiasm on set and providing little creative energy during filming.
He described working with Willis as one of the most difficult professional experiences of his career.
Willis also reportedly showed little interest in promoting the film after it wrapped. The movie underperformed at the box office, and Smith’s candid criticism painted a picture of a star who had simply stopped caring about the work.