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Warner Bros. (NASDAQ:WBD) is capitalizing on the most recent box-office success story among actors, signing Timothée Chalamet to a multi-year first-look feature film deal.
Chalamet has headlined two hits in a row for the venerable studio: In December, he led the Willy Wonka prequel story Wonka, which has crossed $632M in global theatrical grosses.
Most recently, Dune: Part Two (WBD) has crossed $575M in global grosses after just three weeks of release. Part one of Dune, released in September 2021, drew $406M worldwide.
Chalamet is the first actor in four decades to star in the top two domestic films within an eight-month span, Warner Bros. says.
The move launches the actor in the realm of earning double-digit millions for each film, making him among the highest paid actors in Hollywood. And while it means that Chalamet can make projects at other studios, Warner Bros. will get right of first refusal on them.
In its most recent quarterly results, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) noted that its Studios segment revenues fell 17% year-over-year to $3.17B -- largely due to TV revenue dropping significantly. Its theatrical revenue increased thanks to a bigger release slate including not only Wonka but also Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Color Purple.