MovieChat Forums > Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) Discussion > Actors deaths supposedly boosting box of...

Actors deaths supposedly boosting box office returns

posted 9 years ago by marinduqueking32
2 replies | jump to latest

I've heard a lot of people dismiss large box office grosses for recent blockbuster movies by saying things like "they only earned that much because of <this or that actor's> death."

Only a small portion of people I talk to attribute the box office returns to the audience's genuine interest in the actual films. I've heard this many times in regards to Heath Ledger's death and The Dark Knight, and most recently with Paul Walker's death and Furious 7.

My question is, why wouldn't this ring true for the last entry in the Night at the Museum franchise since it was Robin Williams' last live action appearance in a film? I mean, Robin Williams was arguably more esteemed/revered and talented than both Ledger and Walker when the entirety of their careers are brought into consideration. I know that the Night at the Museum franchise is not nearly as successful as the Batman films or the Fast and Furious movies, but they're not exactly duds either. The first film made almost 574 million dollars worldwide and the second made a little over 400 million worldwide. Secret of the Tomb was in no way a financial failure considering the fact it made over 360 million dollars worldwide; however, if an actor's death really does equal larger box office returns, shouldn't this have made a lot more money?

Do you smell what the Rock is cookin'?

[–] baileythedog 9 years ago

I don't think that actors' deaths necessarily create box office gold--they may help a bit but at the end of the day, "The Dark Knight" and "Furious 7" were always going to make great money given that they're part of very highly successful franchises. (Note that people didn't exactly flock to see Ledger's real last movie, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.") At the end of the day, the three respective movies made at the box office pretty much what they were going to make whether or not their stars were dead or alive.

But if the actor's death does propel those to theaters, I suspect it happens more often when an actor dies young such as Heath Ledger and Paul Walker.

Robin Williams wasn't exactly old but not young either and while his death was sad and tragic, he did leave a full to bursting career behind him while the other two were really just getting going.

Additionally, I'd say there was probably a little bit of the curiosity factor stoking "Furious 7" since it was widely known that they had to CGI many of Walker's scenes and use his own brother as a double.

[–] louis-ortiz-170-176575 9 years ago

Thank you for mentioning Dr.Parnassus. No one acknowledges this as Heath Ledger's last movie. Not to go on a tangent, but it always bugs me when people say Batman was such a challenging role and the stress got to him.
The thing I find most upsetting is the cancellation of a spin off featuring Jebidia and Octavious because of Robin Williams's death. They could continue their adventures without including his character easily. They could even mention him as an off screen character. Wasted talent is what it is.