Hollywood has a long history of producing films that use the best actors in the industry to attract viewers. There is little that can attract audiences faster than solid star power, and these talented actors can be the difference between mediocrity and great success. Although the ensemble casts are best known for featuring in big-budget blockbusters, plenty of smaller productions were every bit as strong in their casts.
The use of star-studded ensemble casts can be seen throughout the ages of cinema. With the creation of shared blockbuster universes, the concentration of major talent in a single film is more common than ever. And Hollywood shows no sign of letting up, especially with budgets for these movies growing year on year. For some movies, the number of major actors in a single story is nothing short of impressive.
10 Movie 43 Has A Cast Blockbusters Would Be Jealous Of
Movie 43 was a very mixed film, both in quality and reception. The movie was basically a meme montage, with short scenes dedicated to funny set-ups involving major celebrities. The formula was closer to sequential SNL skits and boasted the same level of stardom.
Movie 43 hasn't been remembered as an especially great movie, owing to its cringe-worthy scenes and poor use of such great actors. The cast included Hugh Jackman, Chris Pratt, Common, Johnny Knoxville, Richard Gere, and Dennis Quaid. For a mediocre low-budget comedy, its cast was impressive.
9 The Thin Red Line Brought Major Talent To A Great War Movie
The Thin Red Line was a movie that followed a US soldier in Japan during the Second World War and built up to the battle of Guadalcanal. It details the range of operations in the area and delivers some epic war sequences, making it one of the greatest WW2 movies.
The Thin Red Line was adapted from an autobiographical novel of one of the soldiers in the movie. It starred a range of talent, such as George Clooney, Adrian Brody, Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, Jared Leto, and Nick Nolte.
8 Love Actually Is A Christmas-Themed Anthology
Love Actually combined the rom-com genre with a Christmas story, which followed a number of characters finding love in their own ways. Ranging from the Prime Minister of the UK falling in love with an aide to a stepfather helping his stepson, it's a touching and warm film.
The stories of Love Actually were headlined by actors like Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, and Bill Nighy. Where most movies in its genre only have star power in their lead love interests, Love Actually's anthology format means it has a wide array of characters and stars.
7 Grown Ups Includes Some Of The Biggest Names In Comedy
Grown Ups was a great intergenerational comedy movie that saw a group of dads trying to give their kids the childhood they'd enjoyed. They load up their cars and take them out to a lake house, where they work to get their kids away from their phones and into the woods.
For fans of '90s/'00s comedy, the movie was a great ensemble cast of some of the funniest actors from viewers' childhoods. Led by Adam Sandler, it was backed by Chris Rock, David Spade, Kevin James, Salma Hayek, Rob Schneider, Maya Rudolph, and Steve Buscemi.
6 Armageddon Sent A Lot Of Talent Into Space
Michael Bay's Armageddon picked up on the craze of the late '90s and early '00s of disaster movies, with a similar plot to Deep Impact. It followed a group of drillers on an oil rig that was tasked with flying to a giant asteroid and destroying it before it could reach Earth.
Headlined by Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, the cast included Owen Wilson, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, and Michael Clarke Duncan. Of all the disaster movies, Armageddon boasted the most impressive ensemble of talented actors and remains one of the most star-studded movies.
5 Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Managed To Fit A Surprising Number Of Stars Into One Scene
With Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, and Fred Willard, the Anchorman franchise was always a heavy-hitter. The sequel took this ensemble cast to an impressive new level, bringing in A-listers from around Hollywood, especially for one scene.
In the news team battle royale, the likes of Will Smith, Liam Neeson, Jim Carrey, Kanye West, Amy Poehler, and James Marsden all show up. The icing on this impressive cast's cake of is the appearance of Harrison Ford as the seasoned network president.
4 True Romance Had An Incredible Supporting Cast
True Romance followed two young lovers, Clarence and Alabama, as they set out to Los Angeles to try and sell some stolen drugs to start a new life. However, when they start their journey, they find themselves pursued by the mob, who are out to get their drugs.
True Romance was led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette and included some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The likes of Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer all have parts in the movie.
3 Ocean's Eleven Boasts Many Of The Hottest '90s Stars
Ocean's Eleven starred some of the biggest names of the 1990s, bringing them all together for the ultimate heist movie. It followed Danny Ocean, a master thief who recruits some of the best crooks in the business to hit a Las Vegas casino for millions.
Ocean's Eleven was headlined by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, and many more. It received two sequels, each of which was more star-studded than the last, bringing in the likes of Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
2 Avengers: Endgame United A Shared Universe Of Stars
Avengers: Endgame was the culmination of the MCU's three phases. It finally united all of the Marvel superhero movies and their heroes. Each actor had their stardom built up within the MCU, where most headlined their own successful blockbuster movies.
Avengers: Endgame has many stars in its cast. It was led by Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Don Cheadle, Chris Pratt, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, and Paul Rudd. Combining the MCU projects into one place led to a truly impressive cast.
1 The Expendables 3 Includes Basically Every Action Hero From Cinema
The entire Expendables franchise had a cast line-up that went above and beyond what was normal in action movies. Most action flicks are led by a handful of heroes or a single hero. However, The Expendables 3 had a line-up of every major action star (at least those who hadn't already been killed off in previous films).
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Terry Crews, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are among the many names headlining the movie. For anyone with even the most basic enjoyment of the action genre, it's simply impossible not to recognize a name from the franchise.