Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
June 6, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: In your opinion, who is the biggest star of Snow White and the Huntsman right now? Who will be the biggest star in five years?
Felix Quinonez: Unfortunately I think the biggest star in this movie is Kristen Stewart but in five years I think Chris Hemsworth will be the biggest draw. I mean at the very least he has The Avengers 2 and Thor 2 that should keep his star rising.
Jason Barney: I believe Chris Hemsworth is here to stay. I don't think his career will be a flash in the pan. By virtue of the types of films he has been involved in, he is going to be in some very big projects in the coming years. Not only will he carry Thor 2, but the Avengers sequel will be one of the most anticipated films of the coming years. He was good as Kirk's dad in Star Trek. Cabin in the Woods was a fairly good draw earlier this year. I doubt we are talking about a DiCaprio type career, but being one of the leads in the third highest grossing film of all time, this early, means something. He will be around for a while.
Edwin Davies: I agree with Felix's assessment, though as a huge fan of Adventureland, I don't have a problem with Kristen Stewart being a star at the moment since she can be very, very good, even if she often isn't because people are paying her a shit ton of money to appear in crap. It's good work if you can get it.
Anyway, I think that Hemsworth will be the bigger star five years down the line since he's already got a full slate of big blockbusters lined up which Stewart doesn't unless Stephanie Meyer tosses off another Twilight book that they can get into production quickly enough. He's also demonstrated in the few films he's done that he's got range and is pretty charismatic, so should be able to parlay his star power from The Avengers and this into decent stuff going forward.
Max Braden: By the numbers, asking who would draw the biggest crowd, I think the edge goes to Kristen Stewart over Jennifer Lawrence. But Stewart's reign still feels very tenuous. Robert Downey Jr. is clearly the biggest name of the biggest franchise, and has has phenomenal success over the past eight years. You say his name and you know you predict guaranteed quality, but he has an aloof nature that dampens his stardom just a bit. Johnny Depp's aloofness is kind of an asset, and he's been up there longer than Downey. Will Smith is probably known the best world wide, but he hasn't been active enough to compete for the title of biggest star. By all rights the cast of Harry Potter should have a claim but they don't feel like they're relevant outside the series.
For the future, I can see Jennifer Lawrence outlasting Stewart. I have trouble thinking of other women you'd want at the top of your gala event invite list. Hemsworth certainly has the attention now, but if there's anyone who will give him a run, it'll be Taylor Lautner. Lautner just seems to want it the most.
David Mumpower: Now that Max has utterly failed at celebrity gossip, let's return to the topic at hand. Like Edwin, I quite enjoyed Kristen Stewart in Adventureland, but that makes her about one for eight thus far. There is no denying the fact that she has been in popular films thus far; she is also a recognized superstar by the rising generation of movie goers. Is she a draw? Absolutely. Is she luckier than good in this regard? I also say yes to this. If Kristen Stewart opened another movie next weekend, I'd expect slightly more from it than if, say, Amanda Seyfried was in it but I wouldn't say a lot more. Max introduces Jennifer Lawrence into the conversation, which is a bit unfair since she's worked in three recognizable movies thus far (I'm not including The Beaver and Like Crazy since those are inconsequential parts) and one of those, Winter's Bone, earned a whopping $6.5 million. Despite this, I see her in a similar position to Stewart in that her short term box office potential is glowing independent of how much she brings to the table as an opener. Long term, I expect Lawrence to be a much better actress than Stewart but which of them becomes the Julia Roberts of this generation remains to be seen.
I view this in opposition to Chris Hemsworth in that he has a hook. He is a muscle bound, charismatic giant with an accent and he comes across as a family man as well due to his relationship with his equally hunky brother. There are not many people in the past quarter century who are better compromise date night choices than Chris Hemsworth in that women want to objectify him and men love that crazy Norse dude. Just six weeks ago, Hemsworth was behind Stewart and Lawrence. Now, I think he's close to even and as long as he keeps his head on straight, I think he's going to be a megastar.
What I find remarkable about the entire conversation is that the one I envision as the -worst- of these three moving forward, Kristen Stewart, already has three $280 million films on her resume. Her films have already earned $2.9 billion worldwide but Lawrence is already at $900 million after only two blockbusters, both of whose sequels appear likely to do much better. And Hemsworth has earned $1.8 billion in the past 12 months alone. I worry about how all three of them will handle such stratospheric, out of nowhere success. This is the one way that Stewart has an advantage. She's already demonstrated she can stay out of trouble, at least thus far.
Kim Hollis: We've already had the Jennifer Lawrence vs. Kristen Stewart conversation, and I think we all heartily agreed that Lawrence probably has the better long-term career chances. If we look at who is likely to emerge as the biggest star of Snow White and the Huntsman, I think that the answer is probably going to be Chris Hemsworth over the long run. He's good-looking and charismatic, and yes, the accent is pretty hot. Stewart is notable for the Bella Swan role, but that's about all she really has to hang her hat on. And I think over time, fans are going to grow to dislike that character and her by association.