Robert Downey Jr., Lee Pace, and Will Smith All Have This Achievement in Common
As the movie industry continues to change and transform, one of the hardest things to do is consistently star in hit films. Robert Downey Jr., Will Smith, and Lee Pace are among the most accomplished Hollywood stars we have today.
Part of the reason for their appeal, at least from a business perspective, is that they star in movies that make money. Although the three have never worked together, they're all movie stars in the old-fashioned sense and know how to pick projects.
What actually unites Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., and Lee Pace is the fact that they've all starred in five consecutive movies that made more than $100 million at the box office.
While this speaks to all three star's bankability, in today's Hollywood, it also speaks to their ability to land a major franchise. In Robert Downey Jr.'s case, his streak came entirely from Marvel movies. In fact, most of these movies grossed way more than $100 million by the end of their runs.
Downey Jr.'s five in a row were "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Captain America: Civil War," "Spiderman: Homecoming," "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." If the actor wants to keep the streak going, his upcoming movie "Dolittle" will have to perform well.
Because that movie is outside of the Marvel universe, it'll be entirely reliant on Downey's ability to draw an audience as a movie star. Only time will tell whether that skill pans out for him outside of his signature franchise.
For Lee Pace, the trend came largely from franchises as well. The most crucial of these were "The Hobbit" movies, but he's also been a part of the Marvel universe, albeit in a smaller role than Downey.
Pace's five films in a row were "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2," "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," "Guardians of the Galaxy," and "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies." That's quite a run of different franchises.
Will Smith's run is the most remarkable for a couple of reasons. One of them is that Smith actually had eight movies in a row gross more than $100 million, and another is that he did it largely outside of existing franchises.
His run is "Men in Black II," "Bad Boys II," "I, Robot," "Shark Tale," "Hitch," "The Pursuit of Happiness," "I Am Legend," and "Hancock." That's quite a run, and it proves that Smith was a uniquely successful movie star in his prime.
