r/boxoffice • u/ManagementGold2968 DC • 2d ago

✍️ Original Analysis Can we now consider Jason Momoa as one of the movie stars?

Jason Momoa has had a great run at Box office ever since Aquaman 1 making over a billion dollars, which films like Superman, Superman V Batman and even Justice League couldn’t. He was widely praised for his portrayal of Dante in Fast X which was a huge box office hit. Aquaman 2 made close to $450M at a time when all DCEU movies flopped left and right, almost breaking even. Now with Minecraft opening above 120M+, can we really confirm he’s the pull with general audience?

0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

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52

u/Firefox72 Best of 2023 Winner 2d ago

No. As in he's not a pull at all for this movie.

Minecraft doing well has nothing to do with Momoa and everything to do with Minecraft.

14

u/Im_Goku_ DC 2d ago

Aquaman 2 doing well has everything to do with Momoa.

$440M WW with how badly DC's name was damaged is very impressive.

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u/Firefox72 Best of 2023 Winner 2d ago

I'm not arguing Momoa can't be a help. I'm just saying he likely didnt have much to do with Minecraft blowing up.

For Aquaman he was a good fit for the role but Aquaman 2 doing ok mostly came down to building off Aquaman 1 being very well received. The low competition Christmass window also massively helped Aquaman 2.

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u/CivilWarMultiverse 15h ago

Joker 1 had even better reception than Aquaman 1 but that didn’t seem to help Joker 2

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u/ManagementGold2968 DC 2d ago

Detective pikachu or even FNAF was no where close? If IP is the real deal maker

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u/Firefox72 Best of 2023 Winner 2d ago

"Detective pikachu"

Absolutely the wrong idea for a premise if your gonna do a live action Pokemon movie. The fact it did as well as it did speaks volumes for the IP strenght.

"FNAF"

This one just isn't nearly as popular and was streaming day 1.

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u/Former_War1437 1d ago

detective pikachu, is based on a obscure game that is not part of the mainline titles, and does not follow the actual premise pf the have or anime and it still did well.

FNAF was day to date release on streaming and still did 300 million for a horror movie that is very good because of the IP

-9

u/pokenonbinary 2d ago

Detective Pikachu flopped while Pokemon and Pikachu being 100 times bigger than Minecraft 

Movies don't simply do well based on IP, it's many things together

Momoa and Jack Black clearly helped the movie a lot, they're both charismatic and popular

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u/blownaway4 2d ago

The IP plays the biggest role but i agree it isn't the sole factor.

4

u/menco1999 2d ago

This is just false lol.

  1. Pokemon is NOT bigger than Minecraft. In fact, not a single video game franchise is bigger than Minecraft, except maybe GTA.

  2. The pokemon movie had a lot of factors as to why it didnt do well. Not having recognizable stars wasn't one of them lol. It had Ryan Reynolds for christ sake, probly the biggest actor in the world rn.

  3. Y'all have to let go of the lie that there are "movie stars". Nobody is going to the movies because a certain actor is in it anymore. This has been proven time and time again in the last decade. Name someone who you think is a movie star and I'll name you a bunch of projects of theirs that did jackshit at the box office.

I can promise you that Detective Pikachu wouldve made the same amount of money as it did if it starred Jason Momoa and Jack Black, and Minecraft would've made the same amount of money as it eill get if it didn't star those two. Yes, movies can simply do well based on IP.

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u/Nick-walde 2d ago

lol, pokemon is the biggest IP in the world and much bigger than minecraft in terms of revenue and profit, pokemon makes a lot of money from selling video games, toys and cards some pokemon go and many other related things, even gta and call of duty can't make half the revenue and profit that pokemon makes.

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u/Alive-Ad-5245 A24 2d ago edited 2d ago

I agree with everything apart from #1,

Pokemon is a bigger franchise than Minecraft, in fact it’s the biggest IP on planet earth.

My grandma would know who Pikachu is but would have no idea Minecraft exists

Detective Pikachu underperformed because Pokemon has been adapted into TV/Movies constantly for decades and Detective Pikachu is based on a relatively low selling spin off game and not the main ones.

1

u/menco1999 2d ago

I see this list going around often but it's an unfair comparison. Just because of the sheer amount of Pokemon games, tv shows, movies, etc. that have come out, it makes sense that Pokemon is gonna be the highest grossing in total. That doesn't mean its the most popular at all. Minecraft basically has 1 game that has come out, so it never had a shot of beating Pokemon in total sales in every medium combined.

A fairer comparison would be to look at the list of highest grossing video games. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games) This shows you just how big Minecraft is. The biggest Pokemon game has only 1/7th of the sales Minecraft has. If I had to guess, probably 50-80% of people between the ages of 10-30 have played Minecraft before, and maybe 10-20% of that same age bracket have played a Pokemon game before. They're not even in the same realm of popularity.

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u/blownaway4 2d ago

No other video game has had as many variants and re-releases as Minecraft so it isn't fair in this regard either. Minecraft is a very big gaming IP, but there are a few others (Mario, Pokémon, GTA, CoD) that are bigger.

1

u/menco1999 2d ago

I disagree. A single person probably hasn't bought multiple versions of Minecraft, most people paid once and then went on to play it without ever spending more money on it. A single CoD player probably bought multiple CoD games and spends money on it basically every year. Same goes for Mario and Pokémon players.

Therefore its unfair to use a compiled list of total sales or total revenue a franchise has received, because it doesn't show you hoe many people actually engaged with the franchise. The list of best selling video games is fair, because a sale of 1 game is generally equal to 1 player. The fact that minecraft had many variants doesn't take away from this, becayse people aren't generally buying multiple variants of Minecraft.

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u/blownaway4 1d ago edited 1d ago

People buy multiple variations of Minecraft all the time they have really stretched the definition of "single game." There is a reason this isn't going to touch the total tickets sold that Mario did.

Also if you're going by exposure, Minecraft is available on all platforms including mobile. Where Mario Run and Pokémon Go have way more downloads in total than Minecraft.

0

u/menco1999 1d ago

People buy multiple variations of Minecraft all the time they have really stretched the definition of "single game."

How many people do you know that have bought multiple variations of minecraft? When you buy minecraft, you get every update for free, there's no reason to buy another variation. I don't know where you get the idea that the majority of minecraft players have bought the game multiple times, it's just not true.

There is a reason this isn't going to touch the total tickets sold that Mario did.

You don't know that.

Also if you're going by exposure, Minecraft is available on all platforms including mobile. Where Mario Run and Pokémon Go have way more downloads in total than Minecraft.

Why are you selectively just looking at mobile? Minecraft got the bulk of its sales from pc, whereas pokemon go and mario run are only available on mobile.

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u/blownaway4 1d ago edited 1d ago

  1. It absolutely is true. My sister is one of them with multiple versions across multiple platforms.

  2. This isn't beating Mario, we do know that.

  3. Because Minecraft numbers include mobile downloads.

1

u/menco1999 2d ago

My grandma would know who Pikachu is but would have no idea Minecraft exists

I think there's a difference between popularity and recognisability. Sure, more people are familiar with Pokemon than Minecraft, but I'm gonna bet that there aren't that many 50+ year olds that are gonna be interested in a new pokemon project, despite knowing about it. Pokemon just doesnt have passion from hundreds and hundreds of millions of kids and young adults who have played the game religiously, like minecraft has.

1

u/blownaway4 2d ago

Pokémon has sold more games than Minecraft.

1

u/naphomci 1d ago

I think Working Man, Beekeeper, and similar shows that 3 is not true in the absolutist sense you present. Statham was the draw there. Maybe he's not pulling in 100s of millions, but there are certainly some actors that absolutely do get people in the theater. It's not the same as yesteryear, but it still exists. In the last decade he's been in 15 movies, only 2 of which were bombs and one where he is a small part of an ensemble that didn't do well. Would you really argue that Beekeeper would do just as well with a different actor? Working Man?

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u/pokenonbinary 2d ago

Pokemon and Pikachu are bigger than Minectaft, games sales are stupid when Pokemon has TONS of different branches

Does Minecraft have an anime, movies, big merch, spin off games, cosplays, A big worldwide fandom, 30 years of legacy etc etc?

Also you have to pay to play Minecraft? Because when I was a teen Minecraft was free with everything included, unless it went pay mode recently

1

u/GPTRex 1d ago

Does Minecraft have an anime, movies, big merch, spin off games, cosplays, A big worldwide fandom, 30 years of legacy etc etc?

Yes. And it's played by a lot more people today and historically.

Because when I was a teen Minecraft was free with everything included, unless it went pay mode recently

No, it wasn't. Unless you count the pre-alpha version from May 2009 - June 2009.

Unrelated, but your comment history is so tribalistic. Things you like/know = good. Things you don't like/know/men = bad.

1

u/pokenonbinary 1d ago

I played Minecraft for free until like 2015 (then I never touched the game again)

I simply downloated it in the official website without paying a single euro 

The only paying version I remember is the Play and Xbox versions that were for 30 euros

0

u/pokenonbinary 1d ago

Yes, men bad, except for sex

1

u/GPTRex 16h ago

Ok bigot

1

u/Nick-walde 2d ago

i agree, minecraft is a game i love but momoa and black jack give me more reason to go see the movie.

22

u/Cannaewulnaewidnae 2d ago

Jack Black would have a better case to make as a box office draw

But they're both the same as every other movie star, today - provide some added value when paired with the correct IP, but cannot open a movie in their own right

I'd argue even Cruise and DiCaprio have fallen into this category, now. They just add greater value than Momoa or Black

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u/SnooDonkeys2239 2d ago

I'd argue even Cruise and DiCaprio have fallen into this category, now. They just add greater value than Momoa or Black

You say it nonchalantly but the greater value is SIGNIFICANT. Their star power makes sure that most films they're in make well above their production budget theatrically. In the case of Cruise, every movie of his, even the non-franchise ones have made well over 2x the production costs theatrically. That's what true blue movie stars bring.

6

u/Cannaewulnaewidnae 2d ago

That's been true, historically

I'm saying I'm not sure that's still the case, post-pandemic

Obviously, there isn't enough evidence to support that feeling

3

u/SnooDonkeys2239 2d ago

That's fair. And Leo has started off shaky with KOTFM which barely matched its production costs. But maybe by the next 5 years, we will have a better idea of what the current benchmark of movie starpower should be

4

u/hyper_espace 2d ago

He is a decent guy, the public likes & he tries to stay clear of controversies. Is he a massive box office pull? I dont think so.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/Balderdashing_2018 A24 2d ago

I don’t think so. He’s a great star, but as one of “the” movie stars, I don’t see it.

When not attached to a popular IP, he’s actually yet to even have a movie released theatrically that showcases him as the lead.

To put it in perspective, a 78 year old Harrison Ford with Call of the Wild had a higher opening weekend and total domestic gross — when the pandemic was already starting— than Momoa has had, ever.

I think to be considered one of “the” movie stars, you must have a couple movies that relied on you, open well and get to respectable grosses.

4

u/PlatypusAmbitious430 2d ago

I didn't even know he was in the movie lol.

I know Jack Black is from a trailer I watched a year ago.

2

u/urkermannenkoor 2d ago

Not really, no

2

u/RVarki 2d ago

If you had replaced Momoa with a relatively unknown actor, would the numbers for this have dipped a significant degree?

1

u/trixie1088 1d ago

Nope. Once again the IP is the biggest draw here. 

2

u/badassj00 1d ago edited 1d ago

He’s definitely a bankable name and draw for general audiences. Fans from his work in Game of Thrones are now taking their kids to his movies.

Even though he’s not a serious actor he’s absolutely an A-lister and movie star. That said he’s not one of “the” biggest movie stars today.

2

u/CivilWarMultiverse 2d ago edited 2d ago

Honestly yes. By DC 2020's standards, grossing merely $440M WW is the equivalent to getting into Harvard.

2

u/Outside-Historian365 2d ago

He was praised for Fast and Furious? I just remember people comparing him to Joker and shit

11

u/Im_Goku_ DC 2d ago

I remember people saying he was the best part of the movie.

1

u/Outside-Historian365 2d ago

That’s quite a low bar, no?

3

u/Im_Goku_ DC 2d ago

Yes it is. I'm just answering your question of "He was praised for Fast and Furious?" which he was ofc.

2

u/KindsofKindness 1d ago

No. He was the main villain.

1

u/xyzzy826 1d ago

I don't think so but he's smart and/or lucky when picking projects.

2

u/ReservoirDog316 Aardman 2d ago

I think he’s a sizable reason it’s doing well internationally. He has decent pull and he makes very smart decisions on what projects has joins.

1

u/Givingtree310 1d ago

Thinking Momoa is an enormous box office pull is like thinking that Chris Hemsworth brings in billions of dollars worth of movie tickets. They are but one small cog.