The coronation of Scarlett Johansson as Hollywood’s highest-grossing lead actor, thanks to “Jurassic World Rebirth’s” epic $322.5 million worldwide opening, sends a loud and clear message to Hollywood: The dinosaurs didn’t do it alone; movie stars still matter.
Going into the holiday weekend, it was unclear how “Jurassic World Rebirth” would fare, given mixed reviews that criticized the franchise’s inability to evolve beyond the core premise. But viral videos of stars Johansson and Jonathan Bailey getting cozy on red carpets or playfully bantering with the host of “Chicken Shop Date” did much to raise the awareness profile of “Rebirth,” helping to fuel its opening weekend box office.
The film’s success proves that intellectual property and an established brand — even one as well-known as “Jurassic World” — aren’t necessarily enough to get people into theaters. Audiences want movie stars and familiar faces they recognize and connect with.
This dynamic runs counter to the idea that having the right IP is everything, allowing studios to plug in any configuration of actors while the franchise does the heavy lifting in getting butts into seats. Indeed, many of this year’s biggest wins are coming from movies that pair strong IP with major star power. Beyond “Jurassic World Rebirth,” racing drama “F1” has been a winner with audiences thanks in part to Brad Pitt’s portrayal of a grizzled veteran race car driver, while “A Minecraft Movie” benefited from Jack Black’s off-the-wall humor that spawned memes galore.
“Stars are a known quantity in a similar vein to IP,” Christofer Hamilton, industry insights manager at Parrot Analytics, told The Wrap. ”They’re battle tested and have their own audiences. So if you’re looking to de-risk a production, talent is one of those levers you can pull in the same way that you could reach for existing IP.”
It’s not a new notion. Movie stars have been around since the beginning of Hollywood. But as CG-filled blockbusters took over the box office and silver screen icons aged out, many began to question whether movie stars still matter. The recent streak of box office hits that pair IP with a known star seem to point to one notion: Rumors of the movie star’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Formula for success
There’s a long laundry list of films that have successfully paired franchises with big-name actors. Last year, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” shattered box office records with $1.34 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film ever — a result that industry insiders say wouldn’t have been possible without the duo’s proven chemistry and star appeal.
“Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Robert Downey Jr. — those are great examples where the talent is so intertwined with the character, they’re almost inseparable at this point,” Hamilton said.
Black is a good example of the boost an actor can provide even if he or she isn’t already tied to a character. In his performance as Steve, the silent player avatar in the “Minecraft” games, Black gave audiences an undiluted taste of the boisterous comedic persona that first made him a leading man with early 2000s films like “Shallow Hal” (2001) and “School of Rock” (2003) and which got more popular with the “Kung Fu Panda” series.
Thanks in large part to his energetic performance, the film became a $954 million global hit. He’s been on a run over the last several years, having helped Dwayne Johnson relaunch the “Jumanji” franchise and giving voice to Bowser in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” another video game adaptation that grossed $1.36 billion two years ago, further bolstered by Chris Pratt as Mario.
Shifting away from just IP
This shift is a clear departure from a time when studios relied on brand recognition alone. The “Transformers” franchise didn’t go with big names until Mark Wahlberg joined in the later sequels. The “Harry Potter” series surrounded several unknown younger actors with notable, but not necessarily bankable, British veterans.
Marvel Studios’ early days fully relied on this strategy, betting on Downey Jr., whose star had fallen considerably at the time, to headline “Iron Man” and casting a relatively unknown actor like Chris Hemsworth in “Thor.” Things have changed considerably.
“You will note that after the first films in those respective franchises, Marvel quickly added Robert Downey Jr. to pretty much every film,” said a top talent agent. “That was not a coincidence.”
Marvel’s change in strategy came full circle last year with the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the MCU in two upcoming “Avengers” movies, not as Tony Stark, but as a completely different character, Doctor Doom. Marvel is betting heavily on star power bolstering box office success after a string of misfires.
Despite IP-based titles making up the majority of audience demand for movies, the share of new IP-based premieres has been falling since 2021, suggesting that audiences are becoming more selective about which franchise films they’ll support, according to a recent Parrot Analytics report.
Recent flops like Sony’s Marvel adaptation “Kraven the Hunter,” which grossed just $62 million worldwide against a budget north of $100 million, and even Universal’s new “Wolf Man,” which grossed $34 million worldwide, show that people won’t automatically see a film if it’s based on an existing property.
The “movie star + IP” formula isn’t a guarantee of success — just ask Tom Cruise about “The Mummy” — but relying solely on IP puts a film at risk of hitting a small ceiling. Does “Twisters” hit as big as it did without Glen Powell’s Texas charm lighting up the press circuit?
Although some IP is just big enough to roll the dice. Christian Bale was a known actor but far from a movie star when he landed the lead in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” and DC Studios went a similar route by casting David Corenswet to lead the upcoming “Superman.”
Doubling down on stars
The IP/movie star strategy also marks a sort of return to the town’s pre-franchise era, when movie stars were the primary driver of box office success. Think Harrison Ford in “Air Force One” or Jim Carrey in “Liar Liar” — films that were a vehicle for an actor you adored.
But today’s approach is more nuanced — rather than choosing between stars or IP, the successful players are smartly combining both elements.
The agent that TheWrap spoke to noted that studios have long understood this dynamic. “They’ve always anchored films with movie stars. Perhaps not Tom Cruise-level, but stars for the genre,” the agent said. “So whether it’s Christian Bale, or Robert Downey Jr. or Edward Norton, usually they’re trying to anchor the IP with a star.”
Over 70% of the top 100 most in-demand movies in 2024 were based on existing IP, as The Wrap previously reported, and established franchises like “Jurassic World” and video game adaptations like “A Minecraft Movie” continue to dominate mainstream attention.
Studios that combine proven IP with major movie stars aren’t just playing it safe — they’re setting themselves up for the kind of Jurassic-sized hits that drive the box office.
Jeremy Fuster contributed to this report.
