Movie stars' stock crashes

Horn says each actor took a "substantial reduction in his fee" to do the film. "They did it because they really liked the story." Though he wouldn't divulge what the movie cost to make, he said the biggest chunk of "Body of Lies' " budget was spent on below-the-line production costs, largely because of Scott's desire to shoot in Morocco and deliver a film with a bigger-than-life size and scale. Horn also cautioned that "Body of Lies" could perform better overseas, noting that the 2006 DiCaprio thriller "Blood Diamond" made roughly twice as much money overseas than it did in its U.S. theatrical run.

Fair enough. We'll acknowledge that the final box-office jury hasn't rendered a verdict. But I've talked to a growing number of industry experts who worry that movie star stocks are still overpriced, making a persuasive case that younger audiences are far less loyal and far more immune to movie star charms than past generations. Media savvy, marketing resistant, these kids simply have less emotional investment in movie stars than ever before. Star power will be put to the test a number of times in the coming months: Will audiences go see DiCaprio in the period drama "Revolutionary Road" later this fall? Can Brad Pitt wow moviegoers, as well as critics, going backward in time in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"?

For now, most studio slates are increasingly being built around movies that are movie star-free zones. With the exception of hiring Johnny Depp to take the helm of its "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, Disney rarely uses top stars, preferring to build its business around animated pictures and modestly budgeted family fare that is sold on concept, not star power.

The Disney formula hasn't gone unnoticed. I was on the phone last week with a rival studio chief who said that, once you got past Will Smith, it was hard to list one major movie star who could open both popcorn fluff and more serious dramatic pictures. Every studio head has to be rethinking the movie star issue right now, having seen film after film fail to succeed at the box office despite the presence of major stars.

Universal Pictures, for example, has been poised to greenlight "Nottingham," an expensive period Robin Hood film that would re-team Crowe with Scott. It wouldn't come as a surprise to see "Nottingham" go back to the drawing board, with Scott being forced to re-imagine its scope to keep its budget at a more manageable level.

No one's saying Hollywood is going to suddenly end its love affair with movie stars. In a business built far more on perception than reality, they are the straw that stirs the drink. But after openings like "Body of Lies" had this weekend, it's time for a market correction.

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patrick.goldstein @latimes.com

This article and others about movies and pop culture can be found on the Big Picture blog at latimes.com/bigpicture.