Who are the biggest movie stars today?

I saw something that indicated they biggest movie stars (meaning ability to deliver at the box office) are Kevin Hart and Melissa McCarthy.

Tammy is projecting to make $30-$40 million over the July 4th weekend, which is pretty damn good for a comedy. If that gets to $100 million, it will be the third straight movie McCarthy has starred in to go over the $100 million mark. It would be fourth if you count Bridesmaids, but that was a supporting role, so it shouldn't count.

Hart seems on his way for his second $100 million movie of the year with Think Like a Man 2 and Ride Along.

It seems insane, but that doesn't mean it's wrong.

 

Respect to McCarthy for making money and doing it in Hollywood on her own terms.

 

She's the female Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. Plays the same character over and over.

 

I always considered Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston examples 1A and 1B of this, with Vaughn's 40-year-old going on 19 especially annoying.

 

They say the sign of a true movie star is one who can make a lot money with a bad movie. Sandler would be the ultimate example of this, although not with his latest.

The Heat was pretty good. I have no idea how Tammy will be. Identity Thief was pretty bad and it made a shitload of money.

I like McCarthy a lot and hope she continues to do well.

Same thing with Kevin Hart. Ride Along was colossally mediocre and it made a ton of money. I'm sure being released in January helped, but it's really impressive when movies made as inexpensively as Ride Along and Think Like a man are pushing and exceeding $100 million.

 

Aniston is usually terrible. She's been in a few hits that had almost nothing to do with her being in it (Bruce Almighty, Marley and Me...) The Break-Up did well at the Box Office, but was pretty bad.

"We're the Millers" was freaking awesome though and she was great in it.

 

big difference, Ferrell is funny

 

If the previews are any indication, "Tammy" is a giant, steaming pile of shit.

 

It's definitely not on my must-see list.

But it's doing pretty well at the box office, which tells you how much pull McCarthy has, especially in one of the most competitive movie weekends of the year.

 

Has to be Jennifer Lawrence right now. Her body of work includes some of the biggest blockbusters in the past 3-to-4 years (X-men First Class and the Hunger Games), has produced an Oscar (Silver Linings) and produced serious Oscar buzz (American Hustle). Is she in for the long haul? Doubt it. As she gets older, I bet Hollywood goes to the next young beauty, but for now, she's doing alright.

(Edit: I thought X-Men: First Class came out further back than it did).

 

Yeah, but I think there's a difference. Something like Hunger Games certainly wasn't designed for Lawrence. She shined in it, but others could have, as well, and few probably went to see it because of her. (She added credibility, which I'm sure helped, but again, theaters would have been packed for that movie no matter who was in it.)

McCarthy is taking some shit movies designed especially for her and making money, which says something, I think.

I like her, too. I hope she picks (or gets the chance to pick) better roles because the "fat, crude slob" role doesn't do much for me.

 

Jack Nicholson played himself for years and Morgan Freeman is now well into that territory.