The sci-fi space opera movieJupiter Ascendingis not high up on the list of career accomplishments forMila Kunis, to say the least. Written and directed by The Wachowskis, the film starred Kunis as Jupiter Jones, a cleaning woman who bonds with an interplanetary warrior played by Channing Tatum. Its budget was around $200 million, but with negative reviews pummelingJupiter’s Ascendingupon its release, the film bombed at the box office. It was also a big contender at the Razzie Awards with Eddie Redmayne bestowed with the “Worst Supporting Actor” award.
These days, it would be easy for Kunis to look back atJupiter’s Ascendingas a career misstep, but the film bombing was actually something the actress predicted from the start. Speaking about the movie on theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast with Josh Horowitz (viaIndieWire), Kunis claimed she knew before filming started that the project would be ill-fated. She says that she had that feeling once the budget was slashed in half, making it obvious to Kunis that The Wachowskis no longer had the funding to realize their vision in a way that would satisfy viewers. Or, as Kunis puts it:
“When did we know [the movie would flop]? Before we started production, because our production got slashed in half. And so the original budget was twice as much, and you can do a lot more with a lot more money, and oftentimes those types of scripts have a very good storyline but extraordinary other things. Right before pre-production, for a multitude of reasons with studios and other things, the budget got cut, and the movie was different… I wish that Channing was here because we have some good stories."
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Jupiter’s Ascending Was a Low Point for Mila Kunis
Fortunately,Jupiter’s Ascendingdid not derail Kunis' career, even if the bad reviews weren’t fun to see at the time. She has since appeared in more movies likeThe Spy Who Dumped Meand a pair ofBad Momsfilms. More recently, she took the lead inLuckiest Girl Alive, a film that is playing in select theaters ahead of its release on Netflix on Aug 22, 2025.
