{"id":1697,"date":"2024-09-11T15:55:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2024-09-11T15:55:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T15:55:23","slug":"with-beetlejuices-110-million-box-office-debut-jenna-ortega-is-proving-shes-the-next-bankable-hollywood-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/?p=1697","title":{"rendered":"With &#8216;Beetlejuice&#8217;s $110 million box-office debut, Jenna Ortega is proving she&#8217;s the next bankable Hollywood star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" alt=\"Jenna Ortega wears a red tulle dress on the red carpet in front of photographers.\" charset=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/66df3fd25444ffafa763c3b6?format=jpeg\" height=\"683\"><figcaption>Jenna Ortega on the red carpet for &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Andreas Rentz\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The Jenna Ortega-starring &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice&quot; had the second-highest September opening ever at the box office.<\/li>\n<li>Ortega&#8217;s rise mirrors Zendaya&#8217;s, as both transitioned from Disney Channel shows to more mature roles.<\/li>\n<li>No young star is bigger than Zendaya. But Ortega&#8217;s niche playing darker roles could prove fruitful.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/zendaya-career-evolution-disney-to-marvel-hollywood-2017-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zendaya<\/a>&#8216;s meteoric rise from Disney Channel star to the most bankable young actress in Hollywood has been impressive to watch. In less than a decade, she&#8217;s gone from a staple on the Disney Channel to one on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/zendaya-met-gala-looks-ranked\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">red carpet,<\/a> fronting multimillion-dollar movie franchises like &quot;Dune&quot; and &quot;Spider-Man&quot; along with the occasional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/challengers-zendaya-tennis-training-brad-gilbert-interview-2024-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">edgy prestige tennis movie<\/a> \u2014 not to mention the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/how-zendaya-propelled-hbos-euphoria-to-new-viewership-heights-2022-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">edgy teen show<\/a> that was her breakthrough.<\/p>\n<p>But Zendaya needs to look over her shoulder \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/jenna-ortega-fun-facts-2022-12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jenna Ortega<\/a> is coming for her crown.<\/p>\n<p>This weekend, Ortega landed the biggest box office hit of her young career. &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,&quot; the sequel to Tim Burton&#8217;s classic 1988 movie, scored the second-highest opening weekend ever for the month of September at the domestic box office with $110 million.<\/p>\n<p>Though Ortega&#8217;s climb to stardom in some ways mirrors that of the &quot;Dune&quot; star, Ortega is forging a different path. Can she reach similar heights?<\/p>\n<h2 data-toc-id=\"3a26f219-6754-42d8-a742-986f384db67f\">Ortega has leaned into darker roles to find success<\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3840\" alt=\"Jenna Ortega with a ghost behind her\" charset=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/66def99883b8099cf9fcb079?format=jpeg\" height=\"1920\"><figcaption>Jenna Ortega in &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Warner Bros.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like Zendaya, 28, Ortega, 21, came up through the Disney machine as a child star, playing Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel series &quot;Stuck in the Middle&quot; and voicing Princess Isabel on the animated series &quot;Elena of Avalor.&quot; <\/p>\n<p>After her Disney Channel &quot;Shake It Up&quot;\/&quot;K.C. Undercover&quot; era, Zendaya broke through to the mainstream with a role on a (way more) mature show, HBO&#8217;s &quot;Euphoria.&quot; Ortega&#8217;s trajectory was similar: she hit it big as the star of the Netflix hit series &quot;Wednesday.&quot; <\/p>\n<p>Now, Ortega is taking the next step toward full-blown movie stardom, showing her worth as a bankable star leading a major franchise with &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.&quot;<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1333\" alt=\"Zendaya attends the &quot;Dune: Part Two&quot; premiere in London, England.\" charset=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/66defaf8a0ff598b2665b516?format=jpeg\" height=\"1000\"><figcaption>Zendaya attends the &quot;Dune: Part Two&quot; premiere in London, England.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Leal\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In reality, it would be difficult for any actress in their 20s to challenge Zendaya for the hearts and wallets of young moviegoers today (sorry, Sydney Sweeney fans: though Zendaya&#8217;s &quot;Euphoria&quot; costar is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/madame-web-box-office-failure-sydney-sweeneys-career-decisions-2024-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">building herself an impressive career<\/a> and even helping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/anyone-but-you-studio-rom-com-revival-2024-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revive rom-coms,<\/a> she doesn&#8217;t yet have a tentpole box office hit that can compare).<\/p>\n<p>But Ortega&#8217;s rise is intriguing in the ways her choices have differed from Zendaya&#8217;s. While Zendaya is no stranger playing characters who have some darkness, Ortega&#8217;s projects more often lean explicitly towards thriller and horror: Ellie Alves in &quot;You,&quot; the &quot;Scream&quot; franchise reboot, and, of course, her deadpan perfection as this generation&#8217;s Wednesday Addams. <\/p>\n<p>While Zendaya is going the classic Hollywood starlet route (along with acting, she can sing and dance), Ortega&#8217;s characters are often more sardonic, and her image more off the beaten path. That made her the perfect casting for Burton&#8217;s journey back to &quot;Beetlejuice.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>The question now is whether Ortega&#8217;s talents can expand beyond dark, brooding characters.<\/p>\n<h2 data-toc-id=\"d0922dc0-e325-4aeb-ae04-66512ef93b6f\">Like Zendaya, Ortega is using existing IP to grow her career<\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" alt=\"zendaya chani dune\" charset=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/66def8235444ffafa7639312?format=jpeg\" height=\"1200\"><figcaption>Zendaya plays Chani in the &quot;Dune&quot; franchise. <\/p>\n<p>Chiabella James\/Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&quot;Could you see Jenna Ortega doing &#8216;Challengers&#8217;?&quot;<\/p>\n<p>That was the response I got from a Hollywood producer when I asked about Ortega&#8217;s pursuit of Zendaya&#8217;s crown, referring to Zendaya&#8217;s acclaimed Luca Guadagnino tennis drama.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Jenna is bankable because of &#8216;Wednesday,&#8217; and that made her perfect for &#8216;Beetlejuice,&#8217;&quot; the producer continued. &quot;But also, I couldn&#8217;t see Zendaya in that movie. Jenna certainly has the range to carry certain movies.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>But the &quot;Wednesday&quot; act could get stale after a while, and that&#8217;s the challenge that lies ahead: the need to evolve.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" alt=\"A woman with black hair wearing red eye shadow and lipstick with a silver necklace and a red dress, designed in the shape of a heart.\" charset=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/66defa63a0ff598b2665b4da?format=jpeg\" height=\"1500\"><figcaption>Jenna Ortega at the 81 Venice International Film Festival for the &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice&quot; red carpet.<\/p>\n<p>Marilla Sicilia\/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The producer notes it all &quot;depends on the projects&quot; Ortega chooses, but the advantage of today&#8217;s movie star compared to decades ago is they have help at the box office in the form of existing IP. Whether it&#8217;s a beloved character from the Marvel universe or a beloved character from the mind of Tim Burton, audiences today are compelled to get to theaters by a mix of star power and familiar material.<\/p>\n<p>Case in point: While Ortega is fantastic in &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,&quot; for as many people who went to see it because she&#8217;s its star, the same went because they love Burton&#8217;s original. <\/p>\n<p>The same can be said about Zendaya in the &quot;Dune&quot; movies. While she delivers a powerful performance, there&#8217;s a legion of book fans who went to see &quot;Dune&quot; on the big screen regardless of who would play Chani.<\/p>\n<p>And in other world, that could have been <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/film\/news\/jenna-ortega-dune-audition-chani-zendaya-1236118803\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ortega&#8217;s role, too.<\/a><\/p>\n<div>Read the original article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/beetlejuice-2-box-office-jenna-ortega-hollywood-zendaya-2024-9\">Business Insider<\/a><\/div>\n<p>\nFuente: https:\/\/ift.tt\/4vtw2Fo<br \/>\nPublicado: September 9, 2024 at 04:27PM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jenna Ortega on the red carpet for &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice&quot; Andreas Rentz\/Getty Images The Jenna Ortega-starring &quot;Beetlejuice Beetlejuice&quot; had the second-highest September opening ever at the box office. Ortega&#8217;s rise mirrors Zendaya&#8217;s, as both transitioned from Disney Channel shows to more mature roles. No young star is bigger than Zendaya. But Ortega&#8217;s niche playing darker roles&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[75,76,77],"class_list":["post-1697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-news","tag-noticias","tag-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1698,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1697\/revisions\/1698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hectorkott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}