Directors are the visionaries behind the magic of the big screen. They hold the power to create blockbuster hits that resonate with audiences for generations but also face the risk of Box Office bombs that leave critics scratching their heads. These 24 directors have experienced the highs and lows of the industry, crafting both box office breakouts and unforgettable flops.
1. Martin Brest
Martin Brest made a name for himself with box office hits like Beverly Hills Cop and Scent of a Woman. His knack for combining humor and drama resonated with audiences. However, his career took a hit with the notorious flop Gigli, which starred Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. The film's critical panning and poor box office performance marked a low point in Brest's otherwise successful career.
2. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott is known for his visually stunning and critically acclaimed masterpieces like Alien, Gladiator, and Blade Runner. These films showcased his ability to create immersive cinematic experiences. However, not all his projects have been met with the same praise. The Counsellor faced criticism for its convoluted plot and underwhelming reception, highlighting that even a director of Scott's caliber can have missteps.
Despite his otherwise extensively impressive filmography, some of his fans think Exodus: Gods and Kings and Robin Hood are 0-star movies.
3. M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan shot to fame with The Sixth Sense, a film that became a cultural phenomenon. He followed it up with hits like Unbreakable and Signs, showcasing his talent for suspense and twists. However, Shyamalan faced backlash for some seriously horrendous movie endings or entire movies like The Happening, The Village, and Glass.
The Happening was torn apart for its wooden dialogue and inconsistent tone. It served as a reminder that his unique storytelling style could also lead to disappointment. This led to a string of disappointing films, marking an inconsistent trajectory filled with highs and lows for the filmmaker.
4. Neill Blomkamp
Neill Blomkamp's District 9 was a groundbreaking success, blending social commentary with sci-fi action. The film earned critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase. However, his subsequent works, Elysium and Chappie, didn't capture the same magic. They faced criticism for their heavy-handed messaging. Fans were eager to see a District 9 sequel, which has been stalled thanks to constantly failing projects, and most recently, he's churned out a 0/5 movie, Demonic, leaving some to wonder if District 9 was a one-time wonder.
5. Russell Mulcahy
Russell Mulcahy is probably the only director who was able to produce a solid five-star and zero-star movie in the same franchise. Mulcahy's Highlander remains a cult classic, celebrated for its unique storytelling and iconic soundtrack. However, Mulcahy struggled to replicate that success in the sequel Highlander II: The Quickening, which is unanimously considered an abomination.
6. Tom Hooper
Tom Hooper garnered acclaim for The King's Speech, a film that earned numerous accolades, including the Best Picture Oscar. However, he experienced a stark contrast in reception with Cats. The film was widely panned by both audiences and critics, with its subpar CGI and confusing plot causing significant backlash. This glaring misstep in Hooper's career emphasized that even accomplished directors can produce a movie that not only falls short but becomes a notable talking point for all the wrong reasons.
7. John Carpenter
John Carpenter is celebrated for directing iconic films like Halloween and The Thing. These movies are considered classics in their respective genres. However, Carpenter also had his share of box office misses, such as Ghosts of Mars and Vampires. These films, while holding cult appeal, didn't reach the same level of success as his earlier work. Carpenter occupies the unique position of having made some of the best and worst films imaginable.
8. Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is an accomplished director with hits like Dirty Harry, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino, which garnered critical acclaim and box-office success.
His massive film success has extended over decades. However, he's not immune to missteps, with films like The 15:17 to Paris receiving pretty bad reviews after making the decision to hire non-actors to portray the real-world heroics that took place on a train to Paris amidst a terrorist attack. Even though Eastwood has a pretty solid track record as a director, The 15:17 to Paris is probably his most significant career low. These projects demonstrate that even a seasoned director can face challenges.
9. Lana & Lilly Wachowski
The Wachowskis made cinematic history with The Matrix, a groundbreaking sci-fi masterpiece. However, they encountered challenges with their later projects like Speed Racer and Jupiter Ascending, which struggled to achieve the same critical and commercial success.
Just within The Matrix franchise, most fans would agree that these films' quality started with perfection and gradually decreased until it reached the bottom of the barrel. These films showcased their ambition but also the risks that come with pushing the boundaries of storytelling.
10. Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner is known for timeless classics like When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride. These films continue to captivate audiences with their wit and charm. However, Reiner had setbacks with films like North, which faced critical backlash for its tone and execution, as well as Shock and Awe. Reiner has had a bizarre career, producing absolute masterpieces and then producing trash post-2000. Some of his biggest missteps were also sandwiched between excellent films, making the inconsistency all the more perplexing.
11. John McTiernan
John McTiernan directed blockbuster hits like Die Hard, Last Action Hero, and Predator, redefining action cinema. However, he also had lesser-performing films like Rollerball and Basic. To say these films flopped is an understatement. Rollerball earned a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes and 14/100 on Metacritic, and that's the “better” version after significant studio interference. The director's cut was apparently much worse.
12. Dan Gilroy
Dan Gilroy achieved success with Nightcrawler, a chilling exploration of the media industry. However, he faced mixed results with Velvet Buzzsaw, which attempted to blend satire with horror but received a lukewarm reception, underlining the challenges of maintaining creative momentum.
13. Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is legendary for The Godfather series, considered some of the greatest films ever made. However, he faced challenges with some of his later projects, like Jack or Peggy and Sue Got Married. It doesn't get more emblematic of producing breakouts and bombs than directing the best movie ever made and then following it up with a movie where Robin Williams plays a 12-year-old boy.
14. Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola gained acclaim for Lost in Translation, a poignant exploration of isolation and connection. Her thoughtful adaptation of The Virgin Suicides earned positive critical reception, and Marie Antoinette received mixed but largely positive reviews. However, much like her father, she encountered difficulties maintaining a positive trajectory. While she had a few mixed reception films, The Bling Ring was by far her biggest bomb, criticized for being a vapid, uncreative rehashing of the Hollywood robberies committed by some money-hungry teens.
15. Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher directed hits like A Time to Kill, The Client, and The Lost Boys but had disappointments in his filmography, notably Batman & Robin. The latter was widely criticized for its campy style and marked a low point in the Batman film series, demonstrating that even blockbuster directors can falter.
16. Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis is known for classics like Back to the Future, Cast Away, and Forrest Gump, but he also gave us cinematic tragedies like Marwen and Beowulf. These highs and lows have made Zemeckis a divisive figure in the industry, with some believing him to be a directorial genius and others relegating him as a has-been.
17. James Cameron
James Cameron, the director of Titanic, Terminator, and Avatar, enjoyed box office triumphs but also faced lengthy gaps between films. While his major works set records, lesser-known projects like Strange Days received mixed attention, emphasizing that even blockbuster kings can have periods of relative quiet in their careers. He also made a terrible film that deserves zero stars called Piranha II: The Spawning, after which he made about eight five-star films. We all have our bad days, err, years.
18. Henry Selick
Henry Selick is renowned for The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion marvel, despite Tim Burton getting the bulk of the credit. Nonetheless, it's Selick who directed that film. He's no one-hit wonder, giving us animated cinematic treasure troves like James and the Giant Peach and Coraline.
It's difficult to maintain success in the animation world, where it's a long, arduous process. Selick doesn't even get credit for his greatest film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, as many believe Burton directed it, and he's struggled to gain enough steam to create the passion projects he's always wanted. Justice for Henry Selick!
19. Dario Argento
Dario Argento is known for his influence on horror cinema with 5/5 works like Deep Red and Suspiria. However, he also directed Dracula 3D, which is no doubt a 1/5 movie. A former fan says, “You could probably just draw a line in his filmography, and the early half would be five stars, and the later years would all be 0.” Oof, that's brutal. Argento is one formerly successful director who has not had time on his side.
20. Patty Jenkins
Patty Jenkins found success with Wonder Woman, nearly single-handedly reviving the DC cinematic universe, but it's Monster that's her 5/5 movie. Charlize Theron's tour de force acting performance didn't hurt, either. While superhero fans praised the first Wonder Woman, the sequel Wonder Woman 1984 sent everyone scurrying, wondering how exactly a follow-up to such a universally loved film could be so bad.
21. Luc Besson
Luc Besson demonstrated his ability to create visually stunning worlds with hits like Leon: The Professional and The Fifth Element. However, this ambition doesn't always pan out. He's had less successful, if not outright terrible, films such as Lucy or Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which ultimately lost the plot.
22. Tim Burton
Tim Burton created unique and whimsical worlds in films through Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice. However, he faced varying levels of success in his career with movies like Mars Attacks! receiving mixed reviews. Pre-2000s, he was at the height of his career, churning out hit after hit. However, something happened at the turn of the millennium that seems to have swept his mojo out from underneath him. Most of his films in the past twenty years have been underwhelming at best and unwatchable at worst.
23. Wes Craven
Wes Craven, a maestro of the horror genre, crafted iconic hits like Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street. These films remain cornerstones of the horror canon, known for their inventive scares and cultural impact. However, Craven also ventured into projects that faced commercial and critical setbacks, as evidenced by the divisive reception of Cursed and his career's biggest flop, The Hills Have Eyes Part II. These instances underscored the unpredictability of horror cinema and showcased the fine line between terror and disappointment in Craven's prolific career.
24. Ang Lee
Ang Lee celebrated masterpieces like Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi and a number of other cinematic hits. However, he had mixed results with other films, like Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which struggled to find a broad audience. Then there was Hulk and Gemini Man, which were far worse. His good work is excellent, but his flops are astonishingly bad.
Source: (Reddit).
