Which was Leonardo DiCaprio’s first big screen movie?(Photo Credit –Facebook)
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In 1991, a fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio made his feature film debut in Critters 3, a direct-to-video sequel that took “cheesy” to a whole new level. The film followed flesh-eating alien furballs terrorizing an apartment complex, hardly the kind of cinematic milestone most actors dream about.
DiCaprio played Josh, the stepson of a corrupt landlord, caught in the middle of the chaos. But let’s be real: Critters 3 had one true claim to fame. As one critic bluntly put it in an interview with CheatSheet, “Its claim to fame is that it marked Leonardo DiCaprio’s film debut, but aside from that Trivial Pursuit tidbit, there’s not much to recommend this subpar entry.”
The Critters franchise had some success early on, despite being a clear Gremlins knockoff. The first two films gained a cult following and even managed decent Rotten Tomatoes audience scores. But by the time Critters 3 rolled around, the magic was gone. The film bombed with a pitiful 23% audience rating.
Critters 3 was a disaster, but it didn’t slow DiCaprio down. He jumped to Growing Pains, then stacked up acclaimed roles in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and The Basketball Diaries (1995). By Titanic (1997), he was unstoppable. After a brief slowdown, he returned with Catch Me If You Can (2002) and Gangs of New York (2002). His Scorsese collabs sealed his A-list status, and The Revenant (2015) finally got him that Oscar. Not bad for a so-called “embarrassing” debut.
DiCaprio never publicly disowned Critters 3, but he also never hyped it up. And really, can you blame him? When your resume includes Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there’s no reason to reminisce about your monster movie misstep. Some first films are legendary. Others are Critters 3. And Leo? He probably hoped you never watched it.
