Top 10 Worst Comeback Movies of All Time

WatchMojo

Hollywood loves a comeback story, but some return attempts crash and burn spectacularly! Join us as we examine the most disappointing comeback films from once-respected stars and directors. From vanity projects to critical disasters, these films didn't just fail to revive careers—they often damaged them further!

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most critically panned

00:13films that were expected to be once-distinguished, if not long-absent film actors and directors

00:19returned to form.

00:40Two-time Golden Globe winner Tom Cruise was locked into genre movies by the mid-2000s.

00:45Meanwhile, legendary actor-turned-filmmaker Robert Redford hadn't directed since the

00:50polarizing bomb The Legend of Bagger Vance.

00:52The two teamed up to reclaim prestige with the political opus Lions for Lambs, with Cruise

00:58heading the hyperlinked cast as a crookedly ambitious senator being interviewed.

01:02He and Paula Wagner even took over management at United Artists for the production.

01:15Sadly, their investment busted under disappointing box office receipts and disastrous reviews

01:22for the film's preachy, disjointed structure.

01:25Critics highlighted Cruise's charisma, but found him glaringly miscast.

01:29Lions for Lambs heartbreakingly confirmed the actor's popcorn rebrand, while Redford capped

01:34his directing career with two more misguided political thrillers.

01:54The esteemed acting and filmmaking career of Warren Beatty completely stopped after his

01:58performance in 2001's disastrous Town & Country.

02:01He hadn't directed since 1998's controversial political satire, Bullworth.

02:06So there was a particular hype surrounding the 2016 period dramedy, Rules Don't Apply.

02:12TNT directed, wrote, produced and starred as billionaire Howard Hughes in a fictional love triangle

02:18with an aspiring actress and her chauffeur.

02:33Critics were split by the ultimately banal vanity project, but audience opinion was decisive.

02:38Rules Don't Apply grossed under $4 million against a $25 million budget.

02:44Beatty was actually sued by Regency Enterprises for failing to cover promotion losses.

02:48He has since unofficially retired for his health, seemingly respecting the rule against overreaching

02:54Hollywood comeback dreams.

03:11If you can believe it, iconic action star Sylvester Stallone was getting to be a tough sell by

03:15the new millennium, but 1997's Copland seemingly promised a triumphant return to drama.

03:21Thus, Stallone jumped into the driver's seat with Driven, in the hopes of revitalizing

03:25his credibility as an actor and screenwriter.

03:28Unfortunately, critics weren't flattering the motorsport melodrama when they called it

03:32Rocky.

03:42The film was panned for its inaccuracies, clunky storytelling and Rennie Harland's chaotic direction.

03:49It crashed at the box office after opening at number one and received seven nominations

03:53at the Golden Raspberries.

03:54Stallone, remarkably, redeemed himself with a versatile career afterward, but still considers

03:59Driven one of his most regrettable follies.

04:04The title said it all to fans of Cameron Diaz, who shockingly retired in 2014 to focus on

04:23family.

04:24Eleven years later, she and her Annie co-star Jamie Foxx reunited as an on-screen family in

04:29the Netflix spy comedy Back in Action.

04:32The overtly manufactured hype made the explosive romp an instant hit on streaming.

04:37Critics, however, blasted it as formulaic and flaccid.

04:47Some were even immediately branding the January release as one of the worst movies of 2025.

04:52Whether that's any more extreme than the movie's Hollywood nonsense, Back in Action

04:56didn't build much faith in its embarrassingly telegraphed sequel or Diaz's career revival.

05:15Despite his significant contributions to modern film, Francis Ford Coppola struggled to secure

05:20funding for his ambitious sci-fi epic, Megalopolis, in the 80s.

05:24After decades of projects declining in profile and quality, he stepped away to raise the funds

05:29himself.

05:30Megalopolis was finally released in 2024 with an all-star cast, spectacular production values

05:36and, well, little else.

05:39Actually, the story was seriously overstuffed, with heavy-handed political and philosophical

05:47commentary crudely influenced by Ayn Rand.

05:51It was all articulated through cheesy dialogue, style and even acting.

05:55Though some admired the film's bold artistry, audience backlash and scepticism resulted in

05:59it being pulled from theatres within a month.

06:02Razzie-winner Coppola still defends his vision, but most fans, and Lionsgate, surely regret trusting

06:07megalopolis.

06:23The wholesome image that made Lindsay Lohan a star was destroyed by a slew of scandals

06:27in the later 2000s.

06:28Her disastrous attempt at a darker turn on the screen with I Know Who Killed Me didn't

06:33help.

06:34Director Paul Schrader gave Lohan another shot at legitimacy, with an erotic thriller that

06:39boasted his distinguished flair for psychological tension.

06:42The Canyons turned out to be a trashy melodrama that managed to underperform on a $250,000 budget.

06:56Lohan actually received good reviews, but this was negated when Schrader publicly derided

07:01her unreliability on the set and in promotions.

07:05The Canyons only dragged down her reputation further, until sobriety and a modest return

07:09to light affair more or less salvaged it.

07:28Not a whole lot came out of Sharon Stone's star-making turn in the erotic thriller Basic

07:32Instinct.

07:33The Echolade sequel was a thinly-veiled attempt to renew her status amid an irregular run of

07:38projects in the 2000s.

07:39If anything, it was the death knell in her superstardom.

07:43Femme fatale Catherine Trammell's relocation to London was condemned as a campy and outlandish

07:48heap of misogyny.

07:59The original director, Paul Verhoeven, had turned down the project because he expected it to

08:04be a disaster, just from the script.

08:05Sure enough, Basic Instinct 2 bombed at the box office, then swept the Golden Raspberry

08:11Awards.

08:12The spotlight has only grown more elusive, even since Stone's fanservice earned the accolade

08:17of worst actresses.

08:19It's faint praise to say Mike Myers was at least loved for being an ogre on the screen.

08:38With bad reviews and a reputation for being difficult to work with throughout the 2000s,

08:42the comedian co-produced and co-wrote The Love Guru to escape the family fluff.

08:47His offensive portrayal of an Indian and misguided representation of Hindu philosophy were met

08:52with controversy before the film even came out.

08:55Word of mouth somehow got worse afterwards.

09:06With juvenile humor and inept filmmaking, The Love Guru tanked at the box office, swept the

09:11Razzies and has been widely dubbed one of the worst films of all time.

09:15Thus, Myers' credibility as a leading man was so blemished that even the family fluff

09:20fell through.

09:38Once one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, Kevin Spacey all but vanished amid

09:42sweeping allegations of sexual misconduct.

09:45The next seven years were marked by small European productions that had to be less degrading than

09:49what was lined up back in the States.

09:51Spacey inexplicably donned a ridiculous hairpiece to play a philosophical hitman in Peter 5.8.

10:05The movie was in fact nowhere near seven.

10:08Spacey's professional performance only made the otherwise atrocious acting, writing and production

10:12values even more baffling.

10:14It was the cheapest possible vehicle for the most prestigious of disgraced actors.

10:18Spacey may never be able to climb back to the top, but Peter 5.8 is assuredly the bottom.

10:29Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

10:33The Forest Hills, Shelley Duvall, a 20-year hiatus, was broken by a crowdfunded horror bore just

10:39before the actress's death.

10:40The actor's four-part return to filmmaking got off to a divisive, financially disastrous

10:56start.

10:57She's funny that way, Peter Bogdanovich.

11:03After 13 years in exile, an eclectic filmmaking career ended on an outdated and flat farce.

11:12Said Billy, Sean Connery.

11:23A retired icon lent his brogue to this historically horrible cartoon as a favour for a friend.

11:31The Ward, John Carpenter.

11:36Twelve years after a rough streak, a horror legend dumped every cliché into this flop.

11:45After the hit sitcom Growing Pains ended in 1992,

12:14Kirk Cameron became dedicated to his Protestantism.

12:18This and socially conservative views unfortunately limited opportunities for the former child actor.

12:23Cameron's connection with filmmaker Darren Doan seemed to promise steady work after 2008

12:28Fireproof, but 2014's Saving Christmas wasn't the miracle he was looking for.

12:41It was an embarrassingly cheap and preachy comedy about a fictionalised Cameron putting Christ

12:45back in Christmas.

12:47Even Christians were turned off by the awkwardly consumeristic message.

12:51Nonetheless, the actor blamed an atheist smear campaign on the scathing reviews.

12:55Saving Christmas couldn't save Cameron from slipping further from the mainstream, though

12:59it has gained a cult following as one of the worst movies ever.

13:07So what other promising comeback films would end up being a big disappointment?

13:11Let us know down in the comments.

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