Steve Carell has $85 Million Reasons to Leave ‘The Office’
Steve Carell
Lots of fans are still in shock at the news that Steve Carell will be leaving The Office in May 2011. And the recent rumors of both Holly and Jan returning to the show next season certainly point to some sort of climax to Michael Scott’s love live. Still, people wonder why this is happening; “The Office just isn’t The Office without Steve Carell” or “Why would Steve do this now?”
Well, Despicable Me passed $85 million in grosses during it’s first week, far surpassing the box office expectations. And though some of us were interested in the other voices from the film such as Segel and McBride, only Carell’s name was put out there across all promotional vehicles and markets (I do think the promotion of Miranda Cosgrove on kid’s channels did help too). So, this is a big win for the film and for Carell.
In fact, as the first film from Universal’s new animated unit, the chances of sequels for Despicable are absolutely certain. This makes Carell three for three as the main comic relief in animated movies, following the success of Over the Hedge and Horton Hears a Who!
Okay okay but why is Carell leaving The Office again? Well, take a look at Carell’s box office performance:
- Date Night, $98,125,273
- Get Smart, $130,319,208
- Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, $154,529,439
- Dan in Real Life, $47,642,963
- Evan Almighty, $100,462,298
- Little Miss Sunshine, $59,891,098
- Over the Hedge, $155,019,340
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin, $109,449,237
Not a bomb in the bunch. That’s an incredibly consistent track record across a variety of projects. True, $100m for Evan Almighty was not money-maker, but the $175m worldwide box office isn’t terrible by any stretch. And $48m for the autumn release of Dan in Real Life isn’t a bomb either.
So, are you understanding why Steve Carell doesn’t need The Office? Might as we call him Mr. Movies…
I consider Evan Almighty a failure because it was an exercise on how much studios should *not* spend on a comedy. It made $173M at the worldwide box office against a budget of $175M, which is before marketing, I might add.
love life*
I just want to see him do similar stuff to THE 40 Year Old Virgin, and The Office, not such much the kids stuff. Like Schmucks…
Nathan, you think Schucks is or isn’t a kids movie?
I’m with Nathan on the more “Virgin” material. Steve’s been stuck in PG-13 mode.
isn’t of course ha.
Steve could’ve very easily moved on after Virgin. But it just shows the type of person and character he is by sticking around to do The Office for so many years afterward. He needs to move on now.
It’s interesting when you compare the major attitude differences between Steve and Katherine Heigl. Especially considering Steve’s track record is a lot better than Katherine’s. Steve’s going to be around for a very very long time.
Can I just say that I love Steve? He just seems like a really nice person and he’s got that charisma that makes you want to see him in movies. He’s a class act all the way! I think Steve is a lot like Owen, someone who is branching out in different genres of movies. It’s best not to get stuck in one genre which sadly Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller to a degree and a lot of Judd Apatow’s crew are doing. Branch out and be well loved and recognized by varying different people and not just one set of people. That’s why I am glad Ben is branching out into other genres. Will should consider the same.
With that said, Despicable Me had awesome marketing. I loved the I-Hop commercials with those minions before I made the connection to the movie. It was a lot better than those McDonald’s ones where it’s obvious there is a “marriage” between the movie and the fast food place.
I honestly don’t think all the money he is making on movies is the reason he is leaving. Multiple times he has stated it was for his wife and kids, also mentioning he wanted to forfill his contract (credit given to him). That could be a factor, but movies are much easier to do than TV shows. You are under a strict contract with shows and its mandatory you be there for filming.. Movies are a little more flexiable. I’m sad he is leaving the office, but excited that he will be doing more movies! Not everyone watches the office, but everyone watches promos for movies! Movies really bring out his talented and improvising side! He’s great in every movie I see him in and I want to see him in many more!
Yes, purples, that was kind of my point (which in retrospect I didn’t hit hard enough). Carell is a movie star with a fabulous track record and doesn’t need to work every week on a TV show anymore.