Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
May 10, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: Do you think Chris Hemsworth will be another Hugh Jackman, another Eric Bana or will his career be more like The Spirit's Gabriel Macht? In short, do you think that he's only suited for Thor, or will his career go further?
David Mumpower: Before last month, I would have said Bana would be the best case scenario for him. Bana was someone who had big things predicted for him after he arrived in Hollywood. His reputation preceded him as a great actor and funny man (no, really), and his roles in Black Hawk Down and The Hulk made him seem like the next big thing. While he has continued to earn high profile parts in the industry, Bana is not what I would quantify as an established lead actor. Macht is obviously the doomsday scenario in terms of box office appeal although he's an underrated actor. Jackman has the type of career every actor dreams of attaining in that he is universally beloved and he has a defining character whose films continue to earn the big bucks independent of their quality.
I had believed Bana's career was the best possible career trajectory for Hemsworth until recently. I am starting to re-think that. A couple of weird things help him. The first is that Thor has broken out enough that it's a defining character, and that aspect only grows with the arrival of The Avengers next year. The second is a bit random yet I believe that his younger brother acquiring a lead role in the upcoming blockbuster trilogy The Hunger Games boosts the celebrity of both brothers. The stars of The Avengers and The Hunger Games are hot shirtless dudes with Aussie accents. Heath Ledger did quite well with a similar skill set.
Josh Spiegel: I'd lean more toward the career of a Hugh Jackman than anyone else there, but it's really too hard to say. The thing that impresses me most about Thor's performance is that the lead actor is pretty much a new quantity to American audiences, unless they can recognize Captain James Kirk's dad under the blond wig and beard. Hemsworth, if he chooses smartly, could have a huge career like Jackman. I don't see him becoming as quickly forgettable as Macht's, though.
Joshua Pasch: I think its far too early to tell judge Helmsworth's trajectory. The only thing we can say for sure right now is he will be the co-star of another enormous film (Avengers), and the star of anther big film (Thor 2). Beyond that, it is anyone's guess. He's no household name at this point - not even close.
Hugh Jackman wisely built a non-superhero persona between his Wolverine outings (Someone Like You; Kate & Leopold) and built himself a big female fanbase. Helmsworth seems to be going a different route by signing onto other big pictures like Snow White and Red Dawn. He probably needs some other rom-com or character pieces in there to mix it up.
Bruce Hall: I think that Hemsworth owned his role in what was a very fun, yet largely unremarkable picture. That's a plus. He had an unusually strong cast helping him but I'd say he very much distinguished himself. A week ago I couldn't have cared less whether there might be a sequel to Thor, and now I'd kind of like to see one. I wasn't too excited about the Avengers on Wednesday, but now I'm starting to get interested. And it's all because I really liked Hemsworth as Thor. In my view there's definite star potential there and if all goes well for him, by the time Thor 2 and The Avengers have come and gone, Chris Hemsworth could easily be in a position to do whatever he wants to.
Edwin Davies: I think that he has the potential to be more a Jackman than a Bana. In Thor he manages to handle the dramatic, tortured arrogant God stuff just as well as the silly, light-hearted humour that makes up large swathes of the middle-section of the film. There's a lot to be said for someone who can do comedy and drama as convincingly as he does in Thor, and I think that display of range will lead to a greater variety of roles in the future, as opposed to Eric Bana, who tends to get pushed towards dour roles that don't showcase how funny and wild he can be. (I'm just like to take this opportunity to say that anyone who hasn't should check out Chopper, which will make you love Eric Bana for how good he can be and be disappointed by how rarely he actually gets to be that good.) I'm really interested to see his performance in Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's Cabin In The Woods, now...assuming it ever makes its way to theatres.
Let's get married
Kim Hollis: Jumping the Broom was the surprise of the weekend, matching the performance of the higher-profile Something Borrowed from Warner Bros with $15.2 million. What do you take from this result?
Josh Spiegel: At the very least, I hope it makes otherwise charming actors like John Krasinski and Ginnifer Goodwin realize that they really, really, REALLY need to stop choosing to star in the dumbest-looking romantic comedies. Jumping the Broom proves, once again, that the same folks who see Tyler Perry movies will see other movies with African-American actors in them. We can be shocked at this number, but people of all races like romantic comedies. Hollywood may yet figure that one out.
Joshua Pasch: I thought people were underestimating the potential for a Jumping The Broom to jump Something Borrowed. If it looks like a Tyler Perry film, and sounds like a Tyler Perry film, who cares if it isn't actually a Tyler Perry film?
Bruce Hall: "If it looks like Tyler Perry film, and sounds like a Tyler Perry film, who cares if it isn't actually a Tyler Perry film?" For the second week in a row, one very entertaining sentence sums up the topic so well, there's nothing for me to do but tip my hat.
Second wedding
Kim Hollis: Something Borrowed opened to $13.9 million. What do you think of this result?
Josh Spiegel: I think the studio got lucky here, that the movie didn't go under $10 million. Kate Hudson has become yet another 30-something actress who's done so much damage to her career that it'll take a Travolta-in-Pulp-Fictionesque comeback for people to take her seriously again. In short, she's become Cuba Gooding, Jr., circa Snow Dogs. Both got Oscar nods, and both have thrown that prestige in the trash. Krasinski and Goodwin are still able to right their respective ships, but they have to do so real soon.
Joshua Pasch: Josh, your analysis is so accurate because I can't even picture Kate Hudson in a serious role. It's been a steady and consistent decline for her.
Something Borrowed's opening is fine. It'll end up at least as a draw financially. It is as throwaway as everything else Hudson has done in the last six or seven years. We'll all forget about it within the month.
Bruce Hall: I think it proves that you must never, ever underestimate the public's appetite for harmless fluff. Bread and circuses, man. It's all bread and circuses.
Reagen Sulewski: I'd say that the studio did a very good job of managing expectations here. Yeah, Hudson was in the movie, but they kept her to the background, so no one was expecting Bride Wars. Getting a $14 million opening for Ginnifer Goodwin is pretty impressive in hindsight. What's really striking about this is how apparently undiscriminating the chick-lit adaptation audience is. Imagine if they made one of these films and it was good.
Edwin Davies: I'm slightly impressed by this since the trailers and ads made this look like Generic Romantic Comedy #7865. I mean, "Something Borrowed"? That title is so uninspired it's practically begging people to forget it. With nothing to distinguish it from, well, everything else, and with some relatively untested actors anchoring it, this is a very, very okay result.
David Mumpower: Something Borrowed is still not the least imaginative title in recent memory. That honor goes to Love Happens and its throne will not be usurped (look the word up, people who watched Something Borrowed opening weekend) until someone actually names a film Romantic Comedy.