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Why doesn't he do better box office numbers?

posted 5 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8292)
22 replies | jump to latest

I was just taking a look at his IMDB and I noticed that just about every single non-Marvel film he's appeared in has been a box office failure.

This is the case even when he's worked with high-profile directors like Ron Howard and Michael Mann.

I wonder what's up with that. He's a talented dude and popular, and at least some of those films were actually pretty good. (I enjoyed Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, 12 Strong and Bad Times at the El Royale.)

[–] Galactus03 (4289) 5 years ago

Because he's been typecast as Thor probably....

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

I think he has the talent and charisma to break out of that mold. I've seen him in enough other stuff that I don't think of him as Thor, but just as the guy who plays Thor sometimes.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Yeah, sometimes things are tricky. Even experienced Hollywood casting directors keep casting him again and again, that means they also can't believe why on Earth this guy is not a box-office magnet.

Oh well, probably MIB sealed his fate.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

The thing is, there aren't a lot of young guys who seem to really have the star power to take the place of the older generation as they move on in their careers.

Think about it: Who is this generation's Brad Pitt, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, etc? There aren't many who can fill those shoes. Chris Hemsworth is one of the few who seems capable, which is why I'm sure that producers aren't wanting to give up on him.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

True. They are old yet still bring more butts to the seats. It's not fair. They are already billionaires! Please give chance to younger rising actors.

The Rock. But he's getting older too.

Chris Pratt is the best candidate, I guess...

Hmm who else?

Frankly, I can't think of anyone else.

[–] ducksoup (3933) 5 years ago

Chris Pratt, the Parks and Rec guy? Wow, what a time we live in.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Well, Pitt and Depp was the 21 Jump Street guys, Damon was the Mystic Pizza kid. And Wahlberg? Wahlberg was the Marky Mark!

They had to start somewhere...

[–] ducksoup (3933) 5 years ago

I know. I thought of Woody Harrelson in Cheers right after posting that. Never watched 21 Jump Street. I vaguely knew Depp was in it, didn't know Pitt was.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Ah sorry, it's only Depp. My bad.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

Hey may have started on Parks and Rec but his talent, charisma and likability cannot be denied. When I first head he had been cast in Guardians of the Galaxy I was like WTF? But as it turns out there's a lot more to him than I thought.

As actionkamen said, everyone has to start somewhere. Matthew McConaughey kicked his career off with a silent role in a reenactment on Unsolved Mysteries and then not long after starring in a Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

Chris Pratt is a good call out, though he is almost 40 so I'd just barely include him. If we want to look at guys a little younger our top candidates are guys like Zac Efron, Robert Pattinson, Michael B. Jordan, Dylan O'Brien and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

And I had to do a bit of quick research to put that list together. None of those names immediately jumped to mind except Pattinson, and that's only because he was just cast as Batman. While I think all those guys are competent performers, none of them really seem to me to have the kind of aura and charisma that guys like Pitt and Depp had when they were younger.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

I know, right! But, those names are... well, how to put it... not as strong.

Also, it's quite curious that even relatively stronger names can't hold their stardom longer. Fame is way shorter now.

Only a few years ago, Joseph Gordon-Levitt seemed to be destined to be a big star. Not happening.

Before him there's Orlando Bloom. Also not happening.

And there's Channing Tatum, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Renner, Miles Teller, etc. Nobody can even bring more audience than Van Damme at his prime.

Why do you think this is happening today?

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

Some people speculate that the movie star is dead. I do feel in some ways that increased access to media and the stars themselves via the Internet has made the veil between the common man and celebrities too thin. They seem too human now and less god-like, if you will.

I think this is exacerbated by the fact that we live in a time where anyone, via YouTube and social media, can put themselves out there for all the world to see and potentially becomes stars of sorts in their own right. "Internet famous," that is. Compare that to when Brad Pitt made A River Runs Through It, a time where this kind of exposure was much more exclusive and mostly happened through television and magazines and the like.

Good call on Joseph Gordon-Levitt. You're right, he had his time where he seemed to really be getting the big push from the studios, but frankly I had kind of forgotten about him. I guess the last thing I saw him in was Snowden, and that was three years ago. It seems they lost interest in promoting him.

I think all the guys you mentioned are among the closest thing to stars we have, at least in regard to guys who got famous AFTER the Internet was already in full swing. Many of those guys are over 40 at this point or nearly so.

Who are the guys under 30 who are the hot up-and-comers? That's a hard list to make. Not many names immediately jump to mind.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Hollywood stars feel less god-like now. You're right! Never thought about that. And that there're constantly bickering in politics doesn't help either.

Yeah... the age of movie stars has ended. Long live the internet stardom! Well, it is what it is. Times change, I guess.

Internet stardom, though, is way more niche. One of the biggest Youtuber today is apparently PieDewPie, but he only talks about videogames stuff. And people who don't do videogames would not even know who that was.

Hollywood superstars are not going back. Not anytime soon. Popular actors under 30 I think are pretty limited by the "franchise actors."

They are highly popular, but it's because of the franchise that is popular not they themselves. Just like Chris Hemsworth. The only movies he can attarct audience are Thor / Marvel movies.

Chris Pine for Star Trek, Chris Evans for Captain America, various Game of Thrones casts, etc.

I'm afraid it would also happen to Pattinson as Batman. That's if the movie turned out succesfull.

Let's see how it turns out for Taron Edgerton. At least he has the Kingsman franchise and the much hyped Rocketman. I myself, don't feel interested in Rocketman. After Bohemian Rhapsody, another singer biopic seems derivative already.

Also making a biopic before the person died is not a very good idea. But I digress, lol. Sorry.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

Agreed on political stuff. I remember when I was growing up it was relatively uncommon to hear actors get political. I'm sure they wanted to make sure not to offend anyone because they didn't want to alienate any of their potential audience. I guess that kind of thinking has gone out the window and now in the age of Twitter every celebrity wants to make every thought known.

Regarding Internet stardom, I think the main takeaway is that the Internet made it possible for a regular person to become known and gain a literally worldwide following without the benefit of the traditional star-making machinery. 30 years ago this just wasn't even really a thing. If you didn't make it big by gaining the attention of the entertainment industry, then the best you could usually hope for would be to gain a local following of some kind. Now, however, things are totally different and the very fact that a person can just will themselves to stardom with the help of the Internet makes celebrity itself seem less special.

And I think you're right about these days the property/franchise being more important than the actors. We've seen multiple instances of actors who are very popular within their blockbuster franchises but who can't draw outside of those franchises. I really think that Chris Hemsworth SHOULD be able to bring in audiences outside of the Marvel universe but it's just not happening, at least not yet. Hopefully that will change for him.

It will be interesting to see how well Chris Pratt can draw in the coming years outside of the Guardians and Jurassic World franchises. I'm pretty sure Magnificent 7 was a financial disappointment and Passengers did pretty well but not great.

By the way, this article is seven years old at this point, but it is right in line with our discussion. It's fairly long, but I think you'd find it interesting if you take the time to read it:

https://grantland.com/features/the-movie-star/

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

What a well written piece. The Will Smith analysis is interesting. And he's making a comeback these days.

Ryan Reynolds, ironically, is on the verge of stardom now. Let's ses how that, too, turns out.

If only the new MIB cast Will Smith alongside Chris Hemsworth, chances are it won't bomb. Curiously, that the movie is a potential flop was probably the reason Will Smith didn't want to be involved with, if we go per the article's story.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8292) 5 years ago

Glad you found it interesting. I just re-read it to remember what all it had to say.

As you say, there are a few ironies here. Ryan Reynolds is more popular than ever, though that is entirely due to Deadpool, and it remains to be seen if he can draw outside of that franchise.

Will Smith, on the other hand, is not the star that he once was. In fact, I'd say 2012 (when the article was written) is just about when that changed for him. In 2013 he made After Earth and things have never been the same. No longer is he the guy who is guaranteed to bring in $150 million just by appearing in the film.

I actually think we don't have ANYONE like that now, hence the aforementioned "death of the movie star." There is not a single actor who can guarantee a film's success just by adding their name to it anymore. People just don't respond to actors like that these days. No one can captivate the world like Tom Cruise did in 1986 with the release of Top Gun. It's just not something that happens, at least not quite like it did then.

Regarding Will Smith though the bit I thought was the most interesting was the part where he talks about Smith and his producer running an analysis on the most successful films and finding out what elements they all shared in common (i.e. special effects, a creature, etc). That's actually the detail from the article that has always stuck with me.

So yeah, it's an interesting article, and still essentially relevant today.

I do have to say though that I think the author's taste in films leaves something to be desired. I enjoyed I, Robot and The Legend of Bagger Vance.

He's right about Six Degrees of Separation though. It's excellent and is still one of Smith's most interesting movies.

[–] hotsummerday (93) 5 years ago

Really? You guys had no clues as why actors or actresses can't be big movie stars in this time. The last time we had movie stars was before 2000 . After the year of 2000, I can't find a new generation of movie stars and the older ones who star power before 2000 were pushed out limelight of press and television were no longer acting anywhere big. Even Brad Pitt gave up his power to acted in movies I never heard of. In 2000, reality stars ruled the press and television until now. I figured the studios do not want to folk over large salaries or even promote stars to public.The current actors lack the personality and the drive to have fame to be larger than life. They are too bland as tasteless stale cakes.

[–] Sarmoviefan26 (1368) 5 years ago

Reese Witherspoon’s real stardom started in the early 2000s.
The early 2000s still made a few movie stars.

[–] hotsummerday (93) 5 years ago

Not really she has started to rise to stardom in hit movies called Pleasantville 1998 , Cruel Intentions 1999, and Election 1999. She had a last hit movie called 2005 Walk the Line. Right now,she has fallen off... no one cares about her .

Why so many blond haired actors named Chris--Hemsworth, Pine, and Evans??

[–] hotsummerday (93) 5 years ago

I had forgotten about statement I wanted to say for awhile--I feel sorry for actors in late 1990s when they started to climb to stardom, but slapped down to ground in 2000s when they expected more acting jobs and money.

[–] Sarmoviefan26 (1368) 2 years ago

Catherine Zeta Jones was one of those victims sadly.

She exploded in 1998 with The Mask of Zorro, then did entrapment which I think did okay ish, then her big hit with Chicago in 2002.

A few romcoms where Hollywood tried to put her at the top and then fizzled.