With the success of Dune: Part Two in the early quarter of 2024 and after a banner year in Hollywood in 2023 even with one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history. It seems to have signaled a changing of the guard in the Industry. The big stars will always have their place in the galaxy. But in the last five years, there has been a shift in the actors and actresses who are putting out movies consistently and continuing to either turn profits or receive high levels of acclaim from critics.
Below are my Hollywood Power Rankings for the new crop of box office superstars. I have left out the institutional star power of established megastars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. These actors and the ones similar to them are part of the fabric of Hollywood. But all industries need a new generation of stars to transport itself forward and without further ado: my Hollywood Power Rankings.
10 – Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Aaron’s ranking isn’t just because he is rumored to be the next James Bond, but it helps. Taylor-Johnson has racked up an impressively diverse resume of films. Ranging from period pieces like Anna Karenina and Outlaw King to big set piece projects such as Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tenet and Bullet Train.
This isn’t even counting three of his unreleased projects all due out in 2024, The Fall Guy, Marvel’s Craven the Hunter and the highly anticipated Nosferatu. He has the looks and debonair style to be the hero or sinister villain. If he becomes the next James Bond, the sky is literally the limit and I hope it happens.
9 – Sydney Sweeney
This spot is definitely layered with intrigue. Personally, I don’t think Sydney Sweeney belongs with the other actors and actresses on this list. But, she brings a Gen-Z relevance to a project. I think she has a shine that is hard to look away from for some moviegoers and with the right project, she can do well.
I believe she is a raw talent and in the right roles, she can grow as an actress. There is no denying though that she is the most desired American actress of the moment with recent projects that she both starred and produced (Anyone But You and Immaculate). Time will tell if Sydney Sweeney can develop into more than a sex symbol and into a multi-dimensional actress.
8 – Jacob Elordi
Elordi is a sneaky addition to this list. Much of what I’m basing him on is his potential. I first learned about Elordi like many did through Euphoria. But I became aware of his popularity while watching red carpets — standing at a towering 6’5” and bringing an undeniable presence to the screen.
Like many others, I thought he was just a run-of-the-mill tall, hot guy but after watching his portrayal as Elvis in Priscilla, my mind was changed. With rave reviews after Priscilla, he is wasting no time. With three projects in the works including Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, I think if he can keep this pace he will be someone to watch in the next five years.
7 – Barry Keoghan
If we were talking about pure talent and fearlessness, Barry Keoghan is all of that. He has such good taste in the projects he takes and he can play the supporting or leading role as was evident in the Oscar-nominated Banshees of Inisherin. I don’t think he’ll be playing supporting roles anymore. His tenacity and willingness to take risks was evident in Saltburn.
He is an actor with a capital A. Molding into whatever his character requires and his Irish cool is infectious when it comes to promoting films and that is more than half of the business in today’s day and age. The hardcore moviegoers love his ability to bring out the depths of his characters and the casual moviegoers see him as a male sex symbol for the new age. Both can be vital to building a superstar in today’s day and age.
6 – Florence Pugh
Florence consistently puts out top-tier movies and projects a desirable and icy exterior, but below the surface has depths to explore. She first splashed onto the scene with Fighting with My Family but then followed it up with arthouse powerhouses — Midsommar and Little Women. She branched out to mass audiences in Black Widow and was the lead of the dysfunctional Don’t Worry Darling — none of which was because of her.
Pugh has hit a home run two years in a row. Playing supporting roles in Oscar winner Oppenheimer and the recent smash hit Dune: Part Two. She brings the same energy that Sharon Stone and Cate Blanchett brought to the screen. Her only hurdle that I can see is she must step up and be front and center of a box office titan. I think she is more than capable and with two projects in the works (Thunderbolts and We Live in Time), she will continue to display her prowess.
5 – Glenn Powell
Powell has the most potential to become a megastar. As the oldest member on this list, he has done bit parts in The Dark Knight Rises and a bunch of voice-acting gigs. With the explosion of the 2022 hit Top Gun: Maverick, he played the updated versions of Iceman to Miles Tellers’ Rooster. He had all the fun lines and classic 80’s cool guy vibes and parlayed that into the sneaky hit Anyone but You. It showcased his leading man charisma and comedic timing and in my opinion, out-shined his co-star Sydney Sweeney in this romantic comedy.
Glenn is in for an exciting 2024 with two more movies set for wide release in Hit Man and my personal favorite Twisters. It’s almost as if the Dune: Part Two magic even extended to its trailers. One of the best parts of seeing Dune three times was the fact that I was able to watch Glenn Powell’s Twisters trailer every time. It’s so fun watching an actor become a star before your eyes, even if it’s been in the works for a while, but that’s what makes the payoff even sweeter.
4 – Anya Taylor-Joy
This is one of my favorite entries on the list. Many first met her in The Queen’s Gambit and since then, she has gone on a run of auteur-driven cinema including, Last Night in Soho, The Northman, The Menu and of course Princess Peach in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. She brings a classic femme fatale to her roles, almost like Medusa where if you get too close, it’s possible she’ll freeze you in stone.
She reminds me most of Charlize Theron, which makes sense because, in only a few weeks, she will reprise the role that Theron made famous as Imperator Furiosa. Not to mention she was the surprise casting in Dune: Part Two — joining the ranks of what I believe is the catalyst of the new power in Hollywood. Everyone at this point on the list including Anya Taylor-Joy no longer are just raw talents but rather masters of their craft.
3 – Austin Butler
Austin Butler is the King of Cool. He really is the modern Paul Newman, mixing effortless charisma with surprising depth. Most people were introduced to Butler in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I don’t think anyone thought he would become the megastar he is today. He had almost three years between projects (most of it due to the pandemic) but followed up Once Upon a Time with the star-making, Elvis. This included an Oscar nomination that he would eventually lose to Brenden Fraser, but he would win the season. Once he was introduced to the masses, he hasn’t looked back.
Following up Elvis with Dune: Part Two as Feyd-Rautha, the demonic enemy of Paul Atreides (Chalamet). A scene stealer and many already tapping him for Oscar consideration, he will also lead the Jeff Nichols feature The Bikeriders coming out in 2024 — which personally when I watch the trailer and he’s standing behind a dive bar pool table and he looks up from his stellar blond hair all I can say is, that’s a movie star.
2 – Emma Stone
I wanted to include only stars that have just arrived at the peak of their powers. But, I simply could not leave off Emma Stone. Honestly, Emma Stone is at a different stratosphere compared to the others on this list as she is one of the most bankable stars and does projects that she wants to do. With four Oscar nominations and two wins for Best Actress, she commands the most power of almost any actress. She proved with Poor Things that she could take the most grotesque seeming character and make the audience care for her deeply.
She’s teamed up with Yorgos Lanthimos again in the anthology film Kinds of Kindness, which will be released later in 2024 and seems to have found a creative partner in Lanthimos the way that De Niro had Scorsese. She is also slated to star in Ari Aster’s contemporary Western Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler.
1 – Timothée Chalamet
He is definitely the man of the moment. Chalamet has proven himself again and again. Ripping off a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in over 40 years by having two Top Box Office Movies within an eight-month span (Wonka and Dune: Part Two.). Chalamet could have been just an arthouse star, staring in Lady Bird and Little Women. He showcased his potential to lead a big box office production in Dune, which had lost much of its anticipation due to the pandemic and day-and-date releases on then HBO Max.
Wonka was placed squarely on his shoulders and if you had heard any pre-release chatter, you would have thought it was going to be the biggest bomb of 2023. But instead, the Chalamet effect came through boosting its international box office gross of over $600M only to follow this up with Dune: Part Two in early February 2024 — becoming the biggest hit of the year so far.
With Chalamet becoming the newly minted box office golden boy it was only fitting for Warner Bros to ink him to an exclusive deal to star and produce more films with the studio. He only has one production on his schedule right now, but it’s not just any production, it is a film where he will portray the incomparable Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. We asked ourselves if we would ever have a true blue movie star again and right now, Timothée Chalamet is the answer.
— Written by VSiN’s Brian Ortega
