John Travolta’s acting career rose and fell, rose and fell, and rose and fell again.
Here, then, are the various career peaks and troughs that hes been through… And an even bigger role followed.
1978sGrease, opposite Olivia Newton-John, would make him arguably the biggest movie star in the world.
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The numbers dont lie.
Saturday Night Fevercoined $237m worldwide, with $94m of that business in the US.
The films US gross is over $300m if you take inflation into account.
$188m of that is from US cinemas.
Travolta, who wisely skippedGrease 2, was on top of the world.
Where did it go wrong?
Thats some way off the take ofGreaseandSaturday Night Fever, but still impressive.
His star was still bright.
Only Travolta and Newton-John can save the world.
Which they do, but not many people were watching.
Save for documentaryThats Dancing!, that was it untilPerfect, opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, in 1985.
Perfectmay have dulled in the mind now, but it was a notable flop in the mid-80s.
Travolas performance in particular was singled out for special, er, words.
Travolta would be off the big screen for four years subsequently, and would reappear in 1989s forgettableThe Experts.
Its a film most notable for being the one where Travolta met his wife, Kelly Preston.
Just when it looked as if Travoltas career had come and gone, he picked a plum project.
Still, Travoltas star was back on the rise.Look Whos Talkingbanked just shy of $300 million worldwide.
His success would hinge on what films he chose to make next.
Look Whos Talking TooandLook Whos Talking Now.
To be fair,Look Whos Talking Nowis arguably the funniest of a generally quite weak comedy boxset.
Travoltas career was back where it had been prior toLook Whos Talking.
Travolta was rewarded with being front and centre of the most talked about movie of the year.
At the heart of a $200m+ box office hit.
He was nominated for an Oscar.
And in the role of Vincent Vega, he redefined expectations of him on screen.
Whats more, this time he capitalised on it.
The film garnered strong reviews, and good box office ($72m in the US).
And this time, the hits mainly kept on coming.
The second half of the 90s had few better, consistent box office draws.
The same year,Lucky Numbersfell hard too, grossing just $10m in America.
That said, itd be wrong to say that Travoltas career was irreparably damaged byBattlefield Earth.
Few were forming a line for his movies, though.
That said, there was another Travolta career bounce to come.
2007sWild Hogswas the big surprise.
Opening in March, the film scored a massive $39m opening weekend, against not particularly impressive reviews.
Travolta was second billed behind Tim Allen, and above Martin Lawrence and Ray Liotta.
It also outgrossed a second $100m+ hit that Travolta was attached to in 2007:Hairspray.
Other actors didnt seem quite so keen on the move.
Still:Saturday Night Fever,Pulp Fiction,Face/Off, evenSwordfishon a rainy day.
Travoltas back catalog has thrown up across his three or four careers plenty of films to enjoy.
Surely hes just waiting for HBO to offer him a meaty TV role next…
