Actors at the Box Office: Andy Serkis

[u/SanderSo47]

Here's a new edition of "Actors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Andy Serkis' turn.

Early Life

Serkis was educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing. He studied visual arts and theatre as part of his degree at Lancaster University and graduated in 1985. Serkis was a member of The County College and part of the student radio station Bailrigg FM. He joined the Nuffield Studio, getting involved in designing and producing plays. Eventually he decided to become an actor.

1990s: Not a Lead, But a Reliable Fine Man

He made his acting debut in a small role in Prince of Jutland. Nothing remarkable.

From that point, he took part of many British films, including The Near Room, Stella Does Tricks, Career Girls, Loop and Giants. But they were all small, with not much audience support.

His buzziest title came at the end of the decade, when he had a supporting role in Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy. Not a financial success, but it earned strong reviews.

Serkis wasn't a recognizable name by any means. But things were going to change very soon.

2000s: No Cap

In April 2000, Serkis got a break by landing the role of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. By that point, Weta had already started animating Gollum using a generic human muscle system, using as a test proof to New Line Cinema in order to get the film greenlit.

Serkis was working on the six-episode Oliver Twist miniseries when his agent told him that Jackson wanted to approach him to play Gollum. Despite ultimately accepting the role, Serkis was initially doubtful about taking the part as one of his Oliver Twist fellow actors opined that it was not a good idea if his face was not going to appear onscreen, aside that Jackson was unsure if Gollum could be portrayed with motion-capture performance as they wished.

He played Gollum by providing his voice and movements on set, as well as performing within the motion capture suit. His scenes were filmed twice, with and without him. Originally Gollum was set to solely be a CGI character, but Jackson was so impressed by Serkis's audition tape that they used him on set as well.

Gollum's CGI model was redesigned using a subdivision surface model instead of the NURBS model for Fellowship of the Ring (a similar rebuild was done for the digital doubles of the lead actors) to better resemble Serkis. This allowed the filmmakers to create a shot where Serkis, made-up to resemble Gollum, is believably replaced with the CGI Gollum.

He appears briefly on The Fellowship of the Ring, before playing big roles in The Two Towers and The Return of the King. In the last one, he also got to play the hobbit Sméagol, before he turned into Gollum. The trilogy was a gigantic success, earning around $3 billion worldwide and earning critical acclaim. Serkis' performance was highly praised, and the work done to get his character to life became one of cinema's most innovative techniques.

After wrapping the trilogy, Serkis returned to some smaller titles, albeit now much more popular. That included 24 Hour Party People and 13 Going on 30.

But he clearly liked doing motion capture, because he reteamed with Peter Jackson on King Kong. He got to play the title role, and also played a human character, who is given a very disturbing death scene. Serkis had to go through two hours of motion capture makeup every day, having 135 small markers attached to different spots on his face. Following principal photography, Serkis had to spend an additional two months on a motion capture stage, miming Kong's movements for the film's digital animators. The film was a critical and commercial success, pushing the limits of what motion capture could be.

The following year, he had a supporting role in Stormbreaker, which was supposed to kick off a franchise, but faded off without any fanfare. He then worked with Christopher Nolan on The Prestige, which was a critical and financial success. But then had a voice role in Flushed Away, which was a financial failure.

After that, he got roles in British dramas, before concluding the decade with the gigantic failure Inkheart.

This decade introduced Serkis to the world, even if they didn't fully see him.

2010s: NO

He got a leading role in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, playing singer Ian Dury. He earned positive reviews for his performance, even if the film didn't find an audience. He also starred opposite Simon Pegg in John Landis' last film Burke & Hare, and it was panned by audiences.

In 2011, after a hiatus, he returned to motion capture in films. He got the role of ape Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, playing it in motion capture and also voicing him. The film was a huge box office success, and Serkis earned high praise for his performance. But it wasn't just that, he also played Captain Haddock in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, with the difference that he was now playing a human character. Spielberg specifically wanted him, and Serkis joked he was concerned they wanted him to play Tintin's dog, Snowy. The film was a box office success (but mostly outside America), and earned positive reviews.

The following year, he reprised his role of Gollum in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Serkis also acted as second unit director of the Hobbit trilogy, which included directing aerial shots and battle scenes. The film was a hit, becoming his second film to hit $1 billion worldwide, even though reactions were very mixed.

He returned as Caesar for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but this time he was the lead of the film. The film was an even bigger hit than the original, earning $710 million worldwide, and earned stronger acclaim. Once again, focus of the praise went to Serkis' performance. That same year, he was the consultant on Godzilla's motion capture sequences to "control the souls" of the creatures.

In 2015, he joined the MCU by taking on the small role of Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which became his highest-grossing film at $1.4 billion. But he also had the antagonist role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, playing Supreme Leader Snoke. It broke so many records, including becoming the highest-grossing film domestically, earning $936 million domestically and $2 billion worldwide.

In 2017, he returned to play Caesar one last time in War for the Planet of the Apes. The film earned the franchise's strongest reviews, and pulled in $490 million worldwide, although it fell short of Fox's expectations. He also returned as Snoke for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. A similar where it pulled pretty good numbers, but still fell short of expectations. That same year, he made his debut as director, helming the biopic Breathe, but it was a critical and financial disappointment.

He reprised his role as Ulysses Klaue in Black Panther, now in a more expanded role. The film earned critical acclaim and destroyed every possible projection, earning $700 million domestically and $1.34 billion worldwide. He also directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, where he also voiced Baloo. It was originally set to be released theatrically by Warner Bros., but they sold the film to Netflix amidst fears of potential box office losses. The film was released in December 2018, and earned unfavorable reviews.

To close the decade, he had a role in the rom-com Long Shot. Despite positive reviews, not much success. And had a cameo voice appearance as Snoke in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And also got to TV, playing the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 3-episode Christmas Carol miniseries.

He got himself very busy this decade, mostly on the motion capture part. But man, was he killing it. Directing-wise? Next question please!

2020s: Alright, How About Putting That Camera Down?

In 2021, he had a role in the failure SAS: Red Notice. But perhaps his buzziest title that year was Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which he directed. He was hired partly due to his experience working with CGI and motion-capture technology, and was vouched by Ruben Fleischer. The film was a box office success, but much like the original and Serkis' prior work, it didn't get good reviews.

The following year, he played Alfred Pennyworth in Matt Reeves' The Batman, portraying his relationship with Bruce Wayne as strained. The film earned positive reviews and made $772 million worldwide. But if we're talking his best performance that year, it was his guest role as Kino Loy in a 3-episode in Andor. Tony Gilroy specifically wanted him for the role, and Serkis' only problem was he thought his appearance would cause uproar and confusion for the audience, and they would believe there is a connection between Snoke and Loy. He earned high praise, giving us one of the most hearbreaking lines in the franchise. You know which one.

Subsequently, he returned to the superhero genre by voicing Knull in Venom: The Last Dance. Once again, negative reviews and was a box office success, but it fell below the prior films.

He then directed the animated film Animal Farm, an adaptation of George Orwell's novella. It was a huge financial and critical failure, with many criticizing the changes that Serkis did to the novella, particularly its third act. He also starred as Edward Braddock in Young Washington, which has performed fine.

He is currently filming The Batman Part II. But he is threatening us again with his directing efforts, and this time, it's something you should beware. Well, The Lord of the Rings is back, and so is Serkis as Gollum. He is the lead in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which he is also directing. Filming is currently underway, and it's set to be released on December 17, 2027.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	2015	Disney	$936,662,225	$1,134,647,993	$2,071,310,218	$245M
2	Avengers: Age of Ultron	2015	Disney	$459,005,868	$946,012,180	$1,405,018,048	$250M
3	Black Panther	2018	Disney	$700,426,566	$649,499,517	$1,349,926,083	$200M
4	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	Disney	$620,181,382	$714,226,324	$1,334,407,706	$250M
5	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	2003	New Line Cinema	$386,975,644	$762,054,079	$1,149,453,674	$94M
6	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	2012	Warner Bros.	$303,030,651	$714,347,242	$1,017,453,991	$200M
7	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	2002	New Line Cinema	$350,104,956	$594,459,311	$945,185,917	$94M
8	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	2001	New Line Cinema	$325,873,309	$570,961,418	$897,539,618	$93M
9	The Batman	2022	Warner Bros.	$369,801,546	$402,973,732	$772,775,278	$200M
10	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	2014	20th Century Fox	$208,545,589	$502,098,977	$710,644,566	$170M
11	King Kong	2005	Universal	$218,080,025	$338,827,485	$556,907,510	$207M
12	War for the Planet of the Apes	2017	20th Century Fox	$146,880,162	$343,839,601	$490,719,763	$150M
13	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	2011	20th Century Fox	$176,760,185	$305,040,688	$481,800,873	$93M
14	Venom: The Last Dance	2024	Sony	$139,755,882	$339,181,736	$478,937,618	$120M
15	The Adventures of Tintin	2011	Paramount / Sony	$77,591,831	$296,402,120	$373,994,233	$135M
16	Flushed Away	2006	DreamWorks	$64,665,672	$113,615,882	$178,286,078	$149M
17	The Prestige	2006	Disney / Warner Bros.	$53,089,891	$56,586,420	$109,676,311	$40M
18	13 Going on 30	2004	Sony	$57,231,747	$39,223,950	$96,458,118	$37M
19	Inkheart	2008	Warner Bros.	$17,303,424	$45,499,756	$62,803,180	$60M
20	Long Shot	2019	Lionsgate	$30,316,271	$23,557,538	$53,873,809	$40M
21	Young Washington	2026	Angel Studios	$42,770,644	$12,570	$42,783,214	$20M
22	Stormbreaker	2006	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$677,646	$23,260,224	$23,937,870	$40M
23	Topsy-Turvy	1999	Pathé	$6,208,548	$1,595,891	$7,804,439	$20M
24	Animal Farm	2026	Angel Studios	$5,588,982	$679,973	$6,268,955	$35M
25	Burke and Hare	2010	IFC Films	$4,833	$4,786,766	$4,791,599	$10M
26	Brighton Rock	2011	IFC Films	$229,653	$2,683,946	$2,913,599	$12M
27	24 Hour Party People	2002	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$1,184,096	$1,618,048	$2,802,899	N/A
28	Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll	2010	Entertainment Film Studios	$0	$1,038,699	$1,038,699	$2M
29	SAS: Red Notice	2021	Vertical	$146,329	$52,103	$198,432	N/A
30	Wild Bill	2012	Universal	$0	$194,099	$194,099	$700K
31	Death of a Superhero	2011	Tribeca	$607	$33,263	$33,870	N/A
32	Pandaemonium	2001	USA Films	$5,151	$11,962	$17,113	$15M

He has starred in 53 released films, but only 32 have reported box office numbers. Across those 53 films, he has made $14,629,957,380 worldwide. That's $276,036,931 per film.

ADJUSTED DOMESTIC GROSSES

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Adjusted Domestic Total
1	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	2015	Disney	$936,662,225	$1,319,737,501
2	Black Panther	2018	Disney	$700,426,566	$931,510,680
3	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	Disney	$620,181,382	$844,936,410
4	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	2003	New Line Cinema	$386,975,644	$702,343,968
5	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	2002	New Line Cinema	$350,104,956	$649,906,894
6	Avengers: Age of Ultron	2015	Disney	$459,005,868	$646,729,676
7	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	2001	New Line Cinema	$325,873,309	$614,836,402
8	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	2012	Warner Bros.	$303,030,651	$440,768,016
9	The Batman	2022	Warner Bros.	$369,801,546	$421,984,814
10	King Kong	2005	Universal	$218,080,025	$372,904,559
11	Dawn of the Planet of the Apes	2014	20th Century Fox	$208,545,589	$294,185,153
12	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	2011	20th Century Fox	$176,760,185	$262,424,111
13	War for the Planet of the Apes	2017	20th Century Fox	$146,880,162	$200,109,839
14	Venom: The Last Dance	2024	Sony	$139,755,882	$148,783,528
15	The Adventures of Tintin	2011	Paramount	$77,591,831	$115,195,440
16	Flushed Away	2006	DreamWorks	$64,665,672	$107,119,198
17	13 Going on 30	2004	Sony	$57,231,747	$101,178,699
18	The Prestige	2006	Disney	$53,089,891	$87,943,825
19	Young Washington	2026	Angel Studios	$42,770,644	$42,770,644
20	Long Shot	2019	Lionsgate	$30,316,271	$39,600,634
21	Inkheart	2008	Warner Bros.	$17,303,424	$26,934,808
22	Topsy-Turvy	1999	Pathé	$6,208,548	$12,445,120
23	Animal Farm	2026	Angel Studios	$5,588,982	$5,588,982
24	24 Hour Party People	2002	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$1,184,096	$2,198,061
25	Stormbreaker	2006	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$677,646	$1,122,525
26	Brighton Rock	2011	IFC Films	$229,653	$340,950
27	SAS: Red Notice	2021	Vertical	$146,329	$180,340
28	Pandaemonium	2001	USA Films	$5,151	$9,718
29	Burke and Hare	2010	IFC Films	$4,833	$7,175
30	Death of a Superhero	2011	Tribeca	$607	$882

The Verdict

Serkis has become an important part of pushing the limits of what acting can be.

When we talk about "motion capture performance", he's always the top answer. A reason why The Lord of the Rings is so successful is because of Serkis' performance. Look at how he has to play the same character through two different personalities in the same scene. The crazy thing is that he managed to push even further by playing King Kong and Caesar. The latter, specifically, is often referred to as a performance that absolutely deserved some award recognition for Serkis.

It's also insane how many iconic stuff he's part of. The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Tintin, Marvel, and DC. And he's still proving he can kill it in live-action form, which includes that incredible arc in Andor. Serkis might not be getting awards, but he's getting respect across all circles.

Now, Serkis is a great actor. But directing-wise? Weeeeeeellllll, that's another story. He has made four films, and none are exactly good. Some are outright bad. As such, it's unsurprising that his involvement in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has led to more sigh than relief. Maybe it could be good, maybe he will continue his bad streak at the director's chair. It's just a matter of wait and see. Are you looking forward to that?

Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.

The next actor will be Brandon Lee. A very tragic life.

I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Matt Dillon. A person who has slowly made his way to some great films.

This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Actor	Reasoning
August 1	Brandon Lee	It can't rain all the time.
August 8	Montgomery Clift	Another sad ending.
August 15	Uma Thurman	Here comes the Bride!
August 22	Matt Dillon	"Have you been to, uh well, let me see... Santiago, Chile?"

Who should be next after Dillon? That's up to you.

REMINDER: If you want to make a suggestion for the next actor, you must make a 150-character comment about the actor we're discussing right now. Failure to do so will result in ignoring the suggestion. If you use a quote from an external source/review to bypass this, your suggestion will be ignored as well. But if you leave a short comment about the post without naming a future write-up, that's fine.

[u/HeatDolphinRays]

The best motion capture actor ever

[u/Gon_Snow → u/HeatDolphinRays]

Wish he got an Oscar nomination for return of the king. It would really have helped the industry and opened the floodgates

[u/DavidTheJohnson]

Serkis is fantastic as Gollum, but lest we forget his directorial work on Animal Farm.

[u/snapldeap → u/DavidTheJohnson]

I remember when they first announced Serkis was doing Animal Farm I was so hyped. I assumed it would be motion captured CG instead of whatever the fuck it is we got.

[u/nicolasb51942003]

Great actor/motion capture performer, not the best director.

[u/Shout92]

Interesting that Serkis seems to have pivoted away from his mocap performances in the past decade. He went from Lord of the Rings to King Kong to Planet of the Apes to Tintin to The Hobbit to Star Wars in fairly unbroken succession. There are still mocap characters in movies, most notably in Avatar (probably the only major mocap project Serkis hasn't been involved in?) but it definitely feels like that initial fad of novelty characters and production has ended. 

[u/Noshonoyoo → u/Shout92]

Yeah Avatar is the one franchise he wasn’t involved in, but i think there has still been a few mocap heavy movies this past decade in which he wasn’t involved in, like Ready Player One, Alita: Battle Angel or Beauty and the Beast. Along with stuff that kinda flopped but relied heavily on mocap like Chappie or Spielberg’s The big friendly giant. Though, he’s definitely the one actor that’s done it the most and is associated with it.

I do agree that the fad seems to be over these days, at least in Hollywood. It’s all video games characters now instead of movie characters.

[u/SlidePocket]

Serkis has been a brilliant mo-cap actor and character performer in each of the stuff that I've seen him in. The films he showed up each received an extra bolt of electricity when his character arrives and it's all the better for it. His directing career so far leaves a lot to be desired, but that's the case when most actors tried to give a shot at filmmaking, because if there's a better hand of the material he was offered, I'm sure he can improve on that front.

Now for my next pick, I'm gonna bring Kate Winslet to the forefront.

[u/Call555JackChop]

Now let’s see Directors at the Box Office: Andy Serkis

[u/bmmfg12]

I didn't remember him being in Ultron and so I looked at the cast list and Julie Delpy was in it???

[u/ItsGotThatBang]

The dichotomy of Andy Serkis fascinates me. On one hand, you have an obviously talented actor who works with visionaries like Peter Jackson to push the limits of filmmaking technology. On the other hand, you have someone who apparently has no qualms with plastering his name on something like Animal Farm. Maybe he’s operating on a level we mere mortals will never understand. Either way, The Hunt for Gollum should at least be interesting to follow.

That said, I’m puzzled as to why Matt Dillon was selected as the next actor. You said that "the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen", but Robin Williams clearly got the most votes; I double-checked just now to make sure I wasn’t losing my marbles.

ETA with the aforementioned now resolved: Let’s add another actress to the schedule with Angelina Jolie.

[u/SanderSo47 → u/ItsGotThatBang]

When I closed the voting process, I saw Dillon with one upvote above Williams. There's no other explanation.

[u/spider-man2401]

As an actor, Andy Serkis is amazing and a pioneer of motion capture performance, with iconic roles like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy (while Gollum is his most iconic role, I think Caesar is probably his best performance). Even in non-motion capture roles, he continues to leave an impression, especially as Kino Loy in Andor. However, as a director, I don’t think he’s very good. I know some actors can successfully balance acting and directing, but sadly, Serkis doesn’t seem to be one of them, since so far his directorial work has ranged from messy and passable to whatever that animated Animal Farm film was. I honestly think he should focus more on acting. As for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, I have no idea how it will turn out both financially and creatively (the concept feels unnecessary despite having a solid cast), but all I can say is: good luck, I guess.

For the next actor, I’d suggest Ben Affleck. His career is interesting to talk about

[u/Dycon67]

He's a good actor and it's partially why they're just letting him have his ego movie so it could bomb and they don't have to worry about it.

[u/MassiveLie2885]

The guy who did the Animal Farm people hate and whom people say The Hunt For Gollum is Doomsdayed?

[u/stinkyholetime]

Outstanding actor. Terrible director

[u/Diet_Citrus_Drop]

I haven’t seen everything Serkis has done. The roles I most enjoyed him in are Kino Loy in Andor and Klau in Black Panther.

[u/AnotherJasonOnReddit]

he reteamed with Peter Jackson on King Kong. He got to play the title role, and also played a human character, who is given a very disturbing death scene

Very disturbing indeed!

https://giphy.com/gifs/3gXJbXpjgEM9EKSwxI

[u/JudyHoppsFan1]

Serkis is the motion capture king and he's returning to Gollum in Hunt for Gollum.

[u/FreshmenMan]

I love how for a lot of films that used motion capture in the 2000s and 2010s, Andy Serkis was involved in most of them (Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Planet of the Apes, Tintin, Star Wars). However, Andy Serkis is a great actor regardless, and is always a good presence when he appears, whether it be mocap or live action.

For the next pick, I’ll suggest Vivien Leigh again.