History Main / CreatorKiller

* ''Poseidon'' has pretty much ended Wolfgang Petersen's career as a director, despite a high quality track record before it (such as ''DasBoot'', ''InTheLineOfFire'', ''AirForceOne'', ''ThePerfectStorm''). Despite having since been connected to other projects since then (mostly lesser quality, outside of an adaptation of ''EndersGame''), those projects seem to get squashed during pre-production.

* ''DukeNukemForever'' killed 3D Realms and destroyed George Broussard's reputation without even being made. Or more accurately, ''by'' [[VaporWare not being made]]. And just to twist the knife, after 3D Realms imploded, the game was handed to Gearbox Software by [[TakeTwoInteractive 2K Games]]. Gearbox [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell proceeded to do more towards actually completing the game]] in one year than Broussard and 3D Realms did in 12.

* The piss poor ''EmpireEarth 3'' led to not only [[FranchiseKiller the death of the franchise]], but also Mad Doc studios.

* Whoopee Camp developed ''{{Tomba}}'', which performed well enough to develop a cult following. The sequel, ''Tomba: The Evil Swin Return'', had a [[PolygonCeiling rocky transition into full 3D]], dooming both Whoopee Camp and chances for a follow-up.

* After the failure of the ''RenAndStimpy Adult Party Cartoon'' it is unlikely JohnKricfalusi will sell another show...not that it's stopped him from trying.

** And pressured the guy who came up with the idea for Final Fantasy - probably saving SquareSoft from shutting down entirely back in the 1980s- into resigning from the company, since the film was his 20-million-dollar-losing project.

* ''ThePostman'' basically ended Kevin Costner's run as being star, director, and producer of his own films. He's had steady work as an actor in plenty of movies since then, but he has yet to recover his "A-list" star power. ''Waterworld'' didn't help him either, though at least that was a financial success.

* ''{{North}}'' for Rob Reiner. That's Rob Reiner who made ''StandByMe'', ''ThePrincessBride'', ''AFewGoodMen'', ''WhenHarryMetSally'', ''{{Misery}}'' and ''ThisIsSpinalTap''! And all that was set to naught by ''{{North}}''. He has made some good films after the movie: ''The American President'', "Ghosts of Mississippi", ''The Bucket List'', etc., but his reputation is too far soiled.
* '' {{Batman and Robin}} '' did this to JoelSchumacher. Schumacher is completely blamed for killing the franchise until the reboot. Yes the same Schumacher who directed ''The Lost Boys'', ''St. Elmo's Fire'', and ''Falling Down''. The financially successful ''PhantomOfTheOpera'' is also well remembered for being mediocre and it seems to be the only other movie remembered other than, of course, ''Batman and Robin''.
* His films have been steadily declining in critical acclaim since ''The Village'' (and, more specifically, the confusing as hell Scifi channel documentary that accompanied it), but ''TheLastAirbender'' appears to be the point where MNightShyamalan's name became permanently soiled. So much so that even seeing his name associated in any way is enough to doom a film, as seen with the TrappedInARoom horror ''Devil''. He didn't direct, but simply being a producer and having the marketing imply that he had a part in any way was enough to detract viewers.
* ''{{Terminator}} Salvation'' bankrupted TheHalcyonCompany [[hottip:*: Thus showing us why you don't [[TooDumbToLive bank your entire fortunes on a single movie]].]], leading the ''Terminator'' franchise rights to be sold in a bankruptcy auction (this seems to happen often with ''Terminator'' rights holders, but this was the first time that a ''Terminator'' movie actually led directly to the company's downfall).

* The failure of ''TheGoldenCompass'' in the US led Time Warner to absorb New Line Cinema into Warner Bros., while also folding New Line's arthouse label Picturehouse. [[hottip:*: New Line Cinema had a long string of flops in 2007, The Golden Compass simply being the most visible.]] Today, New Line exists as a division of Warner Bros. Pictures, mainly releasing films based on their properties.

* ''DukeNukemForever'' killed 3D Realms and destroyed George Broussard's reputation without even being made. Or more accurately, ''by'' [[VaporWare not being made]]. And just to twist the knife, after 3D Realms imploded, the game was handed to Gearbox Software by 2K Games. Gearbox [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell proceeded to do more towards actually completing the game]] in one year than Broussard and 3D Realms did in 12.

* After the abysmal flop that was ''TombRaider: The Angel of Darkness'', [[YouHaveFailedMe Core Design couldn't do any more]] ''TombRaider'' games and struggled with a few mediocre handheld games before being sold off to Rebellion and rebranded as "Rebellion Derby". They were promptly were taken down by the critically savaged RogueWarrior.

* Whoopee Camp made ''{{Tomba}}''. It did okay. Then they made ''[[PolygonCeiling Tomba 2]]''. There is no more Whoopee Camp.

* For racing games released in 2010, Blur killed Bizarre Creations outright, and the underperformance of Split/Second has led to layoffs at Black Rock Studios.

* After ''RenAndStimpy Adult Party Cartoon'' it is unlikely JohnKricfalusi will sell another show. Not that it stops him from trying.

A rather unpredictable phenomenon, this is when one or more works flop badly enough to take down or badly damage the publishers, the reputation of creative talents behind it, or both. Though there are usually many factors needed to cause the death of a publisher or a creator, some high-profile flops are linked (rightfully or not) to the death of the organization working on it. They will NeverLiveItDown.

Often results from FallenCreator.

* ''Poseidon'' has pretty much ended Wolfgang Petersen's career as a director, despite a high quality track record before it (''DasBoot'', ''InTheLineOfFire'', ''AirForceOne'', ''ThePerfectStorm''). Despite having since been connected to other projects since then (mostly lesser quality, outside of an adaptation of ''EndersGame''), those projects seem to get squashed during pre-production.

* ''BMX XXX'' and the failure of ''{{Turok}} Evolution'' killed {{Acclaim}}. Both games sold poorly and Dave Mirra sued Acclaim over ''BMX XXX'' because he didn't want his name associated with it. Acclaim revived on a smaller scale InNameOnly whereas, if its ContinuityReboot by another company is any indication, ''Turok'' never really recovered from Acclaim's downfall.

* '' {{Batman and Robin}} '' did this to Joel Schumacher, despite the bad script from Akiva Goldsman, rushed time, and good box office. Schumacher is completely blamed for killing the franchise until the reboot. Yes the same Schumacher who directed ''The Lost Boys'', ''St. Elmo's Fire'', and ''Falling Down''. The financially successful ''PhantomOfTheOpera'' is also well remembered for being mediocre and it seems to be the only other movie remembered other than, of course, ''Batman and Robin''.

* ''{{Terminator}} Salvation'' bankrupted the company that financed it, leading the sequel rights to be sold in a bankruptcy auction (this seems to happen often with Terminator rights holders but this was the first time that a Terminator movie actually led directly to the company's downfall).

* The failure of ''TheGoldenCompass'' in the US led Warner Bros. to merge New Line Cinema into the parent company while also folding New Line's arthouse label Picturehouse. Today, New Line exists as a division for smaller budgeted films that Warner Bros.'s isn't interested in releasing on their own.

** Not completely true. ITC had ''TheGreatMuppetCaper'' and ''OnGoldenPond'' open the same year to critical and box office success. It was more of Lew Grade's overspending and financial losses on other projects that brought him down. ITC managed to continue existing for several more years (producing such indie films as ''TheStepfather'' and ''TheLastSeduction'' before being bought by Carlton, which was later bought by Granada.

* After several years of one flop after another (''LA Rush'', ''SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run'', ''Hour of Victory'', ''Blacksite Area 51'', MortalKombat: Shaolin Monks, etc.) Midway finally went into receivership in 2009. Their back catalog, except for the licensed sports titles (for obvious licensing reasons) and the ''Cruis'n'' trilogy ({{Nintendo}} owns the rights), was quickly picked up by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in bankruptcy court for cheap (about $40 million).

* While it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what game led to Midway's eventual dissolution, your best bet would have to be the MortalKombat franchise; the lackluster reception of both ''MortalKombat Armageddon'' and ''Shaolin Monks'', which ultimately canceled a sequel game for the latter starring EnsembleDarkhorses Sub-Zero and Scorpion, likely killed off the [[CashCowFranchise cash cow]] that was keeping the company afloat.

* The {{Gizmondo}} handheld bankrupted Tiger Electronics.

** Which is just terrible.

* The failure of ''Raise the Titanic'' is credited with bringing down Lew Grade's film and TV companies, although they'd been in trouble for some time before that and that was just the last straw.

* Fred Dekker (director of the cult classics ''NightOfTheCreeps'' and ''TheMonsterSquad'') was brought on by Orion Pictures to write the screenplay for and direct ''{{Robocop}} 3''. Given the...[[{{Understatement}} mixed]] [[FranchiseKiller reaction]] to the film, it's not exactly surprising that he hasn't directed anything since then. Aside from a gig as a consulting producer on ''StarTrekEnterprise'' (and that was way back in 2001), he hasn't helmed anything for the last twenty years. Better yet, it was delayed for two years as its production company, Orion Pictures, went bankrupt (although it wasn't the sole reason).

* FrankMiller was a comics golden boy for much of the 80s and 90s, before the release of ''TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' robbed him of his critical acclaim, and ''AllStarBatmanAndRobin'' turned him into a joke.

** And pressured the guy who came up with the idea for Final Fantasy - probably saving SquareSoft from shutting down entirely - into resigning from the company, since the film was his 20-million-dollar-losing project.

* ''DukeNukemForever'' killed 3D Realms and destroyed George Broussard's reputation without even being made. Or more accurately, ''by'' [[VaporWare not being made]].
** And just to twist the knife, the game was handed to Gearbox Software by 2K Games. Gearbox [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell proceeded to do more towards actually completing the game]] in one year than Broussard and 3D Realms did in 12.

* Poor sales of both the ''{{Terminator}} Salvation'' [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames tie-in]] game and ''BionicCommando 2009'' killed [=GRIN=]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen And that means no]] ''FinalFantasyXII'' ''-3'' for you!

Often leads to FallenCreator.

* '' {{Batman and Robin}} '' did this to Joel Schumacher, despite the bad script from Akiva Goldsman, rushed time, and good box office. Schumacher is completely blamed for killing the franchise until the reboot. Yes the same Schumacher who directed ''The Lost Boys'', ''St Elmo's Fire '', and ''Falling Down''. The financially successful ''PhantomOfTheOpera'' is also well remembered for being mediocre and it seems to be the only other movie remembered other than, of course, ''Batman and Robin''.

* '' {{Batman and Robin}} '' did this to Joel Schumacher, despite the bad script from Akiva Goldsman, rushed time, and good box office. Schumacher is completely blamed for killing the franchise until the reboot. Yes the same Schumacher who directed '' The Lost Boys '', ''St Elmo's Fire '', and ''Falling Down ''. The financially successful ''PhantomOfTheOpera'' is also well remembered for being mediocre and it seems to be the only other movie remembered other than, of course, Batman and Robin.

* Allan Carr, the producer and party-giver whose biggest hit was the movie adaptation of ''{{Grease}}'', was tapped to produce the 1989 {{Academy Award}}s telecast. He promised "the most beautiful Academy Awards of all time"; he delivered a show that opened with a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrLzdjKL4l4 garish ten-minute production number]] "highlighted" by Snow White and Rob Lowe performing a duet of "Proud Mary". Reviews were horrible, he was accused of disgracing Hollywood's good name, and he [[NeverLiveItDown never lived this down]].

* The failure of the Ike and Tina Turner single "River Deep, Mountain High" brought producer PhilSpector's career to a standstill and was a major factor in driving him into seclusion.
** Which may come as a surprise to British people who remember it as a huge hit in the summer of 1966, a vintage year for huge hits.
*** It's also a surprise to those that remember his production of TheBeatles LetItBe album.
**** Actually, his production of that album was after it was recorded. The band produced it themselves, while Spector got the tape (after they broke up), as it was planned to be shelved. His product wasn't [[CreatorBacklash well met]] by [[PaulMcCartney some]] of them.