Gellar gained instant popularity thanks to Buffy, but consistent hits proved hard to come by. Her supernatural rom-com Simply Irresistible was a flat-out flop, and few saw (or probably even heard about) her work in projects like Harvard Man, Southland Tales, and Veronika Decides to Die. She's proven she can put bottoms in seats when someone's chasing her with a knife or haunting her hair in the shower, but viewers just haven't shown up to check out her other offerings.

Gellar's movies have also received almost universal disapproval from critics. Simply Irresistible earned an embarrassing 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and The Return was massacred, too, earning just 16%. Even The Grudge was mostly disliked, and the sequel was even more of a magnet for critical thrashing.