Is Timothée Chalamet this generation’s John Travolta? Well, the box office certainly says so. With the recent commercial success of Wonka and Dune: Part Two, Chalamet has found himself in some pretty illustrious company. He’s become the first actor in over four decades to star in the top two domestic-grossing films over a span of eight months.
Wonka, the third live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl’s landmark children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, sees Chalamet transform into the famous chocolatier. The Paul King-directed film, which focuses mainly on the origin story of the candyman, grossed over $630 million worldwide and over $200 million domestically upon its debut earlier this winter—a rather impressive feat given the project’s entire budget was just over $100 million.
Chalamet’s box office domination continued to hit a fever pitch upon the theatrical release of his latest blockbuster, Dune: Part Two. The Denis Villeneuve epic has currently amassed record numbers at the box office, grossing over $400 million in just a little over two weeks into its release. For those keeping track, yes, that over $1 billion (and counting) in ticket sales Mr. Chalamet has amassed. Which, for a pair of non-Marvel movies, is quite the feat.
The accomplishment also earned Chalamet status as the first actor since John Travolta to star in two box office-topping films within eight months. Travolta, who led Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978), previously held onto that record for 44 years.
It’s hard to deny Chalamet is quickly becoming one of Hollywood’s foremost actors—in addition to his box office triumphs, he’s notched an Oscar nomination for his 2017 breakthrough performance in Call Me By Your Name. Currently, the actor is filming another leading man rite of passage: a showy biopic.
Chalamet has been tapped by director James Mangold to star in A Complete Unknown which will document Bob Dylan’s earliest years in New York as well as the 1965 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan “went electric,” according to a synopsis. Per Mangold, Chalamet will do his own singing in the film (something he did plenty of in Wonka). Elle Fanning will co-star as Chalamet’s love interest, Sylvie Russo.
In a recent interview, Chalamet said he worked with Austin Butler’s Elvis team to emulate Dylan’s voice and movement. For what it’s worth, Butler’s 2022 portrayal of the Rock and Roll legend earned him a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award as well as a Best Actor Oscar nomination. “I just saw the way [Butler] committed to it all,” Chalamet told GQ last year, adding “[I] realized I needed to step it up.”
