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Tom Holland’s Biggest Flops So Far – Looper

Tom Holland has become a household name in the last few years, especially for superhero movie fanatics. Since 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” the English actor has been the latest live-action incarnation of Peter Parker and his crime-fighting alter ego Spider-Man. His time portraying the iconic comic book hero within the Marvel Cinematic Universe has also been marked by some significant releases.

He not only starred alongside the Avengers in the box office-breaking “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” but his own three solo ventures as Spider-Man have also seen great success. 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” became the first Spider-Man film to bring in $1 billion, while 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” nearly doubled that, saving movie theaters as they transitioned out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The actor’s popularity skyrocketed as a result, with many considering Holland’s take on Spider-Man the best out of all interpretations.

Outside of the MCU, however, Holland’s projects can be hit or miss. His long list of credits includes an array of blockbuster roles balanced out by smaller yet equally ambitious parts. While he has been part of box office successes such as “Uncharted” and Oscar nominees such as Pixar’s “Onward,” most of Holland’s film and TV roles outside of the MCU have failed to find a healthy middle-ground of equal critical and commercial notoriety. Some have suffered worse than others, however, so let’s examine which Tom Holland projects have had a tougher time with critics and audiences.

Holland’s first proper voice acting role didn’t fly high

20th Century Studios/YouTube

Outside of providing a voice in the English dub of Studio Ghibili’s “The Secret World of Arrietty,” Tom Holland’s first substantial voice role came in 2019’s “Spies in Disguise.” The 3D animated feature tells the story of skilled spy Lance Sterling (voiced by Will Smith), who is accidentally transformed into a pigeon by the socially awkward yet genius young scientist Walter Beckett (Holland). The two must then work together to take down a devious cybernetic terrorist (Ben Mendelsohn).

Released during the 2019 holiday season, “Spies in Disguise” seemed like a surefire hit, especially given its star-studded lineup. Sadly, despite a solid critical response with a 77% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, not even illustrious Marvel alums such as Holland, Karen Gillan, and Ben Mendelsohn were enough to have audiences flocking to theaters. The film was met with a poor box office reception, earning a worldwide gross of $171 million against a $100 million budget. “Spies in Disguise” also had the unfortunate position of being the final film released by Blue Sky Studios before the animation studio was closed down by Disney in 2021.

Holland reunited with Robert Downey Jr. in Dolittle

Universal Pictures/ YouTube

2020 proved challenging in countless ways, and even Tom Holland faced a series of setbacks that marked a difficult phase in his career. Holland’s voice-acting efforts in two early-year, high-profile film releases were unfortunately met with lackluster box office results. However, while the March theatrical run of the critically well-received “Onward” was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Holland’s earlier effort from January, “Dolittle,” was a far less excusable failure in about every way.

The film follows Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.), famed for his ability to speak with animals, as he embarks on a journey with his companions to retrieve a magical healing fruit needed to save the life of Queen Victoria (Jesse Buckley). While Dolittle is away, he entrusts the help of his loyal glasses-wearing pooch, Jip (Holland), to watch over the queen. On top of including such huge names as Antonio Banderas, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, and Octavia Spencer, “Dolittle” reunited Downey and Holland, whose tender relationship as Iron Man and Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe won audiences the world over.

Unlike their prior MCU entries, however, “Dolittle” was far from a billion-dollar success. With a budget of $175 million, the film grossed $250 million worldwide. Considering it needed $500 million to break even, “Dolittle” has been estimated to have lost Universal up to $100 million. Additionally, the film garnered negative reviews with a 15% Tomatometer score and six Razzie Award nominations.

Holland got roped up in the chaos of Chaos Walking

Lionsgate/YouTube

While the end of 2021 saw Tom Holland lead the box office smash hit “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the top of the year painted a very different picture for the rising actor. In February 2021, Holland headlined the science-fiction thriller “Chaos Walking,” based on the first book in the “Chaos Walking” trilogy by Patrick Ness, who also co-wrote the film adaptation. The story takes place in a dystopian world where women no longer exist and the planet’s inhabitants communicate with a strange power called “Noise.” When Todd Hewitt (Holland) discovers a woman (Daisy Ridley) who crash-landed on their planet, he must protect her from its many threats.

“Chaos Walking” was marked by an especially hectic production. The film went through several rewrites after Oscar-winning scribe Charlie Kaufman turned in a first draft. Both Holland and “Star Wars” breakout Daisy Ridley were cast in 2016, and filming took place in August 2017. However, following negative test screenings, the film underwent several weeks of laborious reshoots, resulting in a significant increase in its budget, which skyrocketed to $100 million.

Upon its opening weekend, the film only managed to bring in barely a quarter of its production budget, with an abysmal $26.5 million worldwide gross. Its critical reception was equally deplorable, garnering a 21% Tomatometer score in large part due to its confusing and undercooked narrative.

Cherry required a grueling transformation for Holland

Apple TV+/YouTube

“Cherry” was a blend of old and new for Tom Holland. The 2021 Apple TV+ original film reunited Holland with the Russo brothers, who had previously directed the actor as Spider-Man in “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” But what the team aimed to create was worlds away from the crowd-pleasing blockbusters they churned out in the past. With “Cherry,” Holland was given the chance to show off his range in a way that audiences had yet to experience.

Based on the 2018 fictionalized autobiography by Nico Walker of the same name, the film chronicles the life of Cherry (Holland), who, after returning home a PTSD-afflicted war veteran, turns to a life of drug addiction and crime, with only the love of his similarly suffering wife (Ciara Bravo) keeping him afloat. Holland went above and beyond to play the troubled character, even losing nearly 30 pounds to portray Cherry as a drug addict and having to gain it back for his scenes as a Marine. “It was awful. Truly,” he says about the transformation to GQ. “It was only about ten weeks out of shooting that I realized what I was getting into and what I need to do to transform into the role.”

“Cherry” debuted on Apple TV+ in February 2021 to a middling critical response. The film currently has a 37% Tomatometer score, with many praising the performances of Holland and Bravo while finding the story generic.

Holland needed a break after filming The Crowded Room

Apple TV+/YouTube

Tom Holland’s partnership with Apple TV+ continued with 2023’s “The Crowded Room.” The ten-episode miniseries takes place in 1979 and sees Holland star as Danny Sullivan, a young man who is taken into custody after a shooting takes place in Manhattan. From here, Sullivan slowly reveals details about his life to investigator Rya Goodwin (Amanda Seyfried), which leads to a major discovery regarding the incident.

Based on the 1981 non-fiction Daniel Keyes novel, “The Minds of Billy Milligan,” and created by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the psychological thriller showcases plenty of potential. However, upon its release, “The Crowded Room” split critics and audiences. While the show’s Tomatometer score sits at a disappointing 33%, the audience score tells a different story, soaring to a significantly higher 90%.

The show’s production left Holland exhausted, and he took a one-year break from performing. While some believed that the Spider-Man breakout was upset by the show’s reception, the actor himself admits that his hiatus started after filming wrapped. “The press story was that I had taken this year off because of the reviews,” Holland explained during an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Mark.” “But I’m eight months into my year off, I’ve been chilling at home in London.”