I know no one here likes the never ending comparison with Leo but it's still an interesting article how opportunities for young actors have changed in Hollywood. Also I didn't know TMITIM made over 400 million $ (thanks to Titanic and Leo mania but still).
How TimothĆ©e Chalamet Became This Generationās Leonardo DiCaprio, but with Fewer Hits
The overlap is considerable, the appeal similar. But TimothƩe Chalamet doesn't have the same opportunity for box-office dominance.
TimothĆ©e Chalamet, the 26-year-old costar of Luca Guadagninoās āBones and Allā (United Artists), inspires slavish fans and critical praise ā not unlike Leonardo DiCaprio 25 years ago when he made āTitanic.ā The similarities in their trajectories are remarkable. Precociously talented; acclaimed portrayals of sensitive adolescents; risky roles; early, passionate followings by teenage girls; and acting Oscar nomination before the age of 27 (in Chalametās case lead).
Their significant difference is Chalamet stands at the threshold of a major career. By the same point in his own work, DiCaprio could have retired and be considered an iconic star. None of this diminishes Chalametās significant achievements, but it highlights differences in their eras.
āBones and Allā is no āTitanicā (not that anything is). The best-case scenario for this $16 million-budgeted drama is a breakout, not a blockbuster. Guadagnino (āCall Me by Your Name,ā āSuspiriaā) has established a reputation for edgy, R-rated films with significant (and stylish) sex and violence. If the ā80s-set road-trip cannibal romance finds a wider audience, much credit will go to Chalamet.
āBones and Allā premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals to positive response. It opens in five New York/Los Angeles theaters this Friday ahead of a 2,500+ run the following Wednesday, with Warner Bros. Discovery handling most overseas territories.
Chalamet makes his debut as a producer here, his second film with Guadagnino after their breakout āCall Me By Your Name.ā What is curious is here, as with most of his films, heās not the clear lead ā a rare instance of leading-man self-effacement. The storyline belongs to Taylor Russellās Maren, a cannibal who embarks on a cross-country trip and finds other flesh-eaters, including Chalametās drifter Lee.
In addition to being the co-lead with Armie Hammer in āCall Me by Your Name,ā Chalamet also thrived in āBeautiful Boyā (second to Steve Carell). In āLady Bird,ā and āLittle Womenā (both for Greta Gerwig), his impact exceeded his screen time. āThe French Dispatchā was an ensemble and Woody Allenās āA Rainy Day in New Yorkā was barely released in the U.S.
As āDuneā protagonist Paul Atreides, Chalamet was the unabashed lead of a film that grossed $400 million worldwide. However, his significant contributions to the filmās success were matched by the massive interest in Denis Villeneuveās adaptation of a beloved sci-fi novel. (The sequel is now in production.)
All told, thatās four $100-million Chalamet films, three of which are led by other actors. At this stage in his career, DiCaprio had three $100 million films as a lead (two by adjusting). One, of course, was āTitanic,ā the biggest-grossing movie of the last 40 years ($1.2 billion adjusted). Before that, he made many smaller films not unlike Chalametās including āThis Boys Life,ā āWhatās Eating Gilbert Grape,ā āThe Basketball Diaries,ā and āTotal Eclipse,ā all with varying degrees of success.
DiCaprioās breakout was Baz Luhrmannās 1996 āRomeo + Julietā opposite Claire Danes, which announced him as a major commercial draw. āTitanicā followed, with āThe Man in the Iron Maskā released two weeks before āTitanicā swept the Oscars. āMaskā was critically reviled, but DiCaprioās pull meant it made (adjusted) over $400 million worldwide.
That was DiCaprio at 24, and itās a phenomenon rarely seen before or after. Itās far more difficult ā perhaps impossible ā to do that today. Neither actor has appeared in a comic-book franchise or a sequel (apart from DiCaprioās direct-to-video debut āCritters 3ā and Chalametās āDune 2ā), but thatās now what drives most box-office hits. To put it another way: Adjusted for inflation, the budget for āMaskā was $65 million. Whenās the last time weāve seen a $65 million one-off gross nearly seven times its budget?
Domestic expectations for āBones and Allā are $20 million at the high end (and considerably more overseas), followed by a healthy Chalamet-driven afterlife. However, the biggest tests for the actor come next year with āWonka,ā from āPaddingtonā director Paul King next Christmas, as well as āDune 2.ā Chalametās career has been buoyed by social media in a way that was impossible for Di Caprio ā but in the 21st century, Chalametās 18 million Instagram followers donāt necessarily translate to box-office dominance.
Not that becoming the worldās biggest movie star was ever easy, but 1997 offered fewer obstacles. Eight of the yearās 10 top films were originals, in a variety of genres including comedies (āLiar, Liarā), dramas (āGood Will Hunting,ā which launched Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), high-end actioners (āAir Force One,ā āFace/Offā), and hybrids (āMen in Blackā).
āGood Will Huntingā made over $330 million on a $19 million budget (all figures adjusted). Today, a massive hit means a franchise, full stop. The demands to bend to formula make it tougher for idiosyncratic talents like Chalamet to succeed at DiCaprioās level.
There are other ways of defining success, of course. Can he conform to the idea of an actor as ābrandā while still making interesting, and off-beat films? With box-office trends beyond his control, thatās Chalametās real challenge.
Source