3. Roman Polanski
Goodwill Built On: Chinatown, The Tenant, Tess Goodwill Squandered On: Pirates While other factors contributed to Roman Polanski losing his audiences' goodwill (see the excellent 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired for further details) his limp attempt to revive the swashbuckling pirate picture didn't help matters. After a seven year absence from cinema following his Academy Award nominated Tess, Polanski returned to theatres with his lavish period piece Pirates. During production, Pirates' budget ballooned from $15 million to $40 million (Polanski had a full-scale Galleon built for the production). Audience widely rejected the idea of seeing Walter Matthau in a high seas swashbuckler and Pirates went on to be one of the biggest flops of all time, grossing only $1.6 million in the U.S. and $6.3 million worldwide. Polanksi rebounded with his next feature, the Harrison Ford starring thriller Frantic.