The Hollywood directors of nepobabies were responsible for some of the biggest box office flops of 2024.
This year, the children of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Spielberg and Shyamalan, released their films, which vastly underperformed at the box office.
One of them was Ishana Night Shyamalan, the daughter of Oscar nominee M. Night Shyamalan, who made her feature film debut with The Watchers – leaving Netflix viewers ‘disappointed’ with the ending.
Another was Jake Kasdan, the son of four-time Oscar nominee Lawrence Kasdan, and his Christmas-themed action-comedy film Red One, which was released in theaters last month.
Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late and beloved comedian Robin Williams, released her first film Lisa Frankenstein, which grossed just $3 million less than the romantic comedy-slash-horror film’s budget.
And while they brought down the average class score, there were a few who carried the rest of the team on their backs, and those were Zoe Kravitz and possibly Gia Coppola.
Hollywood’s nepobaby directors were responsible for some of the biggest box office flops in 2024. One of these was Ishana Night Shyamalan who made her directorial debut with The Watchers – leaving Netflix viewers ‘disappointed’ with the ending; pictured in January 2023 in New York City
This year, Ishana Night Shyamalan made her directorial debut with the supernatural horror film The Watchers.
The film – which stars Dakota Fanning and follows the story of a 28-year-old artist who becomes stranded in a vast, untouched forest in western Ireland – has secured a budget of $30 million.
After the film’s release last summer, it grossed just $33 million worldwide and received a mediocre C CinemaScore.
As for Jake Kasdan, he has a good track record overall. With eight feature films to his name, he has now generated a total of $2.25 billion worldwide.
His father Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplays for some of Hollywood’s biggest hits to date, including four Star Wars films, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Bodyguard (1992).
The filmmaker is known for co-writing The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
But compared to his father’s incomparable legacy and his own earned track record, Jake Kasdan came up just a little short this year — numerically speaking, about $75 million short of the staggering budget he received to put the film together.
Although the film starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans, Red One only grossed $175 million worldwide to date.
She is the daughter of Oscar nominee M. Night Shyamalan; pictured in June in New York City
Another was Jake Kasdan, the son of four-time Oscar nominee Lawrence Kasdan, and his Christmas-themed action-comedy film Red One, which was released in theaters last month; pictured in December 2019 in Hollywood
And Zelda Williams released her first film, the romantic comedy-horror hybrid Lisa Frankenstein, in February. The film had a budget of $13 million and ultimately grossed $10 million at the box office; pictured in January in Los Angeles
She is the daughter of the late and beloved comedian Robin Williams; pictured in May 2004 in New York City
He had a budget of $250 million for the film with the unusual story of the kidnapping and rescue of Old Saint Nick.
The reviews were even harsher as his film received a measly 30 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It could be surprising considering Kasdan has a pretty good track record outside of Red One. His highest-grossing film was Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which grossed $960 million worldwide in 2017.
Its 2019 follow-up, Jumanji: The Next Level, also grossed more than $800 million worldwide.
And Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Wiliams, released her first film, the romantic comedy-horror hybrid Lisa Frankenstein, in February.
The film had a budget of $13 million and ultimately grossed $10 million at the box office.
However, 2024 wasn’t all bad for nepo-baby directors like Zoë Kravitz, the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz, and her psychological thriller Blink Twice was a box office hit.
However, 2024 wasn’t all bad for nepo-baby directors like Zoë Kravitz, the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz, and her psychological thriller Blink Twice was a box office hit; pictured in December in New York City
And Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and the niece of Sofia Coppola – and her latest project The Last Showgirl can also be considered a success, but she has not yet tested the box office; pictured in December in Los Angeles
And Gia Coppola – the granddaughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and the niece of Sofia Coppola – and her latest project, The Last Showgirl, may be considered a success, but she has not yet tested the box office.
The Pamela Anderson-led drama, which follows the story of veteran Las Vegas showgirls, earned $50,300 at one screen in its first weekend of Oscar eligibility.
The film has now entered the awards conversation, with lead actress Anderson even earning a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the drama.
The supporting cast, which also includes nepobabies Jamie Lee Curtis and Billie Lourd, were praised for their performances.