6 Years After 'Hunger Games,' Is Jennifer Lawrence Still a Box Office Draw?

It was six years ago when Jennifer Lawrence transformed from the indie darling from “Winter’s Bone” to the next big thing in Hollywood with “The Hunger Games,” where her performance as Katniss Everdeen earned her a reputation as a bankable star.

But that reputation is now being thrown into question after the disappointing start of her latest film, “Red Sparrow,” which has only made $17 million in its domestic opening weekend against a $69 million budget. Outside of the “Hunger Games” films and the rebooted “X-Men” series, where she plays the shapeshifter Mystique, very few of Lawrence’s films have been noteworthy at the box office.

According to data from Box Office Mojo, the “Hunger Games” and “X-Men” films combine to make up approximately 81 percent of Lawrence’s $5.67 billion career worldwide gross, and all of them outperform her indie and prestige films on the global charts.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence, Jodie Foster to Present Best Actress in Place of Casey Affleck

On the domestic side, only one of Lawrence’s non-franchise films has been able to outperform an “X-Men” film. That was the 2013 Oscar-nominated true crime tale “American Hustle,” which earned Lawrence a Best Supporting Actress nomination and made $150 million in North America, just slightly more than the $146 million made by “X-Men: First Class” in 2011.

“American Hustle” came out at the peak of Lawrence’s popularity, when she was putting out critically-acclaimed performances in films directed by David O. Russell alongside the big name blockbusters. This likely made it easier for her popularity and name recognition to translate into interest in seeing her Oscar contender films. Aside from “Hustle,” the only other non-franchise film Lawrence has made that grossed over $105 million domestic is the one that earned her an Academy Award, 2012’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” which made $132 million stateside and $236.4 million worldwide.

But since completing the “Hunger Games” series in 2015, Lawrence’s box office performance has tailed off as she has starred in films that have performed poorly critically or, as is the case in the past year, are challenging films that refuse to be crowd-pleasers.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence's 'Red Sparrow' Pitch: 'I'm Naked. There's Boobs. There's Murder'

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2” was Lawrence’s last film to gross over $100 million in its domestic opening. After that, she worked with Russell again in “Joy,” a film that was nowhere near as well-received as “Hustle” or “Playbook” and only made $101 million worldwide against a $60 million budget.

After that was “X-Men: Apocalypse,” a film that made $543 million worldwide but was rather muted in its domestic performance, receiving mediocre reviews and making 34 percent less than the last film in the series, “Days of Future Past.” Her collab with Chris Pratt, “Passengers,” also had decent returns with $303 million grossed worldwide against a $110 million budget, with critics praising her performance despite the poor plot.

Lawrence’s last two films, “mother!” and “Red Sparrow,” have seen the actress take roles that are a far cry from “The Hunger Games,” going in a much more polarizing and discomfiting direction. Lawrence shocked moviegoers who saw “mother!” on opening night, playing the personification of Mother Nature who is brutally assaulted verbally and physically by an angry mob. While some critics championed the film, “mother!” received an F on CinemaScore and only made $44.5 million against a $30 million budget.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence Reveals the Movie Role She Really Wishes She'd Gotten - and It's Not 'Twilight'

This weekend, she continued this streak with “Red Sparrow,” a film in which she plays a ballerina-turned-spy that has to learn how to seduce her targets. Like in “mother!” scenes of Lawrence being assaulted on camera have become the subject of much conversation at a time when the depiction of women in media is being challenged by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

It could be argued that the problem with “Red Sparrow” isn’t so much with Lawrence as it is the spy genre, which hasn’t gotten much interest outside of brand names like 007 and “Mission: Impossible.” Last summer’s female spy film, “Atomic Blonde,” only made a little more than “Sparrow” in its opening with $18.2 million, albeit with a much cheaper budget of $30 million. With blockbusters like “Black Panther” providing audiences with a crowd-pleasing alternative on a regular basis, it’s tougher for an R-rated adult film to find a foothold in the marketplace, relying on recognizable leads like Lawrence to move the needle.

So while it’s true that Lawrence’s success with blockbusters isn’t carrying over to non-franchise success like it did five years ago, it might be premature to determine whether audiences are less interested in seeing her or less interested in seeing the sort of commercially risky films she has chosen to act in. It may take another acclaimed indie piece like “Winter’s Bone” or “Silver Linings Playbook” to make that call, but it may be a while before we see that, as her next film coming out in November is yet another franchise film: “X-Men: Dark Phoenix.”

The Evolution of Jennifer Lawrence, From 'Winter's Bone' to 'Red Sparrow' (Photos)

Jennifer Lawrence has come a long way from her showbiz beginnings on TBS' "The Bill Engvall Show" in 2007.
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JLaw made one of her first red carpet appearances at the premiere of "The Burning Plain" at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.
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Lawrence won critical raves as Ree Dolly in the 2010 independent film "Winter's Bone," for which she earned her first Oscar nomination.
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Here's Lawrence at the 2011 Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.
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And here she is arriving at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards for "Winter's Bone."
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Lawrence scored a nomination for "Winter's Bone" at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence appeared at 2011 Academy Awards, getting her first Oscar nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Winter's Bone."
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Here's Lawrence as Mystique in 2011's "X-Men: First Class."
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Jennifer Lawrence mesmerized in an undulating blue dress at the 2012 People's Choice Award, where she scored two nominations for "X-Men: First Class."
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She became a box office sensation playing bow-and-arrow wielding heroine Katniss Everdeen in 2012's "The Hunger Games."
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Lawrence was solid gold at the 2012 Los Angeles premiere of "The Hunger Games," one of the roles that catapulted her to worldwide stardom.
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the European premiere of "Hunger Games" in style.
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And she sparkled in emerald at a 2012 screening of "The Hunger Games" in New York City.
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JLaw greeted adoring admirers at a "Hunger Games" fan event in Madrid.
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Lawrence went with a two-tone look at the 2012 Academy Awards announcement, one year before winning her first Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Here's Lawrence in her Oscar-winning role as the troubled Tiffany Maxwell opposite Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence stepped out at the New York premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook."
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JLaw sizzled in a cutout dress at the 2013 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, where she snagged two Best Actress awards for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Hunger Games."
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Lawrence posed with her Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Award in the press room during the 2013 Golden Globes.
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Lawrence wore navy at the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she picked up a trophy for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence took a memorable fall when climbing the stage to accept her Oscar at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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She eventually made it to the stage to grab hold of her Best Actress award for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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And then she changed into a metallic anthracite dress for the post-Oscars Vanity Fair party in 2013.
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Lawrence reprised her role as Katniss Everdeen in 2013's "Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
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JLaw went with all white at a "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" party at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
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Lawrence sizzled in a sheer dress at the 2013 Los Angeles premiere of "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," a role for which she would win an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance.
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Lawrence played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the wife of a con artist, in 2013's "American Hustle."
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Lawrence lit up the press room at the 2014 Golden Globes after winning the award for Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama, Musical or Comedy for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence wore a patriotic sequined look when she snagged a trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for "American Hustle" at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence stood out in bright orange at the 2014 Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence literally sparkled in a dress with a shattered-glass effect at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
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Lawrence took aim as Katniss Everdeen in 2014's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1."
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JLaw embodied the "China: Through The Looking Glass" theme at the 2015 Met Gala in New York.
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Lawrence took aim again in 2015's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2."
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the 2015 world premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" in Berlin.
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And continued to the "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" London premiere.
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Lawrence went gothic at "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2" New York premiere in 2015.
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JLaw starred as Miracle Mop magnate Joy Mangano in 2015's "Joy."
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Lawrence blended into a white background at the New York premiere of "Joy" in 2015.
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JLaw stood out in red at the 2016 Golden Globes, where she took home the trophy for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for "Joy."
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Lawrence arrived at the 2016 Academy Awards in February, where she was nominated for her title role in "Joy."
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In April 2016, Lawrence joined co-star Chris Pratt on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote their upcoming romantic sci-fi movie "Passengers."
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Here's JLaw reprising her role as Mystique in 2016's "X-Men Apocalypse."
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Lawrence sparkled in blinding silver at a May 2016 "X-Men Apocalypse" event in London.
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Lawrence seemed to be having a great time when she stopped by "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in May 2016.
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Lawrence starred as stranded space traveler Aurora Snow in "Passengers."
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Lawrence and "Passengers" co-star Chris Pratt got together after an interstellar journey goes awry.
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JLaw played a stay-at-home housewife whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious couple in "mother!," directed by then-boyfriend Darren Aronofsky.
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She played a secret agent seeking her own agency -- as in, self-determination -- in the 2018 spy thriller "Red Sparrow."
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