Jeff Wells brings up the idea, initially sparked by Anita Busch, that Shailene Woodley film, The Fault in Our Stars could potentially take the box office this weekend. What’s interesting about this and worth noting is that it will be the second weekend that a film headlined by a woman took the box office. Its main competition is Tom Cruise’s opposing ticket (a film that has a strong performance by Emily Blunt) Edge of Tomorrow.
Whatever Woodley’s personal beliefs (which I hope to change, or die trying) hats off to her for this opener.
![2025 Oscars: Can a Late-Breaker Still Win Best Picture? [POLL]](https://www.awardsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/gladiator-350x250.jpg)
Yeah its true. The Edge of Tomorrow has a misleading trailer. I thought the film was much better than I expected.
Sasha and Ryan: here is an interesting piece for you to read: http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/suck-it-haters-female-led-films-make-more-money?utm_campaign=suck-it-haters-female-led-films-make-more-money&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_content=suck-it-haters-female-led-films-make-more-money
Its about movies with a female lead and money. And also referring to the article written by Marcus James Dixon
Box office star to me is someone who can get people to watch his/her films mainly because he/she stars in it. Or someone who can green light a film in development. Tom
Hanks, Will Smith, Tom Cruise in their heyday. For women, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock.
Maybe it’s the subject matter, but Ryan is right in pointing out that Serena can’t even get a distributor even with JLaw in the lead in that movie. I was surprised White Bird in a Blizzard got a distributor, they are probably capitalizing on Shailene’s increased visibility over the past months.
This past weekend, after seeing what happened to the refreshing EDGE OF TOMORROW, whose misleading trailer made it look like a Transformers prequel (what can be more friendly to the masses?!), I was just glad JUPITER ASCENDING got out of the way.
@sevenolecram All those actresses you named are wonderful and yes, their level is a rare one. All started young and probably began with skills no more developed than many of their peers’. But they’ve continued to grow and challenge themselves. Acting isn’t like pro sports; you should, conceivably, get better and better as you age and the recent work from, shit, ALL OF THEM, suggests they’re moving in the right direction. I don’t buy into “overrated” because who’s doing the rating? The Academy? Access Hollywood? Gawker? Fuck ’em. Your response to their work in HANNA or THE BLING RING or SILVER LININGS is all that matters and those films and more demonstrate phenomenal skill. Actresses like Ronan & Watson are were inherently bright girls who gave a good audition at some point a very long time ago. But they took their opportunity and ran like hell with it.
ah, I see what you mean now, Natasha — and you’re right. That Thursday night launch set the movie in a very high orbit.
Ryan—sorry for the poor wording on my part in the box office update post I made…..the box office for THIS weekend for TFIOS is frontloaded (Thurs night and Friday made up a hefty amount of the gross). But I do see your point as far as TFIOS NOT being frontloaded in the LONG run.
“If you are saying that these actresses are no more special than 200 other young established actresses who seemingly can’t get a job…I agree completely!”
We have Jennifer Lawrence, Brie Larson, Mia Wasikowska, Saoirse Ronan, Shailene Woodley, Emma Stone, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart. All between 20-25 years old.
That’s an exceptional generation of young talented actresses. I find really hard to believe that there’s hundreds of more talented actresses out there who can´t find a job.
Sam, how can I get you to come along behind all my 5000-word multipart rambling rants and sum up succinctly what I’m trying to say in 100 words with no-nonsense straightforward clarity?
If you are saying that these actresses are no more special than 200 other young established actresses who seemingly can’t get a job…I agree completely! Shailene Woodley? I teach Teenagers and I will tell you this…they ALL read the book, Fault In Our Stars…they are ALL huge fans of the book…most of them think the female lead was miscast…but, they love the book so much they will see it over and over. This is what they have pretty much all told me. This movie is going to be huge regardless of who it stars…or if she’s even any good. I also think Jennifer Lawrence is the most overrated actress in Hollywood right now. In my opinion, Kristen Stewart is the superior actress…but, she’s not press friendly or “girly”.
FAULT Box Office numbers quite frontloaded–with 48 million
Not just front-loaded, I suspect. This feels like the right kind of critical mass for genuine word of mouth to catch fire and burn hot for weeks. This seems to be a movie people will see and then want to take their friends to see. Next weekend’s numbers will tell the tale, but looks to me like this could end up in the $175 million range, domestic.
FAULT Box Office numbers quite frontloaded–with 48 million for the weekend to lead. Jolie beats Cruise easily for second with her 33 mil to his 29 mil…..
Hey, first time commenting here, from Brazil.
I’m loving all this talk about Lawrence and Woodley’s box office power, but to me, it seems like this is a thing from the past. The only films that do really well at the box office are franchises, animations, some comedies and films with awards buzz. Like Jesse Crall said in the comment above “the en masse legions swarm around concepts and properties”. Stars don’t sell movies anymore, franchises and word of mouth do. And comedies and kid movies. But not stars.
Films with Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp and Will Smith are flopping while Sam Worthington is in the biggest hit ever. That’s the box office reality now.
There’s a difference in being a “big celebrity” and being a “box office star”. Lawrence is obviously a big celebrity while Woodley may get there, but box office stars just don’t exist anymore. At least not in the way they were 15+ years ago.
But that’s just my opinion, what do you think? Who do you guys think is a “box office star” nowadays?
Stick Shailene Woodley or Jennifer Lawrence in NIGHT MOVES and it may get a wider distribution (along with a higher advertising budget). But it ain’t crossing into 8-figures, good a movie as it is. Outside of hard-core fan club types, people don’t see actors in movies. They see certain actors in certain movies, sure, but mostly, the en masse legions swarm around concepts and properties. Look at Leo & Kate. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD made abut 5% (!!!) of what TITANIC made despite its stars becoming MORE famous in the interim. People didn’t see TITANIC for the actors; they saw it for the effects and romance and, eventually, to be part of a conversation. No matter how many girls stuck Philo, er, Leomania posters on their walls, they weren’t ready to drop $12 on 2 hours of suburban misery 11 years later.
Ryan brings up Kristen Stewart, probably the best example of this phenomenon. More people saw ON THE ROAD because of Kerouac than Kristen. Stars sell magazines more than they sell movies. Shailene Woodley can talk about her sunkissed vagina to a thousand different reporters all over the world and appear on every cover known to man. Put her in a Whit Stillman movie and it’ll gross a million dollars. And it’s not a knock on her or her skills as an actress (I like Woodley, Lawrence, Fanning, & Stewart, especially on screen and not in p.r. circle-jerks). It’s mathematics.
it’s what she does with her non young adult novel based films that will determine how big a star she truly is
I think Shailene Woodley is a very fine actress. I’m on record 3 years ago saying she was the only thing I found to be authentic about The Descendants. Me and the other 400 people who saw The Spectacular Now loved her in The Spectacular Now.
White Bird in a Blizzard is directed by Gregg Araki, known for his strange wickedly explicit, low-budget sexual fringe films that typically earn between $75,000 and $500,000. So while I’m psyched to see her cussing like a sailor and stark naked throughout half the movie it’s not fair to expect teenage fans to show up for that one (but what fun if they did!)
Since she’s booked solid with these Divergent Insurgent Detergent sequels for the next 4 years, Woodley’s box-office powers will certainly solidify and we’ll see her have opportunities in projects that truly measure what she can do flying solo without the safety buffer of presold bestseller branding.
I have no doubt that she can open a movie and carry a movie and in fact her increasing popularity will help ensure that movies about girls get made, movies that are built around her.
All this is good. It’s good in every way for all involved, especially for audiences.
It’s not even close. Check out Box Office Mojo. Edge of Tomorrow “flatlining”…may lose to Maleficent for second. Fault may make 55 mil for weekend.
i agree about the jennifer lawrence/kristen stewart/shailene woodley thing- the box office numbers for their movies was entirely driven by the pre-existing properties, similar to Harry Potter, and that’s good fortune for them
it’s possible lawrence has more clout now because of the David O.Russell movies and the Oscar- i do think she’s more famous than the other two. but i really have no idea if just her name can open a movie- probably not.
Sandra Bullock might be the only female star left in that sense, where people will come out to see her in anything. Maybe Angelina Jolie, but I don’t know- I would honestly argue the same thing about Maleficent, that it’s a property everyone knows and would very likely make money with some other actress in it too (at least if the success of Oz the Great and Powerful and Alice in Wonderland is anything to go by)
I can vouch for both EDGE OF TOMORROW and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. Great weekend and already one of the best summers comparable to 1984 – and to think we still have APES/GUARDIANS/22 JUMP/DRAGON 2 left, *and* that we lost JUPITER, and so many “smaller” films with great promise in between. Great turns all around from Cruise, Blunt, Woodley, Elgort. Go see them!
EDGE OF TOMORROW will probably not make as much money as it could have, but I only care that it’s very good, and can anyone help but marvel at Tom Cruise’s career now entering its fourth decade and still so solid.
Ryan,
I am glad to see you more active on the boards lately. I think you make some great points about the box office. I don’t think TFIOS is a huge success because of Woodley anymore than Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield are for playing Spider-Man. Fans of comic books and ya novels are what drive these films. They come out in droves for stories and characters they love. It’s what she does with her non young adult novel based films that will determine how big a star she truly is. I’m more than happy to see her succeed though as I think she is a very good actress.
Murtaza,
Every review I have read for Edge of Tomorrow has referenced Source Code and Groundhog Day. In addition, Edge of Tomorrow is based on a Japanese book called All You Need Is Kill, which was released in 2009. Source Code was released in 2011.
Critics are comparing it to Groundhog Day but I mean it in sci-fi context.
Edge of Tomorrow was fine, entertaining and i liked it, i didn’t love it and I’m definitely not going to watch it again.. But is it me or did anyone else also noted that how unashamedly they have stolen the concept from 2011’s SOURCE CODE, and nobody’s even mentioning it much.
she has become the kind of actress that can open a romantic drama at$40-50 Million.
No she hasn’t. Not without a presold world-wide bestseller to prop her up.
Come back in 4 or 5 months, cineJAB, and we’ll talk about the opening weekend box-office numbers for Shailene Woodley’s next movie: White Bird in a Blizzard.
It’s not going to be a $40 million weekend, I guarantee you. It won’t even be $10 million.
Let’s talk about her box-office clout in November.
this sentence is more sexist than you realize.
if you understand that sentence to be sexist then you misunderstood it.
and word of mouth The Spectacular Now has among younger audiences
you realize The Spectacular Now earned less than $7 million worldwide, right?
I’ll concede that all the kids who saw The Spectacular Now all know each other from band camp and they probably talked among themselves about it.
I liked The Spectacular Now. But the weekend it opened wide it earned a grand total of ONE Meelleeon Dollars. $1.1 million.
“Just like ‘Fanboys’ and Christians, ‘Fangirls’ are thing that exists — but they’re not a thing that gets mocked, and they don’t have their interests sneered at for some reason.”
this sentence is more sexist than you realize.
Also to say that Shailene Woodley’s involvement in this movie had nothing to do with it’s box office success is preposterous. Between the success of Divergent, which you can completely attribute to the source material, and and word of mouth The Spectacular Now has among younger audiences, she has become the kind of actress that can open a romantic drama at$40-50 Million.
respectfully disagree, Christophe.
Nearly none of the audience for X Men First Class knew Lawrence from Winter’s Bone.
The Hunger Games = Harry Potter. The Hunger Games would have been a huge hit even if Katniss had been stop-motion claymation.
Movies like Silver Linings pass $100 million without benefit of box-office super-stars all the time (Juno, Magic Mike, The Vow, Horrible Bosses.)
Now You See Me and Fahrenheit 9/11 made as much money as Silver Linings.
We’re the Millers made more money than American Hustle last year.
Without the pre-sold appeal of a franchise, Jennifer Lawrence’s box-office power is about equal to Jennifer Aniston.
With no franchise tentpole to dance on, Lawrence can add maybe $20 million to a movie that would have made $90 million without her.
I do agree that without Lawrence American Playbook and Silver Hustle might have earned less than $100 million.
But is that the threshold for box-office queen: an extra $20 million? wow. what astonishing power she has! 🙂
Melissa McCarthy adds $20 million to a movie’s gross every time she has explosive diarrhea in a sink.
Hunger Games + X-Men + Silver Linings ($132M USBO) + American Hustle ($150M USBO)
Notwithstanding her 2 franchises, I feel pretty confident she was one of the main reasons Slp and Hustle crossed the $100M threshold. That to me is enough to call JLaw a box office star, even though I also do not like her very much.
you’re ok, Melvel. I quoted your comments because I agree with you. It might have looked like you and I were butting heads, but in fact we feel much the same way about this issue.
Your Daniel Radcliffe / Harry Potter example was right on target. Nobody ever elevated Radcliffe to prince of the box-office or tried to say his good luck was proof of his irresistible audience magnetism.
Ryan, I understand. I am just tired of reading all these comments about how JLaw is such a box office star when it is not accurate at all. Neither does Shailene deserve to be called a box office star. Nowhere are they near the level of Julia Roberts in her prime.
“Somebody in charge of slating Edge of Tomorrow forgot that this weekend is the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs?”
Most importantly, this weekend are the French Open Finals at Roland Garros:
Sat. 9 am ET: Sharapova/Halep
Sun. 9 am ET: Nadal/Djokovic
Hopefully, Djokovic will finally prevail since it’s the only Grand Slam he hasn’t won yet Nadal has won it every year for the last 10 yrs, enough is enough!
Somebody in charge of slating Edge of Tomorrow forgot that this weekend is the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs?
^^ My thoughts too.
Gautam Anand, the personal beliefs were discussed on this post a couple of days ago:
Schooling Shailene Woodley on the Word Feminist
yikes!
Christophe,
True.
Joke: Tom, this is botox. Botox, meet Tom.
Just kidding. Tom does look great for his age.
Shailene or not Shailene, I have zero interest in seeing this.
Al Robinson, though he might not open at #1 Tom Cruise still makes decent enough numbers, especially if you factor in international audiences, and I wish I’ll look as good as he does when in my 50’s.
Gautam Anand, here: http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/schooling-shailene-woodley-on-the-word-feminist/
What’s the personal beliefs of Shailene, that Sasha’s talking about ? Any leads Ryan ? .. I am intrigued.
She seems more sensible and reasonable than most of the actresses of her age and even beyond.
BUT come on Sasha and Ryan!? Why oh why have you guys not put Ralph Fiennes in the Best Actor frontrunners after his magnificent turn in The Grand Budapest Hotel? I thought Awards Daily was suppose to follow its own rules, not the industry and the web
We’ll fix that. I promise. We missed the first window of opportunity to push for Grand Budapest Hotel. But it’s quietly earned $157 million worldwide (for comparison Blue Jasmine earned $97 mil worldwide) and it remains one of the best reviewed movies of the year.
Its Blu-ray/DVD will be released next week, so that’s the second window of opportunity, Manuel. We won’t miss it this time.
I just want to add: I might sound like I’m flaring up at you, Melvel, but I’m very well aware that you and I AGREE about this. We both feel the same way about Jennifer Lawrence and her extraordinary good fortune.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your previous recent comments, Melvel?
Exactly! Me and my pal Melvel agree: These actresses are NOT responsible for the success of their sure-fire box-office bonazas.
I’m happy for these actresses. I’m glad to see them succeed. But they are not Hollywood saviors. Nope, Hollywood saved them — Hollywood saved them from the oblivion where 1000 equally talented actresses languish.
The 8.30 PM screening on AMC Lincoln in NYC was probably packed because I saw L O T S of teenage girls rush into that theater. Some had dragged their boyfriend with them. I asked one of them and she said has read the book and looked forward to the movie, though this little teen could not name the actress playing the lead role. Shailene Woodley, will be a more house hold name now
I watched Edge of Tomorrow that surprise surprise did not suck at all. Humor and good action. Emily Blunt was great and so was Tom Cruise
BUT come on Sasha and Ryan!? Why oh why have you guys not put Ralph Fiennes in the Best Actor frontrunners after his magnificent turn in The Grand Budapest Hotel? I thought Awards Daily was suppose to follow its own rules, not the industry and the web
SERENA
Thanks, phantom, for helping me make my point.
Not only can Lawrence not even open a movie on her name alone — her name is not even enough to lure a distributor.
And I very much admire Kristen Stewart. I think she’s incredible.
But here’s what happens when Stewart is not in a movie based on a teenage vampire story that sold 120 million books worldwide. She stars in On the Road — which earned 744,000 dollars and 15 cents.
(Sorry, absolutely cannot resist).
Oh dear, did Ryan just refer to Ryan as Ryan?? Third person becomes a slipery slope my friend.
(Ha ha ha) 😉
(I think I’ve made myself into the court jester of Awards Daily. But then again, maybe I always have.)
A few weeks ago Sasha posted that JLaw was a box office star, because of her success with The Hunger Games films. Yet I don’t recall Ryan commenting on that post that any young actress could have made that film a hit and ride on the popularity of those books.
Ok melvel, here you go:
Ryan Adams says this: Any talented young actress could have starred in The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games would still have been a 2 billion dollar trilogy.
– The Hunger Games MADE J-Law a box-office phenom. Not the other way around.
– The Twilight franchise MADE Kristen Stewart a box-office phenom. Not the other way around.
– Divergent and Fault in Our Stars have now MADE Shailene Woodley a box-office phenom. Not the other way around.
Who do you think is showing up to spend $45 million to see Fault in Our Stars this weekend? 15-year-old fans The Descendants? No.
In fact, where were you when it was first announced that Shailene Woodley had been cast for TFIIOS? Did you miss all the wailing and gnashing of teeth from fans of the book who said Woodley was way too old for the role?
The buzz around Shailene Woodley from teenagers a year ago was this: (a) Shailene Who? and (b) She’s nothing like Hazel.
Check it out, melvel:
Jennifer Lawrence is NOW a box-office star. But she wasn’t before The Hunger Games. Sure, X-Men First Class earned $146 mil. But you’re not going to say that’s because millions of people lined up to see Lawrence, are you?
Would X-Men First Class have still earned $146 million if hot-body newcomer Nancy Prancy has been cast as Mystique? Yes. Yes it would have.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think Lawrence and Stewart and Woodley are magical box-office wizards. I think all 3 of them ONLY BECAME world-famous AFTER they had the good fortune to be cast in movies that were ALREADY GUARANTEED to be hugely popular blockbusters.
Yes, they’re all 3 very talented actresses. But it’s an INSULT to 1000 other equally talented actresses to suggest that NOBODY else could have played Katniss or fucking Mystique.
Sorry if I refuse to participate in buying into another dream-factory illusion to create another box-office goddess monstrosity who then sucks up all the plum female roles in every high-profile movie — so we end up talking about the same 10 goddamned actresses every year while hundreds of other brilliant actresses are out of work.
Did nobody really watch the opening scene of The Player? Did nobody understand the scathing satire when every single pitch to Griffin Mill was a VEHICLE for Julia Roberts?
On the basis on ONE MOVIE: Pretty Woman. But because Pretty Woman earned $450 Roberts suddenly became THE ONLY girl who could save Hollywood.
Have we learned nothing? It’s ludicrous.
Rob Y
Jennifer Lawrence’s BO track record is enviable without doubt BUT I think looking strictly at the numbers could be very misleading in her case. She is definitely a draw but IMO not even close to the BO power someone like Sandra Bullock has or once upon a time, Julia Roberts had. Truth is she is headlining a big franchise that can rely on the built-in audience and the hefty marketing push, something another franchise she is part of can count on, as well, although in that second case she isn’t the lead just part of a BIG ensemble. She may have been the female lead but most certainly not THE lead in Silver Linings Playbook (a film that had the infamous Weinstein-push and plenty of Oscar buzz) and she was supporting in American Hustle.
As I said, she is definitely a draw but she hasn’t proven what she can do on her name alone…well, she has actally : The House at the End of the Street. Truth is she had PLENTY help with all of her hit films. Good news that she is building such a high-profile image with the franchises and constant Oscar talk that sooner or later she COULD be a solo draw who can turn a low-budget mediocre film (Sleeping with the Enemy, The Proposal) or an orinigal tentpole (Gravity) into a hit mostly just with her name.
melvel,
I would agree with you about JLaw if it was limited to just the first Hunger Games. Since then, she has won an Oscar, got nominated for a second, opened a second Hunger Games, and was a headliner for a major ensemble action film. She’s earned the box office star status.
A few weeks ago Sasha posted that JLaw was a box office star, because of her success with The Hunger Games films. Yet I don’t recall Ryan commenting on that post that any young actress could have made that film a hit and ride on the popularity of those books.
I don’t understand the difference? Both women have had hits based on popular books. Those films became hits because of the books and not because of their headlining the films. Same with Kristen Stewart for Twilight.
So let’s not call one (JLaw) a box office star and not grant the same “honor” to the others (KStew, Shailene).
I’ll probably like the movie when I see it eventually, but I know I already like the song in the tv preview:
Boom Clap
The sound of my heart
The beat goes on and on and on and on and
Boom Clap
You make me feel good
Come on to me come on to me now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOPMlIIg_38&feature=kp
Have to agree, Aragorn. Any talented young actress between the ages of 16 and 22 who got this role was going to be able to ride the pre-sold popularity of the book to #1 or #2 this weekend.
I think it’s fantastic that a movie that revolves around a lead female character will most likely be the top box-office winner this weekend. But it’s nothing to do with Shailene Woodley specifically.
I’m happy for her because this spring has launched her career into the stratosphere on the basis of two popular roles — and she deserves the good fortune.
Did “Aaron Taylor-Johnson take the box-office” 2 weeks ago? Nope. The movie he was in, that’s what people paid to see.
We didn’t have a headline that said, “Chris Evans is box-office champ,” the weekend Captain America opened.
We didn’t say “Russell Crowe takes the box-office crown” when Noah won the weekend.
Fanboys and Christians got the credit (blame?)
Just like ‘Fanboys’ and Christians, ‘Fangirls’ are thing that exists — but they’re not a thing that gets mocked, and they don’t have their interests sneered at for some reason.
The Fault is in Our Stars could rake in an amazing $45 mil this weekend — a little less than 300: Rise of Empire earned. On March 7, nobody was saying “Rodrigo Santoro wins the box-office.”
Sincerely truly glad to see Shailene Woodley’s star rising, but she didn’t make The Fault in Our Stars a hit. John Green did.
===
*(I can’t stand the terms ‘fanboys’ or ‘fangirls’. I’m only using the words to make a point).
And Shailene Woodley is not the #1 reason why this movie may open as the #1 movie of the weekend….
I have absolutely nothing against The Fault in Our Stars taking the top spot of the weekend’s box office if it does, but I just want to point out then, look at how far Tom Cruise has fallen. Wow!! A film of his, wouldn’t even take the top opening weekend spot anymore. Yikes!
Box Office Mojo and Box Office Prophets predicted Fault would easily win the weekend well before Busch or Wells did. Just saying.
“Edge of Tomorrow has a strong performance by Emily Blunt”
True, so maybe worth noting that The Fault is in Our Stars would not have a story if there wasn’t a relationship between the two leads, a girl and boy, and the boy is Ansel Elgort.
I’m hearing Woodley and Elgort are equally excellent. There would not be an audience for this movie (or for the book) if female ticketbuyers (and female readers) were not interested in the love story.
“worth noting is that it will be the second weekend that a film headlined by a woman took the box office”
In fact The Fault is in Our Stars and Maleficent could be #1 and #2 this weekend.
Somebody in charge of slating Edge of Tomorrow forgot that this weekend is the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs?
No way am I going to see this. It’ll take away the box office powers of the menfolk and we can’t have that.
The film cost 12M, it looks to open 40M+ and end up with at least 120M. It also got surprisingly good reviews and is based on acclaimed and wildly popular source material. I think we should at least entertain the thought that a big studio like Fox will try to turn this into Oscar gold. Not that it could win anything, but I saw it yesterday and it was very good so if the film gets a campaign, I could see Woodley and the script could as contenders, maybe song, too and if there is any justice there will be some supporting actress talk, as well. The great Laura Dern delivered a subtle, nuanced and heartbreaking performance and made every second of her limited screentime count.
P.S. UsuLly not that into Tom Cruise but The Edge of Tomorrow was great and it’s nice to have so many strong female characters in studio films at the same time : Rita, Maleficent, Aurora, Hazel, her mom.