And how did they do it? 10 failed films by famous directors – from Nolan to Spielberg

Even the greatest directors, who have given the world iconic films, sometimes stumble. Surprisingly, masters like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg also have projects in their filmographies that did not meet the expectations of viewers or critics.

Despite the talent of their directors, these films turned out to be failures and raised many questions: how did famous directors manage to make such unsuccessful films? This list contains 10 films by recognized cinema masters that disappointed fans and even nearly ruined the brilliant careers of their creators.

Not that ‘Tenet’ was all that bad: the film grossed over $360 million at the box office. But for Nolan’s most expensive project (“Tenet” cost $200 million), that’s a pretty modest return; it was made in 1994. And when even your own actor (Robert Pattinson) later admits he didn’t understand a word of it on set, that means something.

But in the case of Steven Spielberg’s failure, everything is much worse: this absolutely unfunny comedy received 6.3 on Kinopoisk, and on Rotten Tomatoes it received 39% from critics and slightly more from viewers – only 48%. Many called the film a farce and a disgrace: at least because few people found the strange comedy against the backdrop of the bombing of Pearl Harbor funny (surprising, right?).

If Jaws hadn’t been released a few years earlier (and if Spielberg hadn’t been a genius at his craft), his career might have ended there. It’s a good thing it didn’t end up happening; but phew, that was close!