It’s not easy climbing the ladder in Hollywood. There are countless stories of actors struggling to make it in the industry and holding out too long in hopes of making it big. Friends star Matt LeBlanc had just $11 in his bank account before he bagged the part of Joey Tribbiani. Needless to say, more individuals would relate to the first part of LeBlanc’s experience than the latter.
Having said that, what’s even harder is consistently remaining in the limelight of an ever-changing and ever-expanding arena. Hollywood is very rewarding for actors who can deliver hits, but at the same time, studios take little time to push stars on the sidelines as soon as the streaks of flops start to surface. Accordingly, we have taken a look at five famous stars who have failed to deliver any hit movies lately and are slowly getting off the radar of big studios.
Vince Vaughn
There are only a handful of actors who could claim to have dominated their genres. For the best part of the 2000s, Vince Vaughn was doing exactly that, finding his name attached to almost every hit romantic comedy, from The Break-Up to Wedding Crashers.
As the romantic comedy movies started to lose their ticket sales to action flicks from the 10s, actors like Vaughn, who had nailed the funny guy persona, lost their charm. Vaughn’s last financial success as an actor came in the romantic comedy Couples Retreat (2009), which made $171.8 million. These days, the 53-year-old is enjoying success as a producer.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman made her film debut in 1983 in the drama Bush Christmas. Since then, she has never stopped working, picking countless hits and an Oscar along the way.
However, for the sake of her own resume, it would have been best if she had stopped for a while and taken more time to cherry-pick her lead roles after her Oscar-winning performance in 2002 hit The Hours. Since then most of her projects have left an underwhelming mark on it.
Having said that, her acting prowess is as impressive as it was during her peak and Kidman has been involved in many brilliant movies and television shows as a supporting actress.
Cameron Diaz
While there are actors who slowly lose their charm and subsequently big paychecks, there are some who purposely decide to shut the doors on cameras. Cameron Diaz’s story is more in line with the latter.
One of the leading Hollywood ladies in the late 90s and 2000s, the Charlie’s Angels actress decided to step back from the limelight in 2014, as she didn’t enjoy the lifestyle that came with it. She will make her return after a decade-long pause in Jamie Foxx starrer, Back in Action, but the Netflix stint will not pave the way for more movies, as the 51-year-old wants to focus on her family life.
Diaz’s last hit movie was Sex Tape (2014), and Back in Action will have to do very well on Netflix to change that.
Read more: Cameron Diaz Refused a Direct Offer To Play Sue Storm in 2005 Film For the Silliest Reason
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman’s early days in Hollywood were more successful than the whole career of many actors. As a child actor, Portman left many in awe with her performance in Léon: The Professional. Then movies like Closer and Black Swan (which even won her an Oscar) further underlined her impeccable acting prowess and opened doors for her to lead films regularly.
However, Portman never really managed to adjust to that transformation, ending up delivering a long streak of flops like Your Highness to Annihilation. Her only financial success at the box office came as a supporting cog in MCU movies. The 42-year-old’s last hit movie as a lead came in No Strings Attached (2011), which made $149.2 million against a budget of $25 million.
Johnny Depp
The most popular name in the list, Johnny Depp has remarkably led three movies to the $1 billion mark at the global box office. However, the king of the box office lost his crown after his public image suffered a huge blow due to highly-publicized controversial events in his personal life, pushing away big studios, who once queued to attach their films with his name.
A few movies he did during this period failed to resonate with fans, simply because they were just too boring or designed to attract a very limited audience in the first place. His comeback movie Jeanne du Barry (2023) could only impress the Cannes Film Festival and French audiences, garnering just $13.6 million.
With Depp now seemingly enjoying his time with his band, Hollywood Vampires, it seems Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) is going to remain his last hit for a very long time.
Read more: Bizarre Reason Johnny Depp Rejected One Of The Greatest Nicolas Cage Movies Ever Made
