Nicole Kidman has suffered another personal attack with a prominent Los Angeles Times columnist declaring the Oscar winner is not a "movie star".
The critical words follow the mediocre opening of her new epic Australia at the North American box office last week, hot and cold reviews and another scathing attack on Kidman from Times of London columnist Melanie Reid who called the actress "awful".
The LA Times' Patrick Goldstein wrote the Hollywood studio behind the $US130 million ($A201.55 million) film, Twentieth Century Fox, had high hopes for Australia as a commercial and critical success, but it made just $US20 million ($A31.01 million) in its first five days in North American theatres.
"Without any bankable stars in the picture (Australia once again proving that Kidman is many things but not a movie star), Fox has been forced to sell it as a Baz Luhrmann film," Goldstein wrote.
"And as all of us Baz fans know well, Luhrmann is many things, most notably a brilliant artist, but he is not a popcorn-chewing, crowd-pleasing filmmaker."
Goldstein also predicted Australia's hopes for a best picture Oscar may have sunk.
"As history shows, it's almost impossible for a film with Australia's mediocre critical response to land a best picture nomination, which robs Fox of an important marketing tool in keeping the film afloat in a crowded marketplace," he wrote.
