Things used to be so good for the man who played Will Hunting. So how come they’re going so wrong for Matt Damon?
The latest box office disappointment for the leading man is likely to be “The Adjustment Bureau,” opening from Universal on March 4. While it may not be a disaster, on the heels of “Green Zone” and “Hereafter” it is hardly the home run Damon needs to secure his place among the industry’s top stars.
The commercial decline seems unexpected for the well-regarded movie star whose action-man status seemed assured by the dominance of the "Bourne" series starting in 2002. Those three spy-thrillers took in over $950 million dollars.
The numbers, however, don't lie.
“The Green Zone” was one of Universal’s most painful misfires in 2010, taking in just $94.8 million at the global box office on a $100 million production budget.
And despite the cachet of Clint Eastwood, the $50 million “Hereafter” also stalled with audiences, pulling in $95.5 million worldwide, while the critics ignored it.
Before that, Eastwood's "Invictus" may have earned Damon an Oscar nomination, but its $122 million worldwide gross hardly marked it as a hit.
Damon's 13 non-blockbuster films over the past decade have grossed a combined $1.2 billion worldwide, roughly the same amount of money banked by the "Bourne" and "Ocean's" series.
But surprisingly, Damon turned down a chance to reprise his signature spy role when audiences were still hungry for another installment, and Universal was willing to pay.
To keep the "Bourne" film franchise in its hands, Universal had to have a sequel in production by June of 2011. But when director Paul Greengrass could not come up with an idea for a fresh thriller and passed, Damon passed too, according to individuals with knowledge of the situation.
And since then, Damon’s action movies have failed to connect at a time when the adult drama is living through a challenge with audiences.
With the exception of the $193 million worldwide take for “True Grit," the Coen Brothers’ Oscar-nominated Western in which he plays a colorful supporting role, Damon is coming off one of the roughest commercial stretches of his career.
“He’s like Angelina Jolie. If he’s a spy or in an ‘Ocean’s’ movie he’s bankable. If he’s not, then he’s a big question mark,” said a rival studio executive.
Part of the issue seems to be Damon’s decision to veer off the leading man track to do quirky, artistic projects. The actor reduced his usual quote of $15 million by at least half for the two Eastwood films and took only $500,000 to appear in "True Grit," according to an individual close to him.
"He's more concerned with being a diverse actor than being the biggest movie star in the world," the individual told TheWrap. "The idea is to broaden his range as an actor and to work with great directors.
