Will ‘Allied’ help Pitt rebound?
‘Leading-man vibe’ likely to outshine World War II vehicle
Spy drama comes amid divorce negotiations
Smile and wave. That’s a summary of how Brad Pitt has tackled his media tour for throwback spy drama Allied (in theaters Wednesday), which lands smack-dab in the middle of his divorce negotiations with Angelina Jolie.
Paramount, which is distributing the World War II tale, has carefully managed Allied’s preThanksgiving rollout. In Los Angeles, Pitt smiled and took selfies with fans alongside co-star Marion Cotillard at a “fan event” but did not participate in the news conference. In Shanghai, Paris and London, Pitt greeted fans but did not engage with the media.
While the world awaits answers — which may never come — about why the A-list couple split in September, a glossy new film can only help the image crisis that Pitt suffered after being accused of child abuse. (He was cleared by child protective services in Los Angeles and is pursuing joint custody of his six children with Jolie.)
But will Allied be the hit he needs? Reviews are mixed on the spy film, which 60% of critics like on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes. In USA TODAY’s review, Brian Truitt noted the leads “are missing a lot of needed heat” and warned fans not to “expect
Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Nazis.” Box office analysts don’t think that Allied — a prestige project in a holiday week crowded with popcorn fare like Moana and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — will accurately take the temperature of Pitt’s star power.
Predictions hover around $15 million to $20 million for Al
lied’s first five days in theaters. “It’s a period piece, it’s a war drama. It’s not like ‘the kids are all talking about it,’ ” says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, who notes that Brangelina’s contentious split may have increased awareness of the film.
In any case, it doesn’t hurt to have Pitt looking dashing onscreen, the sort of coiffed turn he typically avoids. Allied “looks like it could have been made in the ’40s, much less be about the ’40s,” says Deadline awards columnist Pete Hammond. “He and Marion Cotillard look like movie stars from the past.”
A world-dominating comeback is far likelier for Pitt’s sequel to
World War Z, but the big-budget zombie film, set for release June 2, still has an empty director’s chair. “They’re not going to make that release date unless he’s shooting it secretly somewhere,” says Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “But that’s probably where he’s headed after this whole tabloid debacle dies down.” (His Netflix satire War Machine, co-starring Tilda Swinton, waits in the wings for 2017.)
Offscreen, Pitt’s efforts are going full steam ahead. “The films Pitt’s produced lately through his production company Plan B are arguably even more fascinating ” than his onscreen roles, says Dave Karger, special correspondent for movie site IMDb.com.
Pitt won an Oscar for producing 12 Years a Slave in 2013, helped usher the Oscar-nominated comedy The Big Short to the big screen and is behind one of this year’s awards front-runners, the African-American coming-ofage drama Moonlight. Says Karger, “Clearly, he wants to bring otherwise untold stories to the screen, and it’s terrific that he’s using his influence to do that.”