Kevin Hart has had a turbulent year. The 45-year-old entertainer starred in two new motion pictures in 2024 — “Lift” and “Borderlands” — that were panned by professional critics as well as moviegoers.
In particular, “Borderlands” is considered a colossal failure. The online entertainment publication Collider ranked the Eli Roth-directed action comedy as the fifth-biggest movie flop of the summer of 2024.
“Gaining an absurd amount of notoriety, ‘Borderlands’ may very well be the worst-reviewed film of the year,” Collider’s Eddie Possehl writes.
Possehl added, “Unfortunately for everyone involved, ‘Borderlands’ performed so poorly both critically and monetarily that it was officially pulled from theaters on September 5.”
Kevin Hart plays Roland Greaves in the big-screen video game adaptation. The cast also includes Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as Hollywood star Jack Black.
“Borderlands” premiered in American theaters on Aug. 9. The film only made $33 million at the global box office on a reported $110 million to $120 million production budget.
Rotten Tomatoes even slammed “Borderlands” by giving the movie a 51 percent “Popcornmeter” score on the review-aggregation website.
“It was a complete waste of a talented cast, a reasonable (if pedestrian) premise, and tons of $$$ for lackluster CGI. What was Eli Roth thinking???” one Rotten Tomatoes user wrote.
Another critical review read, “Not a single original or clever line in this got awful script. All the actors are on autopilot. Especially Cate Blanchett who clearly doesn’t care.”
Someone specifically mentioned Kevin Hart’s involvement with “Borderlands” by suggesting the comedian “shouldn’t have jumped into this.”
While comments trashed “Borderlands” as a “knockoff” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, there were also positive reactions.
For instance, a supporter claimed, “This was much better than the reviews made it out to be.” Similarly, another person offered, “Not quite as bad as everyone tells it. Fun popcorn movie.”
The bad press around “Borderlands” follows Neftlix’s “Lift” pulling in a 33 percent “Popcornmeter” score on Rotten Tomatoes. Hart served as a producer for that movie too.
“Lift” began streaming on Netflix on Jan. 12. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Worthington, and Vincent D’Onofrio also appeared in the flick directed by F. Gary Gray.
Hart’s critical and commercial downturn in the film world comes as the internet continues to question his connection to indicted 54-year-old music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
On Sept. 17, federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York charged Diddy with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
U..S. Attorney Damian Williams accused the Bad Boy Entertainment founder of sexually abusing, exploiting, and threatening women between 2008 and 2024 as part of a “criminal enterprise.”
According to the prosecution, Diddy allegedly hosted and recorded “freak off” events that involved sexual abuse and violence. Following the indictment, footage of Hart at a 2010 Diddy-presented album release party resurfaced.
“When you have a scene like this, you have to bring bosses with you. As you see, it’s female-friendly,” Hart said in a clip from the Diddy party livestream.
The “Wild ‘n Out” alumnus continued, “We got a female, she’s butt-bald [naked]. That’s what I call it. Raw dog. I’m about to jump in the tub myself.”
Hart recently dodged questions about Diddy while out with his wife, Eniko Hart, in West Hollywood, California. On Oct. 2, “Entertainment Tonight” uploaded a YouTube video of the public exchange between a paparazzo and Kevin.
“When you hosted for Diddy did you catch any baby oil?” the cameraman asked Kevin Hart. He responded, “When I hosted for Diddy? You asking the wrong person the wrong question. It’s not a good question.”
As Hart has to deal with back-to-back motion pictures flopping and rumors of his association with Diddy, the Philadelphia native has found success as an actor on the Peacock streaming platform.
After its premiere on Sept. 5, Peacock’s Hart-led “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” crime drama miniseries currently has a 91 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter.
Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and Terrence Howard were also cast alongside Kevin Hart in “Fight Night.” The program contains guest appearances by singer Chloe Bailey and socialite Lori Harvey.
