23 Movie Mistakes and Film Fails that Made It Onto the Big Screen

Andrew Cunningham Published 06/30/2023 in Funny

Movies, films, and cinema are an integral part of the entertainment industry and have been keeping us watching for over one hundred and twenty years (the first film was made in 1895).

Along with filming and production, there are of course the editors. Along with trimming down the film, and adjusting lighting, audio, and special effects, they are also responsible for making sure little details stay consistent between takes.

Despite their best efforts, they are still only human and mistakes happen. From a prop being out of place to crew members being in the shot, these mistakes aren't always obvious, but eagle-eyed observers can usually spot them. So let's take a look at some famous (or infamous) mistakes that made the final cut.

In Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) we have perhaps one of the most famous mistakes of the franchise occurs on the Death Star when Storm Troopers enter a room looking for Luke, Han, and Chewbacca. If you look closely, the door to the room never opened enough and one Stormtrooper smacks his head. Unable to use CGI to edit the goof out, Lucas embraced the mistake by adding an audible ‘thunk’ in future releases of the film.

In Titanic (1997) we see a shot of the Statue of Liberty that looks as it does now. copper-green. In reality, it would have been brown in 1912.

In Billy Madison (1995), when Adam Sandler’s character ‘Billy’ reveals his shirt was taken from his friend Frank, we can see a mic wire exposed.

In this scene from Doctor Strange (2022), you can literally see a crew member standing in the scene.

In Deadpool 2 (2018), in the scene where the main character is in the taxi talking to the driver, the flower bouquet in the right corner appears and disappears.

In Fast and Furious 6 (2013) Dwayne Johnson’s goatee appears, disappears, then reappears.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), there is a shot where you can clearly see the actor inside the Turtle suit, as well as his mouth, teeth, and eyes.

In John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum (2019), the operator is typing on a Commodore VIC-20 that is missing a power cable, also the LED power indicator is OFF.

In Django Unchained (2022), we get our first glimpse of Stephen as he’s making out a check. In both these shots, the check looks noticeably different and the numerical amount has been changed from $68 to $65.

In Pulp Fiction (1994), you can see the bullet holes on the wall even before the guy comes out from the bathroom shooting.

In the live-action 101 Dalmatians (2000), Pongo who is about to father 15 puppies is played by a neutered dog.

In Passenger 57 (1992), the FBI agent in the back already has makeup for the gunshot before being shot.

In Anaconda (1997) the waterfall in this scene is flowing backwards / uphill.

In Terminator 2 (1991), the head of the t-1000 starts splitting before Arnold even shoots him.

In Independence Day (1996) When David has a drunken fit about using nukes against the aliens, he knocks over a garbage can that clearly belongs to the art department.

The entire cast and crew are in the reflection of Kurt Russell’s glasses in Stargate (1994).

In the final scene of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) A crew member wearing a cowboy hat can be seen on the ship.

In The Wizard of Oz (1939) In one shot you can see that Dorthey isn’t wearing her Ruby red slippers when she and the scarecrow are trying to get apples.

In the live-action Lion King Movie (2019), baby pumbaa looks nothing like a warthog piglet, that is because, in fact, it is a Red River Hog piglet.

The Citizen watch that Brad Pitt’s character wears in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) was actually first sold in 1972 but the movie is set in 1969. This model literally didn’t exist at the time.

In Gladiator (2000) a guy dressed in denim, as well as a camera and a tripod can be seen during one of the earlier scenes in the camp when he was yelling, "Are you not entertained?"