Director Oliver Stone’s newest film, “Snowden,” was released in theaters this weekend, and had all the elements of a success. Its combination of a true story about an extremely relevant and interesting public figure, an acclaimed director, the tiniest amount of Oscar buzz, and most importantly, a giant movie star taking the lead in Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

With all these elements, this movie had to be No.1 at the box office this weekend right? No, not No. 1, how about No. 2? Exact numbers haven’t arrived yet, but currently “Snowden” is sitting in fourth place with an opening of around $8 million, less than half of what “Sully” brought in on its first weekend.

Now, you’d expect a movie anchored by such a cool and suave public figure like Joseph Gordon-Levitt to have a great opening, right? I probably would. But that’s actually a hugely unrealistic expectation. In fact, not only is that unrealistic, but it’s actually never happened. Since the release of “500 Days of Summer” in 2009, JGL has been the lead in seven films including “Snowden.” Of those seven, only one has opened above $20 million: “Looper,” in which he co-starred with Bruce Willis.

The other six films, two of which he co-starred in with Seth Rogen, have opened to $42.4 million, with not a single one opening over $10 million. For context, JGL co-starred in “The Dark Knight Rises,” which opened to $160.9 million, or about four times as much as JGL’s movies combined. With meaty ensemble roles in critically-acclaimed films such as “Inception,” “Lincoln” and the previously mentioned Batman film, JGL has gotten plenty of exposure, but his movies just aren’t performing. Something must be going on.

This may be harsh, but JGL is probably one of the biggest disappointments in Hollywood over the last decade. I only say this because of his potential. The guy can truly do everything: sing, dance, act, charm and even direct. On top of that, he has 4 million Twitter followers. Millennials think he’s cool, and older generations have nothing to be offended by, yet still no butts in the seats.

But his lack of offensiveness may just be his problem. While in previous decades being an everyman was a great way to attract audiences, in the fragmented world of 2016, you really need to stand out.

One of Hollywood’s biggest stand-outs is Leonardo DiCaprio. Whether you like him or hate him, everyone has an opinion about him. People love talking about him, and they can’t wait to see what he does next.

Compare that to JGL, who is clearly very talented, but has never really wowed. Take his turns in “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception.” He was definitely solid in those films, but not a scene stealer. Fun to watch? Sure. Memorable? Not particularly.

When people talk about JGL, there’s a few who love him, but the general consensus is, “Oh yeah, I like that guy, I guess.” In this day and age, anyone and everyone can be a celebrity, but you must have something special to really be a star. You have to have an edge, a charm, and an ability to get people talking.

One thing, for better or worse, that is not necessarily required is talent. In this day and age, it is harder and harder to be a celebrity who can sell movie tickets.

Even reliable classics like Will Smith and Tom Cruise have had recent struggles. While Joseph Gordon-Levitt is an amazingly talented person, he has yet to demonstrate the charisma and persona to really generate buzz and get people to take out their wallets.

At this point, there are two options: JGL needs to deliver a game-changing performance that will really get people talking — many thought “Snowden” would be that film — or Hollywood must accept that JGL being a bona fide star is like “fetch,” and they need to stop trying to make “fetch” happen. It’s not going to happen.

Erik Benjamin is a junior Television, Radio, Film major. If you want to talk movies, or for whatever reason talk about Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you can reach him at @embenjamin14 and [email protected]

Published on September 20, 2016 at 8:19 pm