Credit: Marvel StudiosActor Chris Pratt has become one of the most recognizable and successful figures in Hollywood today.
Though some like to express backlash towards the actor, the truth is that he is respected and beloved by many Hollywood circles and has become a fan-favorite entertainer in many successful franchises. In the last several months alone, Pratt has been the lead protagonist in three different films that were widely successful at the box office.
This latest run all started with Jurassic World Dominion (2022), where Pratt reprised his role as Owen Grady and joined the likes of Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), and Sam Neil (Alan Grant) to deliver a performance that was well-received by most fans and drew in a box office of more than $1 billion. Pratt followed that up by voicing the character of Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), which was released earlier this spring.
Though some fans were upset with the decision to cast Pratt as the voice of Mario, their negativity did not affect the box office. The film is still in theaters currently but has already grossed more than $1.34 billion worldwide. Currently, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently listed third all-time in highest-grossing animated films, just behind Frozen II (2019), which finished with $1.45 billion, and The Lion King (2019), which sits atop the list at $1.66 billion.
After two movies grossing more than $1 billion back-to-back, Chris Pratt stepped back into James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for the third and final installment. Playing the role of StarLord / Peter Quill, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023) grossed more than $832 million, currently the second-highest grossing film of 2023 just behind his animated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Of course, many entertainers will tell you that you don’t get to the level of success that Chris Pratt has achieved with having a nack for knowing what audiences want to see. Pratt has a reputation for improvisation, and a story from the first Guardians of the Galaxy illustrates that point.
If you don’t recall, there is a scene in Guardians of the Galaxy where the Guardians meet up with The Collector to sell the orb into his massive vault of collectibles to keep it away from Thanos and Ronan. Of course, Quill drops it on the floor and then scrambles to pick it up. Years after the movie was released, we’d find out that this was actually improv from Pratt and that the actor had done it so well that he convinced Director James Gunn that it was an accident.
“On the director’s commentary I say [Chris Pratt] dropped the orb on accident because I thought he did,” Gunn shared in a previous interview. “Just last year he told me he actually did it on purpose. I believe him about 90%.”
As we close the book on the Guardians– at least for now– and move on to the next phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s little stories like these that show just how much fun these actors and actresses had making these movies and what they mean to Disney and Marvel fans now that we’ve seen the end of Vol. 3.
What do you think of this Chris Pratt story? Had you heard it before? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!