1. Luke Wilson
Misses: Mini’s First Time ($49,034); Idiocracy ($444,093); Hoot ($8.1 million); My Super Ex-Girlfriend ($22.5 million)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: What a cruel summer. No one gave a hoot about Hoot, Mini’s First Time or My Super Ex-Girlfriend. No wonder Fox quietly dumped Mike Judge’s long-delayed sci-fi satire Idiocracy over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Adding insult to injury: younger brother Owen scored with Cars and You, Me and Dupree. Luke and Owen claim there’s no sibling rivalry between them. But surely it must be getting to Luke that he’s become the Frat Packer least likely to succeed.
2. James Franco
Misses: Flyboys ($13 million); Tristan & Islode ($14.7 million); Annapolis ($17.1 million); The Ape (direct to DVD)
Hits: (None)
The Bottom Line: Ladies do not love Franco in uniform. After last year’s The Great Raid went awry, Franco failed to notch even so much as a moral victory as a medieval knight (Tristan & Islode), a French Air service volunteer pilot (Flyboys) or a U.S. Naval Academy recruit (Annapolis). And did anyone notice that Franco fancies himself as a director? That’s because The Ape never swung its way into theaters. Franco clearly is having trouble convincing us he’s more than just another James Dean look-a-like.
3. Mel Gibson
Misses: None
Hits: None
TBD: Apocalypto ($36.2 million)*
The Bottom Line: Yes, Apocalypto’s defied all expectations. But that doesn’t mean anyone’s forgotten the anti-Semitic remarks he uttered during his July DUI arrest. And he certainly won’t be forgiven until he comes across as sincere in his public apologies. Still, it’s too soon to tell whether Gibson‘s irreparably hurt his career. If Gibson‘s first post-arrest project makes money, don’t be surprised if Hollywood welcomes him back with open arms.
* Through Dec. 25
4. Josh Hartnett
Misses: Mozart and the Whale ($36,006); Lucky Number Slevin ($22.4 million); The Black Dahlia ($22.5 million)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: “It’s my favorite [role] because it was really challenging and rewarding,” Hartnett told the BBC of Mozart and the Whale. True, this cliched romance about two lovers with Asperser’s syndrome does boast an emotionally charged performance from the usually vacant Hartnett. But Mozart and the Whale disappeared from art-house theaters just as quickly as his two crime stories did from multiplexes. What more it is going to take for Hartnett to be exposed as just another a pretty boy who doesn’t have what it takes to be a star?
5. Colin Farrell
Misses: Ask the Dust ($743,847); The New World ($12.7 million)*; Miami Vice ($63.4 million)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: Farrell obviously thought lightning would strike twice with another film based on a TV show. S.W.A.T., though, benefited from a lack of familiarity. But even kids born long after Miami Vice last aired know the 1980s cop opera. And Michael Mann’s colorless film version was Miami Vice in name only. Unlike Ask the Dust or The New World, Miami Vice was supposed to revive Farrell‘s flagging fortunes. Instead, it’s another black eye for Farrell , who’s still looking for his first post S.W.A.T. hit.
* Opened wide Jan. 13
6. Sarah Michelle Gellar
Misses: The Return ($7.7 million); The Grudge 2 ($39.1 million)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: OK, Gellar had nothing to gain from The Grudge 2 (unlike the Cannes-booed Southland Tales, a musical now being reedited). But her early exit sabotaged The Grudge 2’s chance of duplicating its predecessor’s success and likely thwarted plans for a second sequel (actually, that would be no great loss). But if Gellar bailed on The Grudge 2, why did she bother wasting her time with the less-than-spooky chiller The Return? If next year’s Addicted flops, then Hollywood’s reigning scream queen should be forced to abdicate her throne.
7. Samuel L. Jackson
Misses: Home of the Brave ($6,000); Freedomland ($12.5 million); Snakes on a Plane ($34 million)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: Too bad for Jackson that the Netizens who made SoaP a pre-release cultural phenomenon failed to drag themselves away from their computers to go see him fight those motherf—king snakes on that motherf—king plane. Maybe now Jackson will think twice about doing a film solely on the strength of its title. That said, Jackson‘s noblier efforts—Freedomland and the lackluster Coming Home clone Home of the Brave—weren’t half as memorable as the surprisingly fun SoaP. No matter, Jackson‘s one cool badass who can survive three bad beatings in one year.
8. Jim Carrey
Misses: None
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: Almost everything Carrey planned for 2007 fell to pieces. Not coming to a theater near you next year: Used Guys (too expensive to pair Carrey with Ben Stiller); A Little Game (Carrey and Cameron Diaz bailed due to script concerns); and Tim Burton’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! (script and budget problems resulted in production being delayed to 2008). The Number 23 (Feb. 23) had better be lucky for Carrey, or his decision to forgo a Bruce Almighty sequel could prove to be a very costly mistake.
9. Edward Burns
Misses: Looking for Kitty ($4,480); The Groomsmen ($128,911); The River King (direct to DVD)
Hits: None
TBD: The Holiday ($36.9 million)*
The Bottom Line: So much for the luck of the Irish. Burns‘ latest directorial efforts—the rollicking Groomsmen and the dour Looking for Kitty—disappeared quicker than a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day. Perhaps audiences have finally realized that Burns no longer has anything fresh to say about life, love and family. Oh, and being quickly knocked out of The Holiday by Cameron Diaz was nothing short of an embarrassment.
* Through Dec. 25
10. Scarlett Johansson
Misses: A Good Woman ($238,609); Scoop ($10.5 million); The Black Dahlia ($22.5 million)
Hits: Match Point ($23.1 million)*; The Prestige ($52.1 million)**
The Bottom Line: No wonder we didn’t pay much attention to The Black Dahlia, A Good Woman and Scoop. We couldn’t take our eyes off the countless magazine covers that featured Johansson flaunting her hourglass figure. Johansson obviously takes herself seriously as an actress—Match Point led to her fourth Golden Globe nomination. But she seems so wrapped up in her newfound Hollywood It Girl status that her performances are suffering and her choices in films are leaving little to be desired. Here’s hoping Johansson gets over herself sooner than later.
* Opened wide Jan. 20
** Through Dec. 25
Dishonorable Mention: Wesley Snipes
Misses: The Detonator (direct to DVD); Hard Luck (direct to DVD)
Hits: None
The Bottom Line: Bet Snipes is longing for the days when all he had to worry about was his career going to direct-to-DVD hell. Now he faces up to five years in the slammer if found guilty of tax fraud charges. It’s one thing to slay vampires, it’s another to incur the wrath of the taxman.
