After the curious case of Edge Of Tomorrows surprise critical popularity, Rob investigates a strange Hollywood happening… And its this: do we trust big stars to make decent movies anymore?
So surely this should have been a movie which audiences were enthusiastically anticipating?
There was something about the movie which some potential audience-members didnt seem to engage with immediately.
The trailer and publicity didnt help, but it seemed that there was more to it than that.
Ad content continues below
Have we, as a cinema-going whole, become disillusioned with star power then?
Is all we anticipate these days the next superhero flick or franchise instalment?
If so, why?
I distinctly remember putting my school blazer on inside-out to try and emulate the star-in-the-makings seemingly effortless cool.
He had the looks, the charm, the comedy-factor, the family-friendly rap records.
In short, Smith was everything geeky kids wanted in a star.
Let it be stressed we even likedMen In Black 2.
To this new batch of film-lovers, he was bulletproof.
And we all know how that turned out.
In 1999, though, the box office crown went toStar Wars: The Phantom Menance.
So was this the beginning of the end?
Well, short answer: no.
If you scroll down to eighth on the list though, things begin to get interesting.
This grew to just shy of $300m worldwide.
LikeStar Wars, Singer didnt rely on the power of star actors.
Ben AfflecksPearl Harbourdid better than any of the stars who had dominated the previous year.
Tom Hanks didnt have a movie out.
Within a year, the whole system had been flipped, turned upside-down.
Audiences were clearly more up for fantastical franchise fun (with mixed experience-meets-newcomers casts) than their usual stars.
Throughout the 2000s, this battle continued to rage, with both sides having their moments of glory.
To look purely at the statistics though, the franchises generally did better than the star vehicles.
Not many had heard of him before, everyone has now.
Jim Carrey co-starred with some penguins in his latest solo vehicle,Mr Poppers Penguins.
That didnt do too well either.
Audiences, it seems, wont just accept any old rubbish from a star anymore.
Even something as critically loved asEdge Of Tomorrowis struggling to find success in the US.
Ten years ago, that would have been a huge box office smash.
But then maybe the days of the big budget star vehicle as we know it are all but done.
