2012 for Taylor Kitsch

After rewatching a critically and financially unsuccessful Taylor Kitsch film, I felt compelled to reflect on the impact his career had in 2012

Late one night, some friends and I were scrolling through Netflix when we decided to watch Battleship. While the film itself was no masterpiece, it provided plenty of undemanding fun, leaving everyone satisfied during its over two-hour runtime.

Released in May 2012, Battleship drastically underperformed, opening at $25.5 million domestically due to the sustained success of The Avengers two weeks earlier and poor marketing attempts, with many depicting it as a parody of Transformers. Coupled with poor reviews and mixed word-of-mouth, its long-term prospects did not improve, resulting in a horrendous $65.4 million finish. Fortunately, it found overseas appeal, grossing $303 million worldwide. However, against a reported budget of $209 million, Battleship's performance cost Universal roughly $150 million.

As the director, Peter Berg survived and continued to make films, supported by costars such as Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård, while Rihanna's singing and songwriting career remained unaffected. But for Kitsch, Battleship dealt a massive blow to his career, which had initially shown promise following supporting roles such as Gambit in X-Men: Origins and his performance in the hit television show Friday Night Lights.

Things might not have been as bad, but unfortunately, just two months earlier, Kitsch headlined yet another big-budget blockbuster that still holds a reputation as one of Hollywood's biggest bombs: John Carter. Given the source material, Disney had hoped to turn John Carter into their next big franchise with Kitsch as the lead in sequels, but things did not materialize.

In article released in 2022, ScreenRant released a statement from Kitsch about John Carter that conveyed:

“I still have great relationships with that movie, which says a ton. I have no ill will whatsoever, I learned a lot, man. And took some big strides personally and professionally through that. It hurt, obviously, at the time, but in retrospect, I wouldn't change a thing, to be honest. It is what it is, we all have those moments...It's fun when people stop and talk about JC and their kids, they watch it with their kids and whatnot. That's what it was for, you know, it was fun."

Like Battleship, John Carter fell victim to ineffective marketing and excessive expenses. In any scenario, allocating $250 million for the first film in an anticipated franchise is impractical. Even with a budget closer to $100 million, John Carter's outcome would not have significantly improved. Released in early March, it opened below expectations, reaching Prince of Persia: Sands of Time-level numbers with only $30.1 million. Due to competition and mixed word of mouth, its box office longevity was limited, culminating in a horrendous $73 million domestically and $284.1 million worldwide. In contrast to Battleship, John Carter eventually garnered a cult following as audiences discovered its merits during its post-theatrical run, appreciating it for what it truly was.

At this juncture, after experiencing consecutive high-profile failures within a mere two-month timeframe, Kitsch's career as a leading actor was essentially at its end. He had one final opportunity as a co-lead alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Blake Lively in Oliver Stone's Savages in July 2012. In comparison to Battleship and John Carter, this film was significantly cheaper and portrayed a more realistic narrative about the Mexican Cartel. It was refreshing to witness Kitsch exploring new territory in his acting career. And working in his favor, Savages thankfully did not bomb. It surpassed its $10 million tracking by coming in at $16 million during its first weekend, and has solid staying power given the mixed reviews and C+ CinemaScore. Ultimately, it concluded its domestic run at $47.3 million and gathered $82.9 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. While these numbers were not spectacular, the film enjoyed a commendable post-theatrical life and experienced a resurgence when it became available on Netflix a few months ago.

However, a better-than-expected performance alone was not sufficient to salvage Kitsch's career. Throughout 2012, his performances were never an issue, as audiences generally embraced seeing him on screen due to his confidence, physique, and appearence. But it was a matter of needing better roles. Since then, he has transitioned into supporting characters in films which suits him quite well. He reunited with Peter Berg in Mark Wahlberg’s Lone Survivor and delivered a terrific performance, as well as in Joseph Kosinski’s Only The Brave. He has also found success in television shows such as Netflix’s Painkiller, season two of True Detective, and The Terminal List alongside Chris Pratt.

Speaking of Chris Pratt, there are always those who end up like Kitsch for every big star like Pratt. The trajectory of Pratt’s career bears a resemblance to Kitsch’s. Both achieved success as supporting characters in acclaimed television shows, and then transitioned into theatrical roles with smaller parts before Hollywood gave them the opportunity to shine as leads in big-budget films.

Pratt’s breakout year came shortly after Kitsch’s in 2014. While The Lego Movie was a massive success, it did not fully showcase Pratt's star power as it was animated. But a few months later, arguably Marvel's riskiest project to date, Guardians of the Galaxy, hit theaters and proved to be a tremendous success. The film served as a brilliant spotlight for Pratt, showcasing his humor and ability to seamlessly switch between comedic and serious acting. Things only escalated the following summer with the release of Jurassic World which topped out at a mammoth $653.4 million domestically and $1.671 billion worldwide. Since then, Pratt has solidified his position as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and has expanded his repertoire by showcasing his talent as a voiceover artist in successful animated films.

Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World were not perceived as guaranteed smash hits leading up to their respective releases. However, due to their established IPs and pre-existing fanbases, both films felt like much safer bets compared to John Carter and Battleship. Whether Kitsch was destined to become a star or simply had bad luck with his roles, he serves as an unfortunate example of being miscast in the wrong roles.

During the last decade, Hollywood has incorrectly attempted to make blockbuster stars. When considering our non-MCU/superhero actors, Armie Hammer and Henry Goulding stand out as prime examples. Hammer has completely tarnished his reputation and will be lucky to ever act again, but nearly fifteen years ago he swept audiences away as a co-star in The Social Network with his portrayal of the Winklevoss twins. However, three years later, Hollywood decided to cast him in the bloated, overstuffed, $260 million remake of The Lone Ranger alongside Johnny Depp, just to see what would happen, as people seemed to like this guy. After that, Hammer landed some good roles in On The Basis of Sex and Call Me By Your Name, but his potential as a bankable lead was diminished, especially after The Man From U.N.C.L.E. flopped in 2015.

The same can be said for Goulding, who was magnificent as a supporting character in A Simple Favor and The Gentlemen and thrived as a lead in Crazy Rich Asians. However, Hollywood's attempt to elevate his career by casting him as Snake Eyes in the G.I. Joe origin film proved to be ineffective and nearly destroyed his career. Theatrically, Goulding will return to the spotlight next weekend for the first time in almost three years as a co-star in Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. But with no other future releases set, it seems unlikely that Goulding will achieve his pre-Snake Eyes heights for a long time.

2012 for Channing Tatum stands out as a primary example of how to build a star. Fortunately, leveraging the popularity of Transformers, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009 was deemed a success, maintaining Tatum's standing while green lighting a future installment. But the three way punch of The Vow, 21 Jump Street, and Magic Mike is what elevated him to new heights. Against a combined budget of a mere $79 million, the three films grossed a worldwide total of $564.8 million. In comparison, Kitsch achieved higher with his three films grossing $670 million, but there is more than meets the eye; his combined budget was $504 million. It is rather disappointing that some of Tatum’s follow-ups in later years included White House Down and Jupiter Ascending, which greatly deflated his bankability.

I am not saying that big-budget films are bad, but bigger does not always mean better. Sydney Sweeney stands out as a recent example of this. Instead of being cast in some overly expensive dumb action movie, she took the better approach with Anyone But You, a low-budget and small-scale rom-com that benefited from her appeal and popularity among fans, resulting in a career-defining role. She recently followed that up with the arthouse horror film, Immaculate. Its current earnings of $14.2 million domestically and $19.2 million worldwide may not seem substantial, but audiences are paying to see her in this role. Without Sweeney, these cumulative totals most definitely would have been significantly less.

Anyway, let us transition back to the subject of this article: Kitsch. At 43 years old, he is not particularly old, but it seems the glory days of his prime looks are behind him as he transitions into new phases of life. What do we envision for him moving forward? Can another shot at Hollywood greatness resurface, or, twelve years after a devastating 2012, is he a lost cause?