Nicole Kidman is often considered one of the most famous and successful actresses in cinema. Her career first started all the way back in 1983 in her native Australia, before picking up steam at the very start of the '90s in Hollywood. It was this decade where she started to receive leading roles in major cinema, while also picking up her Academy Award for Best Actress. In 2006, 2018 and 2019 she was the highest-paid actress in the world.
Despite such a successful career, it hasn’t all been perfect. As such, we’ve compared her five films considered to be the worst, to the five considered to be her best. This means we’ll only be including films that Kidman has a major role in, not just a fleeting cameo.
BEST: The Hours (2002) - 7.5
The Hours might be the film which won Nicole Kidman her Academy Award for Best Actress, but it’s just fifth on her list of best films according to IMDb landing a score of 7.5.
The Stephen Daldry film places Kidman alongside Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore to tell a story of three women who are forced together via the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway.
WORST: The Stepford Wives (2004) - 5.3
There already is a movie titled The Stepford Wives that was released way back in 1975, but Frank Oz (the voice and puppeteer of Yoda) felt that he could make a Kidman-starring remake that was even better.
He was wrong, and despite having a great cast, Oz was unable to recreate the impressive satire of the original, leaving this remake to wander into campy disinterest that didn't know if it was supposed to be a horror movie or a darkly comic parody.
BEST: The Others (2001) - 7.6
Nicole Kidman's most popular horror movie, The Others, was a Spanish film created by a Spanish creative team but had a mostly British cast. The likes of Elaine Cassidy and Christopher Eccleston ed Kidman for the film, which won many Goya Awards in Spain. In fact, the film was the first Goya Best Film award winner that wasn’t in Spanish.
The film had an unusually big worldwide release for what was technically a foreign film, and was well-received for its impressive horror that didn't rely on special effects or big scares.
WORST: Tres (2011) - 5.3
Joel Schumacher’s crime thriller (and his final film director credit) saw Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman team up as a married couple taken hostage.
Despite a sizable budget and some credible star power, the film attracted dismal box office returns that barely managed to take a quarter of the budget. On top of that, reviews were pretty much negative across the board.
BEST: Moulin Rouge! (2001) - 7.6
One of Kidman’s most famous roles was the conclusion of Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain trilogy of films: Moulin Rouge!. The romantic drama was filled with music that made it a worldwide hit, while the pairing between Kidman and Ewan McGregor was widely praised.
It was nominated for a variety of Oscars including Best Picture, making it the first musical to be nominated for the Oscar's highest prize since 1992.
WORST: Windrider (1986) - 5.2
One of Kidman’s earliest films is one of her least known. It was created in Australia way back in the distant past of the '80s and Kidman’s then-unknown status is reflected in the fact this low budget rom-com's current claim to fame is her involvement in it - even if she isn't even the star.
Reviews were very mixed and the film has been all but forgotten about due to a limited release and lack of financial return.
BEST: Dogville (2003) - 8.0
Dogville is an incredibly interesting, unique work of cinema. Kidman takes on the borderline-experimental starring role of Grace, a woman hiding from mobsters. Despite the story focusing on her, the film attracted an ensemble cast that included James Caan and Stellan Skarsgård.
It is told in a chapter-by-chapter structure and a set that is more like a stage play than a typical film. As such, reviews have both called it pretentious and a masterpiece.
WORST: Strangerland (2015) - 5.2
Suspense was supposed to be right at the top of the list of things Strangerland would achieve. Unfortunately, Kim Farrant’s directorial debut wasn’t exactly a hit.
Despite Kidman’s name being attached to the film, it bombed hugely at the box office and gained universally negative reviews thanks to its melodrama and predictable plotlines.
BEST: Lion (2016) - 8.0
One of Kidman’s most recent films is Lion. It is a biographical drama that doesn’t place Kidman in the starring role, but still gives her character importance.
The film centers on Dev Patel as Saroo, an Indian born businessman who was able to track down his birth mother in India (from Australia, where he now lived with his adoptive mother who was played by Kidman) twenty years after accidentally being separated from her. It received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best ing Actress for Kidman herself.
WORST: Bewitched (2005) - 4.8
Let's cut to the chase: the classic show, but does have a distinct connection. Here, Will Ferrell’s character is starring in a remake of the actual Bewitched from the '60s, only to find out that his co-star (who is played by Kidman) is a real witch.
This Bewitched sounds like the exact sort of poorly-judged ‘comedy’ that Will Ferrell would take on an off-day, and it absolutely was.
