The Town with Matthew Belloni Gosling, MBJ, Timmy, and the Biggest Movie Stars Under 50 Power Ranking
44 snips
Mar 23, 2026 
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg reporter who tracks the film business and box office trends. They unpack Project Hail Mary’s surprise $140M weekend. They debate whether filmmakers or franchises are safer bets. They re-rank the biggest movie stars under 50, weighing Gosling’s breakout weekend against Chalamet’s consistency and sizing up contenders like Michael B. Jordan, Zendaya, ScarJo and Ryan Reynolds.
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Reframing Movie Star Power As Theatrical Draw
- Movie star power under 50 is now measured by who can still drive theatrical attendance, not streaming buzz.
- Matt Belloni polled producers and limited criteria to "butts-in-seats" theatrical draw for under-50 actors to reset the pecking order.
Favor Franchises But Watch For Original Breakouts
- When building movie slates, prioritize franchises for reliable large grosses but remain open to original filmmakers who can create breakout hits.
- Matt warns franchises still win drafts, but exceptions like Sinners and Project Hail Mary prove original hits matter.
Michael B Jordan Is The Current Top Box Office Draw
- Michael B. Jordan is the consensus number one among producers for under-50 movie-star draw right now.
- Lucas Shaw and Matt Belloni cite his Oscar, Sinners' $370M worldwide and careful role choices pairing original and franchise work as proof.