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Hollywood stars lose their Midas touch
Sometimes even the biggest names lose their drawing power.
We looked at Bollywood stars who aren't as big as they used to be, and the same is true for the big names in Hollywood.
So with Knight And Day disappointing in the US but opening in India this Friday, here's a look at ten stars who aren't where they used to be:
Tom Cruise
Once the biggest movie-star in the world by far, Tom Cruise doesn't hold anywhere near the kinda clout he had several years ago.
His hits have dwindled, and his latest Knight And Day opened to bad reviews and a very weak box office.
Julia Roberts
Julia isn't the sensational star she used to be throughout the 90s. On hiatus for a few years, she's come back to lukewarm reviews and scripts without much potential.
Valentine's Day, an ensemble rom-com that reunited Roberts with her Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall, was a dismal flop, ignored by audiences.
Mel Gibson
A look at Gibson's career shows a dramatic nosedive, a massively successful global superstar undone by scandal. Gibson had made controversial statements before, but a drunken arrest and an anti-Semitic rant led to him being nearly blacklisted.
Edge Of Darkness won him good reviews this year, but it'll take more than that to make him a star again.
Russell Crowe
Crowe isn't the behemoth he used to be a few years ago. Despite critically acclaimed performances in films like American Gangster, Crowe's box office star hasn't been on the ascendant for a while now.
Even his Robin Hood, a safe film directed by Gladiator helmer Ridley Scott, tanked badly.
Uma Thurman
It's been a while since she killed Bill or danced with Vincent Vega, and things haven't been looking all that great for Uma Thurman these days.
Her last release Motherhood was such a disaster that it earned just $88 in its opening weekend in the UK -- and on its first Sunday, only one ticket was sold. Ouch.
Nicole Kidman
When Nicole Kidman won her Best Actress Oscar for The Hours and stunned audiences in Dogville, the world thought it had finally found its best leading lady.
However, that was 2003, and Kidman's film choices have been mostly disappointing since. She was last seen in Rob Marshall's spectacular disaster, Nine, and her upcoming projects don't have much positive buzz going.
Tom Hanks
Now it's not like Tom Hanks has a problem with hit movies, his Dan Brown adaptations make bucketloads of money around the world, and Toy Story 3 is a sensational hit.
The problem is with image, and Uncle Tom doesn't seem with it anymore, because of which newer, higher-profile projects are getting harder to come by.
Jim Carrey
Carrey's last live-action superhits came with 2003s Bruce Almighty and 2004s Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events.
Since then, Carrey -- once the highest paid actor in Hollywood -- has all but faded into obscurity, and despite good reviews for his latest I Love You Phillip Morris, the public just doesn't seem to be responding to him like they used to.
Adam Sandler
A lot of comedians with one standard type of on-screen persona run out of steam, and Sandler -- who admittedly kept his overgrown-kid persona alive and kicking for longer than expected -- is seeing his star fade.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, You Don't Mess With The Zohan and his latest, Grown Ups, all performed below expectations.
His serious turn in Funny People got positive reviews, but couldn't really give him the hit he so badly needs.
Keanu Reeves
With films like Speed and The Matrix, Keanu Reeves was one of the biggest stars of the 90s.
Yet that all seems like a generation ago as Keanu is now a washed-up non-entity who doesn't even get good boxoffice returns on comicbook films like Constantine.