When Movie Blunders Steal The Spotlight

These on-screen slip-ups will have you hitting rewind again and again!

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• December 27, 2024

In movies and TV shows, there’s one thing directors dislike: continuity errors. These are little mistakes where something doesn’t match up between scenes, like a cup moving around or a character’s clothes changing.

For filmmakers, it’s frustrating when these mistakes happen. But for viewers, spotting these errors can be a lot of fun. Some mistakes are small and easy to miss, while others are big and hard to ignore.

For example, Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass disappears between shots in Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a tiny mistake that doesn’t change the story but can make you pause and think, “Wait, what happened there?”

One of the most famous movie mistakes is from Game of Thrones, where a Starbucks cup was left on a table in the middle of a scene. This mistake quickly went viral and became a huge talking point among fans. Moments like these make viewers feel part of the filmmaking process.

Some errors even become iconic. For example, in Star Wars: A New Hope, a stormtrooper accidentally bumps his head on a doorframe, which has become a funny and memorable part of the movie.

Even though filmmakers don’t want these mistakes, viewers love them because they make movies feel more real and relatable. Spotting them gives fans something fun to look for and talk about, and sometimes, they even become part of the movie’s charm. Keep scrolling to see our favorites!

These unexpected slip-ups add an extra dash of fun for eagle-eyed viewers.

"Starbucks Cup In Front Of Daenerys"

"During the scene in the banquet hall, as Tormund says "most people get bloody murdered, they stay that way", look at Daenerys in the background - a disposable coffee cup is on the table in front of her. This brown cup with a white plastic lid is nothing remotely like the style of cups they're all drinking from in the scene. HBO acknowledged the slip up and digitally edited it out on streaming services, reruns and future DVD releases."

"Buys Detergent, But Doesn't Fall Out Of Bag"

"When Kevin goes to the grocery, he buys Tide detergent. While walking home, the two bags break, but no Tide detergent falls out."

"Cup Changes From Blue To Clear"

"In the bedroom scene the girl is holding a clear cup full of beer. The camera goes off her and when it comes back she is holding a blue cup. The camera goes back off her then on her and the cup is clear again. [This mistake does not appear in the unrated version - the blue cup scenes were shot specifically to secure an R rating from the MPAA because the contents are obscured.]. (00:13:20)"

"Crew Member Visible"

"Just as Jack says, "On deck, you scabrous dogs," to the very left edge of the screen over Jack's shoulder is a grip crew member with a tan cowboy hat, white short sleeve tee shirt and sunglasses, just standing there looking out to sea. (02:12:35)"

"Fell In Muddy Pig Pen Yet Is Spotless"

"In the beginning while Dorothy is still on the farm, she walks along the pig pen fence and then falls in. When Bert Lahr picks her up out of there her dress is perfectly clean. (00:03:45)"

"Plane Loses Two Engines From A New Angle"

"Right before they rob the police car, a Boeing 747 (four engines) is seen in shots of the plane coming into land. When the plane is shown from behind, it is a Boeing 767, with only two engines and fewer main landing gears. (00:30:10)"

"Tall Wood Stool Shrinks To Half Its Height"

"At the start, when the camera pans through the doorway of Ms. Darbus's classroom, Zeke sits on a tall stool that is about 3 feet high. Oddly enough, in the following shots, the munchkin stool he now sits on only reaches the height of about 1 foot. (Did they really think we wouldn't notice?) The wood stool also moves forward a few feet. (00:00:50)"

"Frodo's Scar Changes Sides"

"In the second half of the film, Frodo has a scar on his lower right cheek, close to his chin. Many times throughout the rest of the film the scar changes position and size on his right cheek. It also appears on his left cheek in flipped shots (most obviously on the slopes of Mount Doom when Sam is cradling his head). (02:31:05 - 02:34:00)"

"Guns Disappear During Bullet Time"

"On the skyscraper, when Neo and Trinity [end] all of the soldiers, Agent Brown comes to the roof. Neo immediately draws his guns and fires until both of his clips are empty. After that, Neo drops his guns, just as Agent Brown aims at him. During Bullet-Time there are no guns on the floor. When he hits the ground, then the guns are left and right of his legs. (01:41:50)"

"Shirt Changes From Long-Sleeved To Tank Top"

"When Jesse is going to race Johnny Tran at Race Wars for pink slips, and Johnny Tran pulls up in his Honda S2000, Tran has on a black long-sleeved shirt. When the camera goes from side to front view, Tran has on a black tank top. (01:12:41)"

"50 Star Flag In 1945 - Should Be 48 Stars, Below"

"After the successful Trinity test in 1945, people in a crowd are holding small US flags with 50 stars on them (offset rows). At the time there were only 48 states and the flag had 48 stars in even rows. The 50 star flag didn't exist until 1960, after Alaska and Hawaii were made states in 1959."

"Plane Number Changes"

"When John and Catherine are in the hangar at the runway, the Cessna's tail number is N3035C. When the plane is shown in the air, the number is N3973F. When they land, the tail number has changed back to N3035C. (01:22:25 - 01:25:50)"

"Bridge Section Gone But It Still Casts Shadow"

"If you look at the missing part of the bridge, and look at the shadow underneath, the shadow is of a full bridge. (01:02:35)"

"Door Opens Before Man Swipes Card"

"When Bond is in the car following the goons heading into the facility, it shows the techie guy scan a card and then swipe it to open a door. Before he swipes it, the door is already opening. (01:13:15)"

"Wreckage In Background Disappears"

"On Utapau, when Obi-Wan faces off with Grievous, Grievous sends 4 MagnaGuards against Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Force-pulls something from the ceiling to crush the droids. But in the ensuing fight between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the ceiling thing and crushed droids are gone."

"Crew Neck T-Shirt Changes To Henley T-Shirt"

"There are two scenes during which Harry is shown having visions of the Dept of Mysteries while he is asleep. The first scene occurs after Harry's confrontation with Seamus in the Gryffindor common room. There are shots of Harry lying in bed wearing a short sleeve, crew neck tee shirt, but when he is startled awake by the vision of Voldemort, he sits up wearing a buttoned henley tee. The next day is the first day of Defence Against the Dark Arts class with Umbridge. That last shot of Harry in the henley tee shirt was cut from a later scene. Later in the film, when Harry has the vision of Arthur Weasley's attack, he is wearing the henley tee shirt. (00:34:00 - 01:09:35)"

"Stunt Cable Visible"

"During their fight at Orthanc, in the wide overhead shot, as Saruman flies backwards towards the large doors, the wire attached to the back of Christopher Lee's outfit is visibly pulling his clothes. (00:50:45)"

"Jessica's Brown Boots Morph Into Pumps"

"When Jessica walks from the house to the barn at the end, she is wearing knee high brown boots. By the time she reaches the barn they have been replaced with court shoes."

"Gas Canister In Back Of Chariot"

"In the "Battle of Carthage" in the Colosseum, one of the chariots is turned over. Once the dust settles you can see a gas cylinder in the back of the chariot. (01:22:55)"

"Ship Design Changes While At Sea"

"The design of the ship's bow changes significantly while at sea. The white form on top of the bow used for mooring first does, then doesn't have an indentation on top, possibly with a bolt in the center. The point where the curved railing meets the straight side railings either is or is not connected by a top horizontal bar, and the gap between the vertical posts changes size. Another mistake on this site mentions the anchor design change, but also the metal walkway is made of tubular metal bars -or- flat bars that are more numerous and closer together. (00:30:15 - 01:21:00)"

"Visible Modern-Day Plastic Water Bottle"

"At the end of the song "Wait," when Sweeney and Lovett hear Anthony running up the stairs, Sweeney runs behind the door to his shop. For a quarter second, as Sweeney places his back against the wall, there is a modern-day water bottle on the window ledge. This, however, cannot be seen on the DVD or Xbox, though on laptops and probably computers also, when streaming you can see it around 00:43:10. (00:43:10)"

"Eyeline Suddenly Changes"

"In the beginning when Brendan Fraser is looking around the tunnels he turns around to see his kid and they scream. As they are screaming they are at eye level but when a few seconds later when they are standing the kid is like 2 feet shorter then Brendan Fraser, and if you look around there is nothing for the kid to have stood on. (00:05:55)"

"Windscreen Repairs Itself"

"The T-1000 punches his body through the window of a helicopter to get inside. An instant later, the hole in the windshield is gone. (01:56:35)"

"Louboutin Signature Red, Then Tan Soles"

"When Pierce's wife is walking in her auto shop they pan down to show her red Louboutin heels, then they cut to her walking in her office, and when they show her shoes again they have a tan sole."

"Camera And Reflector Screen Mounted On Boat Bow"

"When the fishermen start out on the hunt, Ben Gardner appears in a close-up leaning on the windshield at forward deck, while talking to his boatmate about how stupid some of the others are. In the next wide shot of the boats, Ben's green boat is towards the left of the screen, and the large reflector screen and camera, that are mounted to the bow of his boat, are visible in front of the forward window where Ben was seen in the previous shot. (00:30:25)"

"Visible Crew And Camera"

"When the men are pushing the catapult to the gate look at the far left of the screen for a few seconds you can see a crew member in a baseball cap and then a large movie camera. There's also a twig palisade next to him where two more crew members are visible."

"Page Flips Itself To Show Different Photo"

"When the dry cleaning arrives and Holly lays it out on the table, right behind her is the large flip-over wall hanging, with a picture of balloons. When she pulls the leather jacket out of the plastic, the wall hanging is flipped open to a picture of a bird. (00:53:10)"

"Roof Becomes Solid - Glass Panels Vanish"

"The Saturn that Mikaela is driving has a moonroof that encompasses most of the roof, over the front and back seats. When the Decepticon Grindor captures them, in the interior shot looking up at Leo as Grindor seizes the Saturn, the car has a solid roof over Leo, which is also seen in the interior shot as they fall. (00:54:05 - 00:55:05)"

"Swap Sides Between Shots"

"In the final scene where Roxie and Velma are dancing in the concert hall, Roxie is on the right and Velma is on the left. They then turn around, and from behind (same point of view as before) they're suddenly the other way around. (01:44:20)"

"Hands Jump In And Out Of Pockets"

"At the beginning when Indy is talking to Spalko, his hands keep alternating from being in his pockets to just resting at his sides between shots."

Movies and TV shows aren't flawless, and the minor, unnoticed flaws often make them feel more genuine. Filmmakers might wish they could clean up these mistakes, but to viewers, they feel like a hidden bonus.

So, next time you catch a blooper, remember it's more than just a slip-up—it's a subtle connection to the people who made the film. After all, those "imperfections" remind us that cinema is all about embracing the little things that don't go as planned.

Damjan