It's a new year and everyone wants to look to the future with optimism – including Hollywood stars, especially those who have had their fingers burnt at the box office in 2010. No doubt starring in a hit film would have been among the following actors' New Year's resolutions.
Angelina Jolie
The summer thriller 'Salt' showed off Jolie's action chops and performed reasonably at the box office. However, the recent pairing of Jolie and Depp in breezy Hitchcockian tale 'The Tourist' was supposed to be the box office ace up her sleeve. Unfortunately, the film was a huge flop – her worst opening in six years.
Depp, who enjoyed huge success with 'Alice in Wonderland', has the next 'Pirates of the Caribbean' adventure to look forward to – about as bankable as any franchise out there. Jolie, meanwhile, is completing her directorial debut – her untitled film about the Bosnian war. Not the easiest subject to tackle. So let's hope the forthcoming 'Kung Fu Panda 2' is as big a hit as the first one.
Bruce Willis
Put a white vest on Bruce Willis and you're guaranteed a captivated audience. It’s when he's not battling terrorists single-handedly, however, that he has a problem.
Kevin Smith's 'Cop Out' should have been called 'Flop Out' – and it went from bad to worse for Willis with his pensioner assassin action comedy 'Red'. The film, which also starred Dame Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, was a box office dud. A shame, as Willis isn't bad in the film. Maybe audiences are getting bored of his post-John McClane wise guy smirk. Let's hope he has more luck this year.
Jennifer Aniston
2010 was a bad year for Aniston. It was recently reported that sales of her perfume were dropping, and it's not been the sweet smell of success at the box office of late either. 'The Switch' was just the latest in a long line of flops that have followed Aniston's career since becoming a national sweetheart thanks to 'Friends'. It didn't help that Forbes speculated “at what point will Hollywood give up on Jennifer Aniston”. Ouch.
Luckily she has comedy 'Just Go With It' alongside Adam Sandler coming out in February. While she has problems selling a movie as the main star, she has had much more success when she's the co-star with an established funnyman, as her biggest hits 'The Break-Up' (Vince Vaughn) 'Marley & Me' (Owen Wilson) and 'Bruce Almighty' (Jim Carrey) have proved.
Tom Cruise
Once the world's most bankable star, Tom Cruise is so badly in need of a bona fide hit it's untrue. Cruise still had the pick of the scripts last year as he hoped to turn his fortunes around. He passed on 'Salt' and 'The Tourist' in favour of 'Knight and Day' – a star-driven vehicle alongside Cameron Diaz. However, Hollywood must have known their former golden boy was losing his lustre, preferring to hide their stars on the film's poster in favour of silhouettes.
The film was another flop for Cruise, and he must have his fingers crossed in hope of success for the forthcoming 'Mission: Impossible' sequel 'Ghost Protocol' – the fourth in the franchise. However, it must be noted that the filmmakers have publicly talked about potentially making Jeremy Renner (who is making his series debut in the film) the star of future 'Mission: Impossible' instalments.
Megan Fox
Superstardom beckoned for Megan Fox after showing off her ample curves in 'Transformers'. However, her first leading role – 'Jennifer's Body' – failed not only to bring in her expected male audience, but hardly any audience at all. She may have only had a supporting role in western misfire 'Jonah Hex', but last year's turkey was not something she needed to be associated with as she still tries to find a hit film without the aid of CGI robots. Fox, who won't be starring in the third 'Transformers' film, really needs a hit of her own.
Mel Gibson
Troubled actor Mel Gibson will be looking at the likes of Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr this year, and hoping that his personal problems will be forgiven by the cinema-going public. Last year's 'The Edge of Darkness' failed to make an impact, and that was before tapes of his alleged angry phone rants at his Russian ex-girlfriend were leaked to the world.
So everything is riding on the much talked-about 'The Beaver' – a story about a depressed man who ends up getting a second chance in life with the help of a hand puppet beaver. 2011 is a make-or-break year for the one-time Hollywood superstar.
Renee Zellweger
She won the hearts of cinemagoers in both 'Jerry Maguire' and 'Bridget Jones', and excelled in films like 'Cold Mountain', 'Chicago' and 'Nurse Betty'. So why does she need a hit film? 2009's 'New In Town' flopped, while previous films like 'Down with Love', 'Miss Potter' and 'Leatherheads' failed to attract a big audience.
However, it was last year's thriller 'Case 39' that saw her box office low point – the film performed dismally in the US. Zellweger isn't attached to anything yet this year but we think she had better snap up a film promptly, particularly if it happens to involve a particular chain-smoking, heavy drinking, neurotic British woman.
Reese Witherspoon
Is Reese Witherspoon's star beginning to fade? That is certainly the question Hollywood bigwigs will be asking following the disastrous box office takings of her comedy 'How Do You Know'.
The film, which cost over £75 million, became one of the biggest flops of 2010. Its muddled marketing campaign and half baked script didn't help, but this is the woman who made her fans forget about such script concerns in several other comedies. Luckily, she has period drama 'Water for Elephants' lined up for 2011. Doesn't sound promising? Well, she's teaming up with 'Twilight' star Robert Pattinson. So a healthy box office is expected.Cop Out' should have been called 'Flop Out' – and it went from bad to worse for Willis with his pensioner assassin action comedy 'Red'. The film, which also starred Dame Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman, was a box office dud. A shame, as Willis isn't bad in the film. Maybe audiences are getting bored of his post-John McClane wise guy smirk. Let's hope he has more luck this year.
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