Brad Pitt’s comeback failed

Brad Pitt and Paramount Pictures have a lot in common these days. Both Pitt and Paramount leaned into machismo to appeal to a broader male demographic; both try to salvage their reputations after a series of tumultuous events and bad press; and neither has released a good film in over a year. Is it really any wonder that their last collaboration, the by-the-numbers survival film “Heart of the Beast,” was crushed by a seven-year-old superhero film?

If you’ve been following the headlines, probably not. After David Ellison acquired Paramount and set his sights on Warner Bros., goodwill was hard to come by for the studio. Similarly with Pitt, a series of abuse allegations from his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, led the actor to prioritize production over acting, intervening behind the scenes to minimize the damage. Maybe if viewers don’t see as much of Pitt, they’ll forget the allegations and accept him as a movie star again. When “F1” posted blockbuster numbers last summer, it looked like this strategy might work.

But with “Heart of the Beast” generating only a fraction of the response that Pitt’s films had less than a decade ago, it’s obvious that his star power has taken a hit. Case in point: “Heart of the Beast” was beaten in its opening weekend by “Avengers Endgame: Encore,” a theatrical re-release of Marvel’s 2019 hit. Although the new edition includes a few minutes of new footage, it’s telling that a slice of pre-pandemic superhero action — which any viewer could easily launch in their living room with the press of a button — stomped all over Pitt’s newest film.

It’s hard to say exactly whether the underperformance is the result of Pitt’s smug Hollywood persona, or the fact that “Heart of the Beast” — where Pitt and his faithful dog, both Army veterans, must brave the elements in absurd ways — is just a “Homeward Bound” for beer-drinking buddies. But it’s telling that unless a hugely popular sport with a built-in audience is involved, participation in a Pitt film declines. Even the false prestige of 2022’s “Babylon” failed to convince viewers. If neither Oscar bait movies nor dude movies work for Pitt, perhaps he should consider that positioning himself on screen as the image of militarized masculinity might not appeal to those reading the news.