Hugh Jackman’s career faces another challenge as his latest movie struggles at the box office despite strong critical acclaim.
The Sheep Detectives, which hit theaters on May 8, 2026, has received widespread acclaim from both audiences and critics. As of now, it has a 95% critics rating and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes—but its box office performance has not matched its positive reception.
At the time of writing, The Sheep Detectives has earned nearly $86 million worldwide. While this figure might seem impressive, the flick’s $75 million budget means it still has a long way to go before turning a profit. According to industry standards, movies need to gross about 2.5 times their budget to break even, so Jackman’s family-friendly whodunit would need to make at least $188 million to enter profitable territory.
The film’s box office struggles are partly due to the stiff competition from highly anticipated releases like The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Still, The Sheep Detective’s performance has also been overshadowed by ongoing drama between Jackman and his ex-wife, Deborra-Lee Furness.
Jackman previously claimed that he feels increasingly isolated in Hollywood, placing much of the blame on Deb. “Hugh’s becoming increasingly angry over the feeling that more and more people in Hollywood are quietly turning against him,” a source told Globe in mid-May 2026. “He blames Deb for it 100% and says there’s been a steady drip of poison behind the scenes from her and her camp.”
He’s even convinced that longtime Hollywood pals like Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, and Nicole Kidman are “ditching him for Deb.”
Kidman reportedly avoided Jackman and his new girlfriend, Sutton Foster, at the 2026 Met Gala. A source told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice that Kidman is “firmly Team Deb” and has no interest “in pretending otherwise just because Hugh showed up with a new woman on his arm.”
Since then, the Oscar-nominated has demanded that Deb “stop stirring the pot,” particularly as the situation now appears to be negatively affecting Foster.
“He’s very protective of Sutton and says it’s incredibly unfair that she’s being frozen out and judged by people who used to happily socialize with her,” an insider revealed to Globe. “He says things have spiraled way beyond a normal breakup now and turned into a coordinated effort to isolate them socially. He’s furious and says he’s no longer prepared to just sit back quietly and take it.”
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