LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Hollywood stars hit the red carpet in hopes of snagging an Oscar, sometimes they should be careful what they wish for.

An Academy Award can cap a career like that of director Martin Scorsese ("The Departed") or put a veteran actor like Chris Cooper ("Adaptation") on Hollywood's map with greater access to better roles and higher salaries.

But for others it can be a box-office curse. Past winners Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Halle Berry, Adrien Brody and Cuba Gooding Jr. have not had a major hit in years, even though many are still sought after by Hollywood studios.

Kidman won an Oscar for 2002's "The Hours," but has never headlined a big hit. The actress starred in recent Oscar hopeful "Australia," which failed to win any major awards and flopped at the box office.

"Considering how many bombs she's done, it's pretty surprising that she's still out there chugging away," said John Wilson, who honors the year's worst movies during the annual Razzie Awards, which will be given out Saturday.

Since winning her Oscar for a supporting role in 2003's "Cold Mountain," Zellweger's career went cold with such films as "Cinderella Man" and "Leatherheads." Her last film, the romantic comedy "New in Town," earned $6.7 million during its opening weekend last month.

"I keep trying to remind myself when was she good?" said Us Weekly film critic Thelma Adams.

BERRY BAD MOVIES

Berry, the Oscar winner for 2001's "Monster's Ball," added a Razzie three years later for "Catwoman" and gallantly showed up to accept. Berry, who gave birth to her first child in 2008, has not been seen in theaters since her Oscar hopeful "Things We Lost in the Fire" was quickly doused in 2007.

Of course, not all Oscar winners suffer a similar fate. George Clooney and Sean Penn are A-list actor/directors with their pick of big-budget movies and personal projects.

Nicolas Cage has appeared in two dozen films since winning his best-actor Oscar for 1995's "Leaving Las Vegas."

Although ticket sales and reviews of his subsequent movies have been all over the map -- Penn once sniped that Cage "was no longer an actor" -- Cage's 2007 film "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" was the biggest box office hit of his career at $457 million worldwide.

"What he's done is become a genre-movie maker, and it has nothing to do with the Oscar," said Adams.

Others haven't been so lucky. Brody won an Oscar for 2002's "The Pianist," but reverted to small movies after 2005's "King Kong." He was recently in theaters with "Cadillac Records," which earned just $8.2 million last fall.

Perhaps the deepest fall from Oscar grace has been that of Gooding, who famously yelled "Show me the money!" to Oscar-winning effect in 1996's "Jerry Maguire." Since then, Gooding has filled his resume with not-quite classics such as "Boat Trip," "Norbit" and "Daddy Day Camp."

"He had shown so much promise in 'Jerry Maguire' and he went from supporting player to star, and sometimes that jump is difficult," Adams said.

The problem for many newly minted Oscar nominees and winners, said Wilson, is that their handlers are inundated with lucrative offers for dubious projects.

"If you're not known, the industry also doesn't know what you're capable of. They may throw stuff at you that's out of your league, over your head or beneath your talents," he said. (Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Cooney)