Kevin Costner, Kevin Hart and 3 Other Actors Who Failed at Box Office in 2024
- Changing movie landscape, marked by strikes and streaming competition, shows that even the biggest stars are not immune to box office challenges.
- Kevin Costner, Kevin Hart, and Henry Cavill faced poor box office returns with 'Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1', 'Borderlands', and 'Argylle'.
- Ryan Gosling and Joaquin Phoenix struggled to replicate previous successes with 'The Fall Guy' and 'Joker 2'.
The movie industry has been dealing with changes and strikes in recent years, and 2024 is no exception. It is also impacting the production as well as the promotional functions of movies. Moreover, the rise in mass streaming service providers put considerable pressure on the box-office collections of many movies.
Box office numbers in particular have always been one of the key factors of success for an actor. It shows whether an actor can attract people to theaters, and its failure proves the opposite about their marketability. This year has also been lucky for some but unlucky for many popular names. Here are five such actors who have not been lucky at the box office in 2024.
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner has been in the movie business for over four decades, and over the years, he has experienced all types of success and failure. However, 2024 can be considered a forgettable year in his career because of his box office failure, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.
Costner has planned a tetralogy series for Horizon. However, according to Box Office Mojo, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 earned about $38.2 million worldwide, and Deadline reported that its poor reception caused a delay in Chapter 2‘s release and also halted the production of Chapter 3.
Kevin Hart
Popular comedian-actor Kevin Hart has been known for his comic roles since he set foot in the movie business. However, in 2024, he decided to show his other skills with his action-sci-fi Borderlands and action-comedy Lift.
Lift was supposed to be released domestically, but Netflix changed plans and took it straight to streaming. Borderlands, on the other hand, suffered at the box office, earning only $32.9 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), though the movie had a promising cast including Cate Blanchett and Jack Black.
Henry Cavill
It looks like Henry Cavill is still looking for his place after he stopped being the Man of Steel. The actor has appeared in three movies in 2024- Argylle, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and Deadpool & Wolverine.
The Cavillrine cameo in Deadpool 3 is his only memorable appearance among the three. As per Box Office Mojo, Argylle earned $96.2 million worldwide, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare bombed with its lifetime earnings of $29.7 million (via Box Office Mojo) as it directly went to streaming on international markets.
Ryan Gosling
After starring as Ken in 2023’s blockbuster Barbie, Ryan Gosling was coming with a lot of expectations in 2024. However, the actor was only seen in one movie, The Fall Guy. The film had an upsetting theatrical run, especially considering the star power and popular chemistry between Emily Blunt and Gosling.
According to The Guardian, The Fall Guy was made within a production budget of about $130 million, and at least a similar amount was spent on its marketing. The movie, however, managed to earn only about $80 million domestically and about $150 million overseas, which adds up to $230 million that barely recovers its expenses.
Joaquin Phoenix
When the first Joker came, it left an impact on the audience’s mind with its story and also introduced a new approach to filmmaking, especially for movies that deal with such cult villains. The movie made over a billion, and Joaquin Phoenix even got the Academy Award for his role as Arthur Fleck.
However, as per Box Office Mojo, Joker: Folie à Deux earned only about $206 million worldwide. This collection hits differently when it is compared with the movie’s $200 million production and $100 million marketing budget (via Variety). Joker 2 was almost universally disliked, and the movie went on to become one of the least-rated comic book adaptations.
These observations show that even the most popular names are not safe in the current changing landscape of cinema and the movie business. However, their past track record also assures they know how to bounce back.
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, Borderlands, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and The Fall Guy are available to stream on Prime Video.
Argylle is available to stream on Apple TV+.
Joker: Folie à Deux is available to stream on Max.
