Kurt Russell had 5 of the largest box office flops of his career in just 5 years

Kurt Russell has told the story of how he landed over his usual fee to the “Stargate” heading. Concerned that the role of Colonel Jack O’Neil was not particularly beloved on paper, MGM conducted a world opinion poll to find out which actor the public felt was the “minimum invalidity.” Russell came back with “Zero Unlikability,” so the executioners offered a bumper payday to the actor starred in the film. That’s the thing with Russell: with its classic matinee idol looks, magnificent hair head, infectious laughter, and easy demeanor, you would weigh hard to find a lot of people out there they don’t like. And yet, a decade before “Stargate” hit theaters, cinemagoers did not pay money to watch Russell’s films, leading to a string of flops that almost tanked his career before he actually removed.

Russell was started while acting a young man kicking Elvis Presley in the Shins in “It Happened at the World Fair,” before he had his big break in a run of Disney movies including “The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes” and “The Barefoot Executive.” Those films were not a big shaking, but Russell was clearly a talented young star in the future, and shared a Rare connection to the legendary Mogwl Walt Disney. (There is an apocryphal story that “Kurt Russell” were the last words of the Walt.) However, Russell was still harnessing ambitions of becoming a baseball player instead of an actor, a dream that ended when an injury reduced his play days.

Through Quirk of fate, Elvis Presley boosted Russell in his acting career. Two years after the king died, John Carpenter cast the actor in “Elvis,” an acceptable TV film that Russell received an Emmy Prize nomination during peak hours. It was the start of a successful working relationship with the director and opened the door to Hollywood. After Russell starred in “used cars” Robert Zemeckis “ Carpenter cast the actor in his first iconic role: he turned before the Nihilistic special forces of the Snake Plissken bank thief in “Escape from New York.” Following “Halloween” and “The Fog,” the Sci-Fi thriller was very popular for Carpenter and Russell nailed the role with his usual charisma, giving an anti-infection of rooting value for it. It was a positive start for Russell and Carpenter decided to cast him again in his next film, and that’s where he started the trouble. Because that next movie was “the thing.”

Kurt Russell was not the first choice of John Carpenter to play RJ Macready, a nominal hero red -made of Howard Hawks classic “The Thing From Another World.” Nevertheless, the actor made the reluctant helicopter to pilot another solid addition to his filmography when he joined an excellent ensemble cast for Gloopy and Suspenseful Sci-Fi Horror Fflic who returned to Paranoia to change the shape of his source material, John W. Campbell’s novel “who goes there?” Carpenter had good equipment with the largest budget of his career to date ($ 15 million), one of the hottest young special effects wizards in Hollywood (Rob Bottin), and Ennio Morricone providing a very threatening score carpenter-esque.

And yet, “the thing” got the misfortune of opening a few weeks after “ET of the Etched” in June 1982. Perhaps understandably at that time of year, viewers preferred many more wrap around visitor from outer space than watching a bunch of boys torn to tear in the snow and ice. Critics hated the film, and Carpenter was labeled “the pornography of violence.” The film hardly made a profit, surprisingly to the overwhelming total of the world of just under $ 21 million.

Russell received a short reprimand with “Silkwood,” for which he received Golden Globe’s nomination – only the second goal of his career (after “Elvis”). Then it was downhill from there. “Swing Shift” joined his long -term partner in the future, Goldie Hawn (they started dating during the shooting), but bombed the film, taking only $ 6.6 million home against a $ 15 million budget. “The mean season” also tripped at the box office, making back less than half of its $ 10 million price tag. A strong mating from Russell with Robin Williams could not save the sports comedy “the best of times” of similar fate, bringing in only $ 7.8 million on a $ 12 million budget.

Then came “great trouble in Little China,” Russell’s fourth collaboration with Carpenter. By then, the Director had paid his Hollywood head with “Christine” and “Starman” and was entrusted to another significant budget. And yet, despite a winning performance by Russell as a Buffoonish truck driver, Jack Burton, audiences did not know what to do from the strange western combination, action, horror, Kung-fu, and friend film genres. The reviews were mixed, and the film only won $ 11 million against a $ 25 million budget.

Despite a catastrophic run of flops, no one had really faulty on Kurt Russell’s door and may be a testament to people’s goodwill towards him that he was not considered a box office poison at that stage. It would take another matching with Goldie Hawn in “Overboard” to cut the streak that finally loses. The ROM-Com only made small profits, but at least ended in the plus figures. Subsequently, Russell’s next big films enabled him to build on the star potential he had shown at the beginning of the ’80s. The first up was “Tequila Sunrise” alongside Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer, followed by “Tango & Cash” with Sylvester Stallone, surely the big zaniest budget action film is not to come out of the decade. Between the two, “winter people” disappeared without tracing, but otherwise Russell was now staring in significant box office hits. He and Hawn became one of Hollywood’s most popular couples, teasing a wedding offer as they presented the Oscar for Best Director at the 1989 Academy Awards.

The marriage never came to light, but Russell had more reasons to be cheerful in the 1990s, staring in a series of commercially successful films that included “backdraft,” “illegal access,” “Tombstone,” “Stargate,” “active decision,” and “breakdown.” There were still a few duds along the road (“Captain Ron,” “Escape from La”), but now, Russell had become one of Hollywood’s most reliable bankable actors.

The 21st century has been a mixed bag for Russell, although it is arguable that the High Points outweigh the negatives. He appeared on track for another big exploration as he integrated solid performances in films such as “Vanilla Sky” and “Miracle” with another batch of flops (“3000 miles to Graceland,” Interstate 60 “) and ordinary plays (” dreamer “). “. You never know what’s around the corner but, now in his 70s, the man with zero discontent seems to be back for good.