There is a lot of pressure from fans and studios to get films and TV shows out as soon as possible, and the filmmakers can feel the pressure that comes with millions of people desperately wanting you to release your film now. That willingness to get stuff out quickly often leads to some of the most expensive Hollywood bloopers.
The Goonies, giant octopus?
The Goonies is a 1985 children’s adventure movie starring a bunch of kids who go in search of hidden treasure to save their homes from greedy business developers.
The gang finds treasure in a pirate ship but barely escape with their lives after the boobytrapped vessel begins sinking. After they escape, with treasure, one of the gang is interviewed by a news reporter, claiming they fought off a giant octopus. The gang actually did fight a giant octopus, but the scene never made it into the final cut – whoops!
Battlestar Galactica, model destruction
In 2004, Battlestar Galactica proved to be a big hit with sci-fi fans. It ran for four seasons and one expensive blooper came during the third. In the episode “Maelstrom,” Admiral Adama has a very old model ship in his office.
The actor playing Adama, Edward James Olmos, smashed the model in an impromptu piece of acting. The model was actually worth $200,000 and if he had known he probably would have left the defenseless model alone.
Skyfall, gloves
For many James Bond Fans, Daniel Craig is their favorite modern actor to play the iconic spy. In 2012’s Skyfall, Bond uses a gun that only fires when used by his hand; it works using fingerprint recognition technology.
Craig was shooting a scene in a cold building and insisted he be allowed to wear his gloves on set to keep his digits warm. The blooper is that Bond used the fingerprint gun, even though his fingers were safely tucked inside his gloves. An expensive mistake for the price of a pair of gloves!
Incident in a Ghostland, permanent scar
Horror movies often involve some form of violence toward one or many of the characters, and Incident in a Ghostland was no different. Unfortunately, a stunt went terribly wrong for young actress Taylor Hickson, who slammed through a glass door which caused severe damage to her face.
She was left with a massive cut on her cheek, something that has left a permanent scar. The wrong kind of glass was used, and Hickson sued the film company for their involvement in her injury.
Iron Man 3, injury slowing down production
Even though Iron Man 3 was now a well-oiled action movie machine, there were still errors in the productions. The star of the film, Robert Downey Jr., managed to injure his ankle while filming an action sequence badly.
The injury would put Downey Jr. out of action for around six weeks, halting production to a standstill and costing the mega-blockbuster thousands of dollars waiting for him to be fit enough to return to the set.
Seven, cut tendon
Mystery thriller Seven was a movie that featured a serial assassin running around a city punishing people in the style of the seven deadly sins in the bible.
Brad Pitt was the police detective trying to hunt the criminal down and in one scene, chases the person through a rainy street. Pitt slipped and ran into a car windshield, causing so much damage to his hand he cut the tendons. The injury was written into the script as Pitt had to wear a cast for the remainder of the movie.
Skyfall, no captioning on songs for deaf
This blooper was caused by the studio department responsible for adding the closed captions for deaf and hard of hearing people. Viewers of Skyfall complained after there was a real lack of captions anytime there was music playing during the film, leaving deaf people wondering if anything was being said for a while.
In a similar case, Netflix had to settle out of court after a user complained the lack of captions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Hateful Eight, guitar
‘The Hateful Eight’ is a Tarantino western featuring Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Leigh would learn to play the guitar for the role and learned on the same guitar she needed to play during the movie, a Martin guitar from the 19th century.
When playing the guitar in one scene, Russel takes it and smashes it to stop Leigh from playing. The guitar was actually a vintage from the 19th century and worth around $40,000. Russell was said to be devastated when he learned the guitar was a vintage.
American Sniper, fake baby
You’d think using a fake baby would save a film studio money, but that was not the case in military drama American Sniper. At home, Bradley Cooper’s character goes to pick up his baby but audiences could clearly see that the baby was just a doll.
To add insult to injury, the fake baby’s hand was animated using CGI to make it look like it was alive, even though its arm went completely limp again when in Cooper’s arms. Surely a real baby would have been cheaper than a fake animated one?
Jack Reacher, all kicked out
This blooper is actually pretty funny. During the action movie Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise did most of his own stunts, as Tom Cruise likes to do. In one scene he had to kick a man in the groin, but for some reason the filmmakers made Cruise shoot the scene over 50 times, poor stunt guy!
It was actually Cruise who had to stop filming as he had kicked the guy in the groin so much he hurt his foot, needing time away from the set to recover after his foot became swollen.
Proud Mary, smashed car
Cars in movies can often be expensive props, particularly if they need to be involved in some elaborate stunt. In the 2018 action thriller Proud Mary, actress Taraji P. Henson plays a hit woman working in Boston for a gangster family.
Henson did her own driving for the movie in the very expensive Maserati sports car. Henson forced the director to reshoot a scene after she drove the Italian sports car into a fire hydrant, causing around $12,000 of damage to the vehicle.
Apocalypse Now, replacing an entire village
Apocalypse Now is a war movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The director insisted that the movie was filmed in The Philippines, so everybody was flown out.
Instead of building a village in a movie studio in Hollywood, the set designers were tasked with building a village out in the open in the Asian country. The film was forced to stop after a typhoon hit, causing major damage to the village. It would cost around $1.5 million to rebuild the set, something that wouldn’t have happened if filmed in Hollywood.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, green screens
The Transformers action movies all cost a lot of money to make, they feature gigantic robots all put into the film using CGI. The franchise is loved by many, but by the time Transformers: Age of Extinction was filmed, there possibly wasn’t as much money left in the budget as before.
Making sure the Transformers looked the part was important, so other CGI effects were left out. In this scene, the green screens were there to add cool looking graphics later, but seemingly with no budget left several were left green.
Quantum of Solace, black eye
James Bond famously gets into plenty of fights during his time on screen in the spy movies. During the filming of Quantum of Solace, Bond actor Daniel Craig got a little more beat up in a fight scene than expected.
The actor ended up with a few cuts on his face and a black eye. Filming had to continue, so the make up department had to do their best to hide the damage caused to the British actor’s face.
Toy Story, wrong baby monitor
Animated movies are expensive to put together; scenes take months to complete so getting something wrong is always an expensive mistake. Toy Story broke the mold for animated films and since its release in 1995 Disney Pixar has become one of the biggest film studios in Hollywood.
There was one glaring error they made in Toy Story though, the baby monitor the toy soldiers were using to listen in on Andy’s birthday party was actually the monitor that records noise, it doesn’t pick up audio!
Resident Evil, reworking the script
When filmmakers were first beginning to create the Resident Evil franchise, they made a mistake by having the character Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, have a similar number of lines as the character Rain.
Jovovich felt threatened by this, and demanded they change the script or else she would leave the movie. Both options were going to be expensive, but they ultimately decided recasting the star would be too much trouble. Instead they rewrote almost the entire script, which does not come cheap.
Gladiator, planes, canisters, and more
Gladiator was a big hit, and creating it took a lot of hard work on the part of the cast and crew, not to mention the high costs. So, we can forgive them for not wanting to go to the hassle of reshooting some mistakes.
Some big ones that could have been fixed include when the chariot falls over, and you can see the modern gas canisters in the chariot that were used to make the effect, and when an airplane was clearly flying behind Maximus’ head in one of his big scenes.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout, broken ankle
Tom Cruise loves doing his own stunts. In fact, he does them so often he has basically retired any stunt double who bears a resemblance to him. There was one scene in the most recent Mission: Impossible movie that he might have wished a stunt double stepped in for him though.
Cruise was jumping from one building to another, but it was a long jump, and things didn’t go to plan. Cruise shattered his ankle upon landing and was out of filming for months, the scene made it into the movie though!
Salt, filming halted after injury
Angelina Jolie had a busy ‘00s and began the ‘10s in the action-mystery Salt. She played a CIA agent on the run after she was accused of being a Russian spy. There were many stunts in the movie and during one scene in New York Jolie suffered a bad knock to the head.
She was pretty shaken up and had to stop filming for a few weeks following her injury. The accident would have cost the production company thousands of dollars in wasted time waiting for their star to return.
Justice League, mustache
Superman actor Henry Cavill is a busy actor, so when he wrapped for comic book adventure Justice League, he moved on to another project. He didn’t need to play Superman for a while and began growing a mustache for his latest role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
Justice League needed Cavill to come back and reshoot some scenes but he was obliged to keep his mustache. The movie studio had to film the scenes and then try to use CGI to edit out his face fuzz to terrifying results.
Thor: Ragnarok, expensive wig
Marvel fans loved the introduction of Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, played by Tessa Thompson, but during filming she actually made a mistake that ended up costing the movie $10,000.
When most of the filming of Thor seemed done, she left to begin filming the movie Sorry to Bother You, which required her to die her hair orange. This became a problem when she was brought back to do reshoots for Thor, and the studio had to make her an expensive wig to cover it up.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Karen Gillan’s costume
Karen Gillian has become a name to remember over the past few years thanks to her role as Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films, but she also stars in the Jumanji movies.
While the first film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle made over $750 million after its 2017 release, people were not happy with one aspect. They disapproved of how revealing Karen’s clothes were. People thought it was unnecessary and this risk nearly cost them viewers because people were badmouthing and threatening to boycott.
The Avengers, fire
Before Marvel’s Avengers movie franchise there was a 1998 spy action film with the same name. It starred Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman teaming up to prevent a villain from destroying the world using a devastating weather machine.
The film was panned by critics and audiences alike. One scene featured an explosion but when the film crew set it off a few sparks flew onto a neighboring prop, causing it to catch fire, destroying approximately $1.6 million worth of set.
Frozen, levitating characters
Disney’s Frozen was the breakout smash-hit animation in 2013. It had loads of catchy songs, a great plot and many people think it’s one of the best Disney films of all time. It wasn’t without its mistakes though, and in animation, one mistake is an expensive one.
In one scene when Anna and her companion are dancing on a lighthouse, their shadows seem to be doing something strange. They are seemingly levitating when projected on a nearby ship, somehow removing the floor they are standing on entirely.
Smokey and the Bandit II, messing up dialogue
Everyone loved Burt Reynolds in the first Smokey and the Bandit movie, so it was no surprise when he was asked to return for a sequel. However, things didn’t go quite as smoothly on set the second time around, and Reynolds ended up making tons of mistakes with his dialogue.
This cost the film lots of money since they had to keep resetting the scenes and reshooting them. One person even joked that it seemed like they could make a full length movie just of Reynolds bloopers in the film.
The Crow, tragic accident
On the set of the movie The Crow, a tragic accident took place when one of the film’s actors, Brandon Lee, was actually shot during filming. A dummy round ended up in the prop gun, and when fired it acted as if it were a real bullet, fatally wounding the actor.
There was nothing that could make up for the loss of life, but because of reshoots, and other things like an overworked crew, it also ended up costing the film $8 million over its budget to complete.
The Lion King, the color of the eyes
The Lion King is known as one of the best animated movies of all time, but it wasn’t without its flaws. In animated movies, especially one like this where a lot of it is hand drawn, to go back and fix a mistake can cost a lot of money.
There are a few small things in the movie, like how the color in Simba’s eyes changes from yellow to white depending on the scene. Similarly, Nala’s eyes change color as well. Nevertheless, none of this takes away from its greatness.
The Godfather, on set injuries
The Godfather is a pretty legendary movie, but during its filming it had some mishaps on set. One of the big ones was when Al Pacino badly injured himself during a stunt where he was jumping on to a car.
He ended up needing crutches and a wheel chair to get around for a little bit, so the filmmakers had to change their shooting schedule to accommodate him. Not only did changing the schedule cost money, but couldn’t even use the take of the shot that injured Pacino in the first place.
Roar, attack of the lions
These days the 1981 film, Roar, is considered to be one of the most dangerous movies ever made, and that’s likely what contributed to its loss of money. The movie featured several actors, and a number of lions, but the problem was that the lions kept attacking the actors.
One person later joked that while no animals were harmed on the film, the cast and crew were. Cast and crew were constantly sent to the hospital with injuries, making filming a nightmare. By the end, it had gone $17 million over budget.
Back to the future, a major recast
It’s hard to imagine Back to the Future without Michael J. Fox, but originally a different actor was cast in his role as Marty McFly. Actor Eric Stoltz actually spent five weeks filming the movie before the director decided he wasn’t leading man material and needed to be recast, along with the actress playing his girlfriend.
While the final product came out great, lots of money was wasted filming those five weeks with Stoltz, not to mention the money they had to spend on the recasting.
The Lego Batman Movie, misplaced items
Fans of both Legos and superheroes loved The Lego Batman Movie, but it also received some criticism for several issues like things the character should know, poor placement of items, and more.
As previously stated, when mistakes appear in animated movies it can cost huge amounts of money to recraft the scene, so most feel it’s just not worth it. Some big glaring ones in this were things like where Batman landed during a fall, or when the placements of pictures on a wall moved between scenes.
Braveheart, forget the background
Braveheart has become as a classic with a huge fan base, but it also has come under heavy criticism for its lack of historical accuracy, flimsy looking props, and continuity issues. Other major bloopers include scenes where modern looking people and items appear in the background.
For example, in one scene you can clearly see a person walking through the shot in a baseball hat, and in another you can see a car behind all the men. It seems they were left in instead of spending money to reshoot such big scenes.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, tragic loss
After Heath Ledger’s stunning performance of the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, people couldn’t wait to see what he would do next in his career. He was in the middle of filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus when news broke that he had tragically died.
The filmmakers at first didn’t know what to do, but then ultimately decided to spend more money to hire three A list actors to play different versions of Ledger’s character. It was expensive, but certainly the best way to make something from the tragedy.
The Mummy (2017), giving in to demands
When Tom Cruise was cast in the newest reboot of The Mummy franchise, fans couldn’t wait to see it. But it turns out he wasn’t so easy to work with on set, and demanded a number of changes to the script, including that he be given more screen time than the mummy.
The director and writers ultimately gave in, which ended up being a big mistake because critics hated the changes, and the movie lost a lot of money at the box office.
Wanted, no sequel allowed
When Angelina Jolie was cast in the hit thriller Wanted, the filmmakers were sure it would go so well that they could plan a whole franchise around it.
But Jolie had no desire to make any more Wanted movies, and to make sure it couldn’t happen, she demanded that they kill off her character at the end of the film. While giving into this demand may not have affected the movie’s financial success, it certainly lost them money for any sequels they could have made from it.
Men in Black 3, movie star requests
Some famous people are known for their over the top requests, and it looks like Will Smith is no different. When he came back to shoot Men in Black 3 he ended up costing the film set a lot of money with some of his requests.
And since he was the star, no one was going to say no. The biggest one was his request for a $2 million trailer on set, complete with two bedrooms and a private room for movie screenings. But they seemed to think it was worth it.
The Island of Dr. Moreau, too much turnover
When it came to filming The Island of Dr. Moreau the whole thing was a disaster. The original director Stanley Willis ended up quitting, and Val Kilmer took over. But that was just the beginning.
Actor Rob Morrow was temporarily brought in, but couldn’t stand Kilmer and quit after filming for only two days. Eventually the studio stepped in and fired even more people, and many actors threatened to quit. What was supposed to take six weeks to film took six months, and lost the studio $14 million.
Some Like it Hot, casting choice
Back in the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe was one of the top women in Hollywood, so it made sense to cast her in the movie Some Like it Hot. However, both the director and actors came to regret that decision when Monroe turned out to be difficult to work with.
She was frequently late to set, and she could never remember any of her lines, which seriously slowed production. One line supposedly took her 81 takes! They ended up going over budget to make up for it, and never recovered at the box office.
Avengers: Age of Ultron, covering a pregnancy
Scarlett Johansson was already pregnant when they began filming Avengers: Age of Ultron, which ended up adding several expenses to an already expensive action film.
They had to rearrange the order scenes were shot in, so that the scene in her tight leather uniform would mostly be shot before she began showing too much. On top of that, all of her action scenes had to be done by stuntmen and stand ins, with her face later being added to them with CGI during post production.
The Horror of Party Beach, motorcycle mayhem
Here’s a strange movie that tells the story about a fun beach party that gets invaded by mutant fish monsters. But the problems don’t end there with this one – apparently the entire production of this movie was riddled with endless problems.
The worst one was during a scene focusing on a group of motorcyclists. One disgruntled biker was tiring of being in the back, so he cut to cut in line to the front – resulting in a huge crash, injuring countless cast members, with production delays and hospital bills up the wazoo.
There Will Be Blood, Dano steps in
Paul Dano was originally supposed to be in There Will Be Blood. He actually replaced actor Kel O’Neill.
There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson, actor Daniel Day Lewis, and actor Kel O’Neill were all involved in a creative argument – and that’s how Dano ended up replacing O’Neill. The result was a lot of refilming and plenty of extra dollars spent – but it was worth it, because the movie got great feedback and Dano happens to be awesome.
The Matrix Reloaded, sad goodbye
This might’ve been expensive, but no one was complaining about it. The reason? It happened in light of someone’s unfortunate death – beloved pop singer Aaliyah. Not many people know this, but she did substantial filming while playing the role of Zee, Link’s wife, in Matrix Reloaded.
When she tragically passed away, they were forced to replace her with Nona Gaye, daughter of music icon Marvin Gaye. The extra refilming cost tons of money, in addition to everyone’s obvious sadness over their loss.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, unfortunate departure
This might not be so much a blooper as it is an expensive departure. Sean Connery is known has one of the greatest James Bond’s we’ve ever seen, but when he decided to leave the franchise, it cost the company tons of money.
The replacement they found was George Lazenby, and the box office results suffered. Eventually they got Roger Moore, and the series was rejuvenated – but not before a rough patch that Connery left behind.
Armour of God, Jackie Chan ‘having fun’
We’ve been talking a lot about bloopers, and the main subject we’ve been exploring is about how it’s overall a negative thing. But not all actors look at it this way. Jackie Chan used to get pretty reckless in his post-film blooper videos, doing all kinds of crazy stunts to wow his viewers at home.
This is entertaining and all, but there was one particular injury he got from his Armour of God blooper reel that rendered him incapacitated due to a massive hole in his head.
The Princess Bride, knocked out for real
Usually when you watch a scene in a movie, you assume that whatever happens in it is just acting. That’s how movies are made, after all.
However, in family fantasy movie The Princess Bride, when the character Westley is taken hostage, Count Rugen hits him on the head with his sword, knocking him out. It turns out that actor Cary Elwes wasn’t expecting such a hard blow, and was knocked out for real. He woke up in the hospital and needed stitches in his head.
Star Wars, a stormtrooper hits his head
Another accidental head injury happened during the filming of Star Wars. One of the white-clad stormtroopers on the Death Star entered a room with a low doorway and hit his head on the ceiling.
Director George Lucas liked the accident so much that he used the take in the final film. He even amplified the sound effect of the head-bump in the re-release of the film. Now, fans all recognize the clumsy Stormtrooper. While the character is famous, the actor behind the costume has never been identified.
Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio’s bloody hand
In the 2012 movie Django Unchained, there is a scene where actor Leonardo DiCaprio slams his hand on the dinner table with such force that he actually breaks a glass. When they were filming the scene, DiCaprio cut his hand on the glass for real, and blood started dripping down his hand.
The actor refused to break character, however, and continued on with the scene, picking glass shards out of his wound. Director Quentin Tarantino liked the take, and it became a part of the film.
Jurassic Park, misspelled dino names
In classic dinosaur movie Jurassic Park, scientists have labeled dinosaur embryos in their lab so they can experiment and bring them back to life. Dennis Nedry goes into the cold storage to steal the embryos, and there is a close-up of some of the labels.
Now, we would assume that these dino experts know how to spell the names of the dinosaurs they are experimenting with, but one is noticeably misspelled. Stegosaurus was written “Stegasaurus,” and the error was left in the final movie.
The Lord of the Rings, broken toes
Many of these accidents make it into the movies because the actors are so professional that they don’t break character, even when they are injured. In The Lord of the Rings, actor Viggo Mortensen was extremely immersed in his character, Aragorn.
During one scene, Mortensen was supposed to kick a helmet in frustration. But on the fourth take, he let out a very convincing scream. It turns out that he was really in pain – he had kicked the helmet so hard that he broke his toes.
The Godfather, missed flight
The Godfather was filled with money-costing mistakes, including Marlon Brando and his missed flight. The actor was supposed to turn up on set but somehow ended up missing his flight from Los Angeles to New York. The result?
The team lost a whole day of filming and had to fork out for new flights and a new shooting plan instead. It’s believed that missing one flight cost the movie production team a staggering $40,000 to cover the mistake. Ouch
Blade Runner, broken elbow
It’s said the studio and the director often came to blows when filming the classic 1982 sci-fi hit Blade Runner. However, it looked as though there was one thing they could all agree on, and it came at the cost of Daryl Hannah.
The actress was a gymnast before taking to the big screen, and the team were keen to put those skills to good use. Sadly, one slip later while sliding into a car and breaking the windscreen with her elbow left Daryl with a bone chipped in eight places and a lengthy recovery.
The Wizard of Oz, burns
The Wicked Witch is one of the stars of the fantasy The Wizard of Oz, and it appears as though Margaret Hamilton was willing to take a hit to make her character come to life. The witch was supposed to disappear through a trapdoor.
However, the red smoke started to leak too early, and they were forced to reshoot the scene. The actress’ cape for caught in the door and the fire heated up her makeup – which contained copper. Margaret was left with first and second-degree burns over her face and arms.
Pineapple Express, additional headband
Many of the actors ended up doing their own stunts in the action-comedy Pineapple Express. However, that didn’t always end well, such as when James Franco hit his head a little too hard on a tree.
The actor fell to the floor and was writhing in agony. It didn’t end there. James needed stitches halfway through filming, but thankfully the team had an idea to cover the mistake. They merely invested in a headband to avoid any costly cover-ups.
Jurassic World, high heels
Have you ever found yourself fighting dinosaurs? Probably not. However, Bryce Dallas Howard was one of the leading cast members in the action movie Jurassic World who soon found herself having to fight off the giant beasts.
It wasn’t long before fans spotted one giant mistake: the character was always wearing heels! It turned out the actress insisted on the shoes, but many were unhappy with the choice, and it led to a pretty costly debate as a result.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, dropped camera lens
Obviously one of the most notable things about films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the fact that they work with a lot of candy – especially chocolate. This bittersweet concoction ended up leading to a costly delay of production in a way that would probably couldn’t have happened on any other movie set.
A crew member accidentally dropped a $540,000 camera lens into a three-foot deep chocolate tank and it ended up being a total loss. The estimation for repair was set at around $900,000.
Waterworld, weather issues
At first, the budget that was pre-authorized for the film Waterworld was set at $100 million. In the end, the cost of production was around $175 million. Part of what made the cost of the movie so expensive was the fact that they filmed on water and this can become extremely unpredictable and unreliable.
In fact, one of the sets, which cost multiple millions of dollars collapsed at one point during a hurricane. Also, the director – Kevin Reynolds – left the project because of Kevin Costner’s “backseat driver directing”.
Heaven’s Gate, costly production
Apparently Michael Cimino knows how to spend money as if it grows on trees. That’s certainly what he did when directing the movie Heaven’s Gate. The director would spend upwards of $200,000 per day on filming, though the original budget was only supposed to be $11.6 million.
In the end, the movie cost $44 million, but it did not do so great in the box office at all, so it wasn’t money well spent. The film only grossed $3.5 million, which was even less than the original budget.
Cleopatra, thousands of extras
Cleopatra may have been the highest grossing film of the year 1963, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t lose money regardless. It was also the most expensive film ever to be made at that time – it even almost made 20th Century Fox bankrupt. From the extensive costumes, to Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million contract, there were many things that made the movie so expensive.
In one specific scene, there was a crowd with thousands of extras shouting for Cleopatra’s arrival they could only shoot once. They noticed that they were shouting Liz instead of Cleopatra, but thankfully it was difficult to hear.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, bridge explosion
Something production crews – especially those working on action or Western flicks – can learn from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is to make sure the cameras are far enough away from the explosions.
Back in the day, there weren’t advanced special effects as there are today, so many of the explosions were real. While filming this Western, they blew up a bridge. This scene ended up having to be filmed twice because the first time, all three cameras were destroyed from being too close to the bridge.
Grease, magic light switch
There’s nothing quite as epic as settling down for a night in watching Grease. This musical became a fan favorite when it was released back in 1978 – however, it’s also riddled with mistakes.
Here’s the waitress pretending to turn the light off with her elbow because her hands are full… Except she doesn’t get anywhere near the actual switch. Magic.
Dallas Buyers Club, wrong car
This hard-hitting, multi-award winning movie could do no wrong for most – with a high score on review sites and from critics alike. However, there are a couple of silly mistakes that kind of take away from the fact it was supposed to be set in 1985.
In this scene, we see Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey) sitting in front of a picture of a Lamborghini that wasn’t made until 2011. Oops.
Clueless, side mirror magic
We hardly think that the team behind chick flick Clueless cared too much about mistakes, considering it was all about the fun for this lot! However, we can’t help but notice a little error in Cher’s driving test scene.
One moment she has knocked off her side view mirror in the test, whereas the next moment it’s back. We have a feeling it would have been too expensive to keep destroying this Jeep. Not so Clueless after all.
Pretty Woman, big breakfast
This romcom, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, instantly became a classic when it was released in 1990. While there are a few bits of cute trivia and fun facts about the film, there is one very obvious mistake during this breakfast scene.
At one point, Vivian is chowing down on croissants for breakfast. In the next cut, they’ve turned to pancakes. An expensive mistake or an expensive breakfast?
Raiders of the Lost Ark, reflection
Everyone was on tenterhooks when Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) came face to face with this pretty dangerous snake in Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, those eagle-eyed viewers of you may have noticed the reflection of the snake in a piece of glass between them both.
Perhaps they were trying to avoid an expensive Hollywood blooper by keeping Ford as far away from the lethal snake as possible. It certainly would have been costly if he’d been bitten!
All the Money in the World, urgent recasting
It’s never ideal when you have to recast someone partway through filming. However, Ridley Scott was left with little choice after serious allegations about one of his stars emerged in the press. Looking to do damage control, the director had all scenes containing the actor removed from the crime thriller All the Money in the World.
He then set out to find a replacement, and ultimately chose Christopher Plummer for the role. It cost $10 million to reshoot everything they’d lost, but that decision saved the film any unwanted controversy.
Django Unchained, inaccurate eyewear
Historical inaccuracies are something every filmmaker attempts to avoid when setting their movies in the past. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they try, things still occasionally slip through the cracks.
That happened in the Western film Django Unchained when Jamie Foxx was seen sporting sunglasses, despite the fact they weren’t worn back in the 1850s. Apparently, it was only people who’d been prescribed them by a doctor that owned them. However, Foxx’s character was still walking around with a pair of them like they were an everyday accessory.
‘Deadpool,’ missing swords
Films are typically shot out of order with numerous takes. That might seem confusing, but usually, the end result is still something cohesive and engaging. However, this method of filming can often lead to things going missing, just like they did in the superhero movie “Deadpool.”
The lead character’s swords seem to keep appearing and disappearing from one shot to another. One minute, they’re strapped to his back, and the next, they’ve completely vanished. Obviously, this wasn’t intentional, but the mistake was spotted too late for anyone to change it.
Gothika, broken arm
As we’ve seen, actors aren’t indestructible. Their bodies are prone to injury, especially if something or someone pushes them too far. Halle Berry found that out the hard way when filming the horror movie Gothika. During a struggle with co-star Robert Downey Jr., the actress ended up breaking her arm and putting the film on hold.
It took around two and a half months before she was ready to return to work. By that time, the movie had probably already lost a fair amount of money due to the delay.
Titanic, rewriting history
It might noy end happily, but the epic romance movie Titanic is still considered one of the greatest love stories ever told. The film proved that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, love conquers all. Well, all but a giant iceberg.
Unfortunately, while Titanic might be hailed for its romance, it’s not the most historically accurate film around. For instance, when Jack tells a tale of ice fishing at Lake Wissota, he’s about five years too early. The lake didn’t exist when the ship sunk.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, cameraman in shot
For a lot of people, Harry Potter formed an important part of their childhood. They grew up with the fantasy series and dreamed of one day getting their letter to Hogwarts. Of course, that never happened because the books and films were just fictional.
As if kids needed reminding of that, the second movie made a mistake that proved there was nothing real about Harry Potter. During the dueling scene in The Chamber of Secrets, a cameraman is clearly visible amongst the group of students watching Harry and Draco fight.
The Book of Eli, lack of books
Grossing over $150 million, the post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli was a huge commercial success. Unfortunately, while the movie might have been a box office hit, it wasn’t without its bloopers.
The entire film revolves around Denzel Washington’s character trying to transport a bible translated into braille to a safe location. The problem is that a bible written this way wouldn’t be as small as its depicted in the movie. It would take dozens of books to copy the entire religious text into braille, not just one.
The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf’s watch
We never realized that the people of J.R.R. Tolkein’s fictional worlds had access to advanced technology. However, the epic fantasy film The Lord of the Rings proved that was the case when Gandalf was spotted wearing a watch during a swordfight.
You’d think that actors would remember to remove anything not part of their costume before filming. However, on this occasion, it seems that Sir Ian McKellen forgot. Luckily, the mistake didn’t affect the movie’s success, because the trilogy went on to gross around $3 billion.
Saving Private Ryan, historical inaccuracies
Most people know of Steven Spielberg. It’s hard not to be familiar with the man who gave us thrillers like Jaws or adventure movies like Jurassic Park. The man has produced so many amazing films that he’s now the highest-grossing director in history.
Unfortunately, while his track record might be gleaming, it’s not exactly spotless. The man has made some regrettable mistakes over the years, including in the epic war movie Saving Private Ryan. It featured a motorcycle model that didn’t exist until 18 years after the film was set.
‘Panic Room,’ rising propane
When it comes to movies, people sometimes like to stretch the truth to suit their needs. Why be 100% accurate when you could tweak a few things to make the film more compelling? While this is understandable to some degree, you can’t completely throw out the laws of physics.
That’s precisely what the thriller film “Panic Room” did, though. When a tank of propane blew up at the end, the gas rose to the ceiling, saving the protagonists. However, in reality, it would have sunk to the floor instead.
The Matrix, camera reflected in the doorknob
Reflective surfaces are a nightmare when it comes to filming. You have to be incredibly crafty to avoid the camera getting picked up in the reflection. Some movies manage to get away with this, but the sci-action film The Matrix wasn’t one of them.
In this shot, Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne aren’t the only things that are clear to see in the doorknob. The camera filming them is also noticeable, even though The Wachowskis attempted to cover it up as part of Fishburne’s outfit. Better luck next time.
The Jungle Book, avoiding the rain
As great as films like the fantasy adventure movie The Jungle Book might look once they’re finished, they’re not the easiest thing to film. None of those animals are real, so they all have to be created through computer-generated imagery (CGI).
That means that when the actors are performing, they’re doing most of their work surrounded by greenscreens and people in morph suits. It’s quite impressive what filmmakers can achieve through CGI, although mistakes can still happen. That’s why you never see any rain bouncing off Mowgli in the film.
‘Fast and the Furious 7,’ unbroken windows
Ever since the action-adventure film “The Fast and the Furious” debuted in 2001, the movie franchise has produced over half a dozen sequels. That includes “Furious 7” where this unfortunate mistake happened.
The filmmakers hoped to dazzle the audience with a massive explosion, but it seems some viewers weren’t entirely drawn in by the smoke and flames. That’s how they noticed that none of the nearby windows smashed, despite the intensity of the explosion. Apparently, this was just one of 41 mistakes in the film, according to The Independent.
‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,’ wrong eye color
When books are adapted into movies, filmmakers often risk incurring the wrath of a devoted fanbase. People want to see the stories they love brought to life on the big screen, and they hate it when changes are made. Sometimes, the alterations are necessary to ensure that things flow properly in the film.
However, other times, they’re just careless mistakes that could have easily been avoided. That’s what happened in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” when young Lily Potter was shown to have brown eyes, rather than blue ones.
‘Dirty Dancing,’ the car is parked
Back in the ‘80s, the romantic drama film “Dirty Dancing” was one of the biggest movies around. From it’s catchy soundtrack to its compelling storyline, there was a lot to love about this flick. However, one thing that some people weren’t crazy about was the mistake in this scene.
Although Patrick Swayze’s character is supposedly driving the car, you can actually see that it’s in park. These two weren’t going to get very far if they weren’t even moving. Fortunately, this blooper didn’t ruin the rest of the movie.
Pulp Fiction, bullet holes already there
Quentin Tarantino is another director who’s had quite an astounding career, and the crime film Pulp Fiction is undeniably one of his biggest hits. However, while it might be considered the man’s masterpiece, it wasn’t perfect.
The director made a silly mistake by showing bullet holes behind Vincent and Jules that weren’t supposed to be there. It was hard not to notice these in the wall, although their presence didn’t make much sense until after two men were shot at. That’s when it became clear that they were a mistake.
The Dark Knight, spelling mistake
Accidents happen, and it seems you get at least one mistake per movie. That’s understandable given how much work goes into a film. Someone’s bound to slip up along the way, and it’s rarely ever a big deal.
Unfortunately, some mistakes are clearer to see than others, and Christopher Nolan did a terrible job of hiding his in the superhero flick The Dark Knight. The man might not have been responsible for misspelling heist, but as the director, he should have noticed the issue before the film went to theaters.
Spy Kids, cameraman’s reflection
It’s been so long now since the adventure comedy movie Spy Kids launched on the big screen and made a generation of children excited to fight crime. The film was extremely popular when it debuted, achieving positive reviews and raking in $147.9 million at the box office.
However, while all the kids watching might have been engrossed in the action, some of the parents noticed a painful mistake. Once again, reflective surfaces proved to be the undoing of the filmmakers after a cameraman was caught in the mirror.
Spider-Man, reappearing lamp
Several people have taken on the role of Spider-Man in the last few decades, but it was Tobey Maguire who started it all back in the early 2000s. He appeared in Sam Raimi’s superhero trilogy of Spider-Man movies, with this continuity error coming in the very first film.
While Peter Parker was coming to terms with his powers, he accidentally flung a lamp across the room and broke it. However, in a later shot, the lamp sat intact on the shelf as though nothing had ever happened.
The Princess and the Frog, missing earrings
It takes a lot of hard work to make a movie, but we’d say that animations are more challenging to bring to life than live-action films. After all, you have to edit things by individual frames, of which there are probably thousands. It’s no wonder, then, that some of these movies have mistakes.
Even Disney is allowed to slip up from time to time, just like they did in ‘The Princess and the Frog.’ One second, Tiana is wearing her earrings, then suddenly, they’re gone. Did they fall off?
Jaws, malfunctioning shark
Jaws, as most of you probably know, is a movie about a giant shark – which makes the presence of the shark pretty important. To meet this need, a 25ft mechanical shark – given the delightful name Bruce – was built for the film.
However, Bruce proved a major problem for production as it kept malfunctioning – even trapping George Lucas’ head in its jaws at one point! The constant breakdowns required consistent and very expensive repairs, and eventually led to Bruce appearing on screen much less than was originally intended.
Sonic the Hedgehog, totally overhauled
Since a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie was announced, people had been waiting with bated breath to see how the filmmakers would translate Sonic’s design to live-action. In April of 2019, people finally found out – and they did not like it at all.
The reaction to a trailer released on April 30 was almost entirely negative, with most of the criticism centering around the design of Sonic. As a result, Paramount decided to redesign Sonic entirely – delaying release and costing the studio a pretty penny.
Indiana Jones, inaccurate outfits
When shooting a film that takes place in the past, it’s hardly reasonable to expect a filmmaker to be able to account for every variable that could shatter the illusion. As such, numerous films set in the past have bloopers revealing their contemporary origins.
In Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, for instance, Indiana is sitting at a bar moping while crowds of people go about their day behind him. In the background, a person can clearly be seen walking by wearing contemporary clothing.
The Shining, missing maze
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, while debated as an adaptation, is undoubtedly a masterpiece of tension-inducing filmmaking. One of the most tense scenes in the film comes when Danny Torrance is chased through the Overlook Hotel’s hedge maze by his father, Jack.
However, you could be forgiven for thinking that this would be impossible – as in several establishing shots of the hotel from overhead, it’s clear that there’s no hedge maze in sight. Continuity errors are the scariest thing of all.
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, spurious sign
The 2000 comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a misadventure based around chaos and mishaps – but we doubt that they scripted this particular slip-up. During a scene in which Ulysses (George Clooney) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) are hiding out in a movie theater, a glowing red exit sign can be seen in the background.
However, the film is set in 1937, and it would be a few more years before exit signs were introduced in movie theaters for fire safety reasons.
Quantum of Solace, fake sweeping
We’ve all seen a film in which an extra is really trying to catch the eye of the camera, and acts up their tiny part as much as possible in order to achieve this. On the other hand, sometimes extras just don’t care – as is the case with the 2008 film Quantum of Solace.
During a moment in which Bond is in a harbor, an extra can be seen behind him sweeping the floor – except they’re actually sweeping the air a clear foot off the ground.
Gone with the wind, corded lamp
The 1939 romance epic Gone With the Wind is one of the most popular films of all time, and is credited with having had a huge influence on American filmmaking. One distinction it does not have, however, is being blooper free.
During a scene in which Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) is brought into the O’Hara house injured, one of the actors grabs an oil lamp for light, and it very quickly reveals itself to have an electrical cord.
Pirates of the Caribbean, background cowboy
Once again we find ourselves in the company of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and its propensity for bloopers. During the final scene of the film, in which Jack is getting ready to set sail again, an extra can be seen in the background wearing a cowboy hat.
While we can’t object to a stylish hat, The Curse of the Black Pearl is set during the early 18th century, which means it would be a good hundred years before American cowboys were even a thing.
Bad Boys Cameraman
Starring Sean Penn, the 1983 film ‘Bad Boys’ concerns a juvenile delinquents detention center, and the chaos and violence that populates everyday life there. During one scene in which Penn’s character Mick O’Brien is fighting another inmate, a cameraman can clearly be seen near the two actors.
When we say near, we mean literally right next to them. It’s hard to believe that such a serious blooper ended up being left in the final cut – but there it is, and there it shall remain.
Wonder Woman, the sound of the zip
Any mistakes in this movie that might have cost it money have been completely overshadowed by its huge success. However, there is one moment that has bothered some fans. During the scene when the character Steve Trevor gets out of the pool to get dressed the camera is on Gal Gadot’s face when you hear a distinct “zip” sound in the background.
Basically, they decided it would cost too much money to give Chris Pine historically accurate pants (zippers weren’t invented yet in WWI), so this glaring error was left in the movie.
Wonder Woman, a bun in the oven
Gal Gadot was also responsible for costing the crew of Wonder Woman extra money, plus some extra work for the special effects department. Towards the end of filming, Gadot found out that she was expecting her second child.
The filmmakers realized that they needed her back for reshoots, and being over five months pregnant at the time, she didn’t exactly look like she had in the rest of the movie. They ended up having to put a green screen over her belly to later use effects to hide the pregnancy.
Alexander, unrealistic blonde
Warner Bros. threw $155 million into Oliver Stone’s 2004 historical-drama Alexander, based on the life of Alexander the Great. Savaged by critics and historians alike, the film ended up being a major flop.
One of the most heavily-mocked things about the movie, however, was Colin Farrell’s absurd hairstyle. Unfortunately, the buckets of bleach that they used to color the lead actor’s hair left his locks looking too obviously fake, especially since his roots and eyebrows were still dark brown.