The success of a movie often hinges on the talents of the actors involved, but even for movies with spectacular casts, they can sometimes slip under the radar. Of course, throwing together a bunch of actors from the A-list is not enough to ensure a movie will be seen. Often, casting bigger names can draw in an audience, but if the marketing doesn’t match up, or the release is not as far-reaching, these films can come and go in relative obscurity.
However, sometimes, even with a large cast consisting of top celebrities, movies can be hit or miss. A film needs to have an entire team behind it dedicated to making it a success. And many of the best movies, with impressive casts, and great direction, stories, and editing, still manage to go underappreciated. With that in mind, these are some of the тιтles with spectacular casting, that still struggled to get attention upon their release, or faded into obscurity.
10
Zathura: A Space Adventure
When Jumanji came out in 1995, the film became a mᴀssive hit thanks to the performance by Robin Williams, and the creative storytelling revolving around a mysterious magical game. Since then, Jumanji has more recently branched out into a rebooted franchise with the likes of The Rock and other notable celebrities involved in the project, but back in 2005, the first sequel to Jumanji came out and somehow failed to get the fanfare it deserves.
Directed by Jon Favreau, who also directed Iron Man, and now heads all creative endeavors to do with Star Wars on the big and small screen. Starring Josh Hutcherson before The Hunger Games, Kristen Stewart before Twilight, and Dax Shepphard, Frank Oz, and Tim Robbins. This movie is based on the spin-off novel by the Jumanji author, and it is highly deserving of praise, but somehow it slipped under the radar.
9
Outbreak
In 1995, a film highlighting a fictional virus which was able to spread at a breakneck pace and cause incredible loss and suffering was released called Outbreak. The film’s debut coincidentally coincided with an Ebola outbreak which occurred in the same location as was depicted in the film. And while it managed to become a box office success upon its initial release, the movie quickly fell out of the zeitgeist in the subsequent years.
However, with a stunning cast that includes top talent like Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, and co-stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey, the fact that this movie is left out of the rankings, and is largely forgotten, is a travesty. However, over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a slight resurgence for the тιтle on streaming platforms.
8
Tropic Thunder
One genre of film that tends to lend itself well to featuring a star-studded cast is comedy. However, not every comedy тιтle that manages to secure big names ends up being particularly strong. Despite this, the 2008 movie, Tropic Thunder, shattered expectations, and earned dozens of awards upon its release. Yet, controversies regarding depictions within the film, largely addressing surface level critiques and not engaging with the actual content of the film and context, failed to see the underling message.
Along with a phenomenal story, and an incredibly engaging dramatic plot, the film features some truly incredible talent. Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. stand out as the top billed cast in the film, but the supporting cast also features huge names. Tom Cruise, Nick Nolte, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Matthew McConaughey, and many more talented individuals came together to make this movie what it is.
7
Ocean’s Twelve
Today, sequels can and often do outperform the original movies by a large margin. However, there was a time when sequels were often looked down upon, and judged prematurely as always being worse than the original. Yes, there were exceptions to this rule that saw people debating the quality of Star Wars sequels, Aliens, and Terminator 2 as being some of the films that improved on the original, but by and large, people ᴀssumed a sequel would only dilute the quality of an original film.
However, Oceans Eleven’s success and the impressive ensemble cast opened doors for a sequel to pull in even more talent for the sequel. The film boasted several A-listers on the poster, with people like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon all returning, and joined by Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and many more. However, the film also features a handful of throwaway cameos from top talent like Bruce Willis, Topher Grace, and others.
6
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Continuing the sequel trend, and leaning into the ensemble cast for a comedy, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was an effort to build on the incredible success of the original movie starring Will Ferrell. While the sequel did manage to pull in a higher box office total than the original, fans of the series tend to recall and quote the original far more than any reference to the sequel. However, the sequel had the opportunity to call on an impressive list of A-listers to appear in the movie.
Comedy legend Will Ferrell is once again joined by Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner to round out his news team, but the group faces stiff compeтιтion from other networks. Harrison Ford, James Marsden, Kristen Wiig, Drake, Will Smith, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Carrey, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson and Vince Vaughn are just a handful of the incredible and varied talent that this movie was able to secure. However, the movie’s popularity diminished quickly.
5
The Devil All The Time
Moving on to a very different style of film, The Devil All the Time is a psychological thriller made for Netflix, which also managed to get a limited release in theaters, but rather than exploding the popularity of the film, it appears to have been totally obscured. The film also received some mixed reviews, but the strength of the performance from the leading man, Tom Holland, and also Batman actor, Robert Pattinson carried the film and is enough to make it a worthwhile watch.
And alongside the talented Holland and Pattinson, the film also features an array of other incredible celebrities. Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Jason Clarke, and Harry Melling round out the cast, and though it’s a more involved watch, it’s certainly worthwhile for fans of the genre in particular. It’s also great to see Holland as he explores his abilities beyond the role of Peter Parker in the MCU.
4
Role Models
Returning to the comedy genre, Role Models came out in 2008 and joined a long list of irreverant coming-of-age comedies that were particularly popular in the 2000s. The film follows two middle-aged men who are down on their luck and struggling to find purpose. After the pair are arrested for minor incidents, they are compelled to perform community service, where they end up enrolling in a role model program to help young people get their lives on track.
The movie features Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott in the lead roles, and several other incredible comedy actors in various roles. Christopher Mintz-Plᴀsse appears as one of the struggling kids trying to fit in, and he is unfortunate enough to land these delinquents as his role models. In addition, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch, Ken Jeong, Joe Lo Truglio, Keegan Michael Key and many more appear, adding to the humor and general delight of the film.
3
Galaxy Quest
Sticking with the comedy genre, but going slightly further back in time, Galaxy Quest has often been praised as being one of the best Star Trek movies ever made. However, the film is actually a parody. The 1999 film takes the concept of the Star Trek series, and elevates it as a group of actors are huge celebrities in the convention and fandom space because of their roles on a hit TV series. However, the show has somehow managed to make its way into the depths of space, where a group of aliens see these stories and believe them to be fact, which leads to them abducting the celebrities in order to help save them from danger.
The film is a hilarious take on these stories with meta-style humor and brilliant sci-fi action throughout, but even more impressive is the list of top tier performers they were able to cast in various roles. Within the team, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell and Daryll Mitchell round out the in-world cast of the show. In addition, Justin Long, Rainn Wilson, Missi Pyle, and more join the cast of already incredible talent.
2
Sneakers
Sneakers is one of the best heist films ever made, but with the genre as a whole being criminally underrated, the movie tends to go underappreciated. The film was highly influential in 1992, leading to a string of other heist movies being made, and launching the careers of several incredibly talented actors. It also toes the line between comedy and heist crime thriller with incredible elegance.
Like Ocean’s Twelve, it features a spectacular ensemble cast, with many appearing in the core team of con-men and thieves. Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Mary McDonald, and James Earl Jones make up just a few of the huge celebrities to appear in this incredible film that forever changed the landscape of heist movies. For all fans of the genre, or any of these talented individuals, it’s a must-watch movie.
1
The Outsiders
Going back to the earliest тιтle in this listing, a film by the legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola from 1983. Since The Godfather, Coppola’s ability to pull together a cast of the most popular and brilliant actors in Hollywood has been hard to match. The Outsiders once again proved this to be the case when it brought together some of the most prominent aspiring talent, who would go on to have incredibly prolific careers over the coming decades, in a coming-of-age crime drama.
Ralph Machio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and many more including a brief uncredited appearance from Coppola’s own nephew, Nicolas Cage, mark this movie as one of the most star-studded тιтles of all time. Over the years, the film has disappeared beneath a flood of other movies in Hollywood, but for both fans of Coppola, and anyone interested in seeing the early foundation of the above stars’ careers, this is another must-watch movie.
