Myles Aronowitz / Warner Bros. Pictures
By Robert W. Welkos, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer He's been dubbed the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine, but can he single-handedly open a movie? Clooney's latest film, the legal thriller "Michael Clayton," goes wide this weekend. The film did well in limited release last weekend, earning an average of close to $50,000 per theater. But looking at Clooney's overall career, one can't help but notice the box office disparity: Clooney's eclectic tastes mean that he has starred in as many flops ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" made $16 million) as blockbusters. Still, you can never count Clooney out -- either when he's making a popcorn movie or an intensely personal character-driven film. "He's a master of the tightrope," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Media by Numbers. "But being a risk taker means that not everything is a blockbuster. He's looking at projects that speak to him in his gut." A look at Clooney's ups and downs at the box office:
By Robert W. Welkos, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer He's been dubbed the "sexiest man alive" by People magazine, but can he single-handedly open a movie? Clooney's latest film, the legal thriller "Michael Clayton," goes wide this weekend. The film did well in limited release last weekend, earning an average of close to $50,000 per theater. But looking at Clooney's overall career, one can't help but notice the box office disparity: Clooney's eclectic tastes mean that he has starred in as many flops ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" made $16 million) as blockbusters. Still, you can never count Clooney out -- either when he's making a popcorn movie or an intensely personal character-driven film. "He's a master of the tightrope," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Media by Numbers. "But being a risk taker means that not everything is a blockbuster. He's looking at projects that speak to him in his gut." A look at Clooney's ups and downs at the box office: (Myles Aronowitz / Warner Bros. Pictures)
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