‘Mortdecai’ To Continue Johnny Depp’s Downward Spiral In The World Of Film

Johnny Depp’s new movie, Mortdecai, has been predicted to bring in about $12 million this weekend, according to Forbes magazine. The book-to-film production of a 1970s comic series was thought to be a good idea by producer David Koepp. So good of an idea, in fact, that $60 million was spent making the film. If Mortdecai does fail as predicted, it will be Depp’s fourth failed film, which is a massive change for the highly sought after actor.

In the past, Johnny Depp films like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and Alice in Wonderland brought in $8.3 billion. But critics have stated that Depp’s attraction to weirdness, just like the actor himself, has gotten old. Johnny Depp, 51, is an actor known to partake in fictitious character roles that excite the imagination. At the age of 40, Depp played Captain Jack Sparrow for the first time in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. That was a time when Johnny Depp was still People’s Sexiest Man Alive and men in full makeup with a flare for the dramatics were considered hot.

Since then, however, Depp’s movies have accumulated less and less. Once the film Transcendence rolled around, Johnny Depp films were only bringing in a $3 million profit. This was the moment that caused Depp to become one of Hollywood’s most overpaid actors. In a recent survey, Johnny Depp was the second most overpaid actor, coming in just behind Adam Sandler.

In the footsteps of previous Johnny Depp works, Mortdecai is a quirky role which involves the actor wearing a silly mustache. While not in full flamboyant makeup like in Alice in Wonderland, this film is exactly what fans and critics alike expect from Depp. It is therefore exactly the type of film he should not be making at this point in his career. The numbers from his last three films are evidence that the weirdness is no longer sexy and no longer worth the $20 million salary Johnny Depp has grown accustomed to. This is why the actor was forced to take a pay cut of half of his normal salary for the 2013 film The Lone Ranger. Reportedly, Depp has taken pay cuts for every recent film.

With the likeliness that Mortdecai, a film version of author Kyril Bonfiglioli’s book The Great Mustache Mystery, will flop on its opening weekend, Johnny may finally take the hint. Maybe play in a period film, since many believe that the actor is stuck in the past, believing that he’s still on top. Mortdecai opened in theaters on Friday.