Sam Jackson has made himself a valuable supporting/utility player in these would-be franchise plays like Tarzan or Robocop, but he hasnвЂ™t had the lead role in a big studio movie, give-or-take Quentin TarantinoвЂ™s grim horror western ensemble (which was sold as a Kurt Russell vehicle) in a very long time.

since star-driven, adult-skewing thrillers were once their bread-and-butter. And most of them come from Paramount/Viacom Inc. YouвЂ™ll notice that all of these films are well over ten years old, which is about when Hollywood shifted away from mid-budget star vehicles and went all-in with branded IP-driven content. In terms of inflation, The HitmanвЂ™s Bodyguard is behind Shaft, Rules of Engagement, Changing Lanes, Coach Carter and The Negotiator. The film earned $70 million in 2000, which would be around $116m in 2017 grosses. Despite his ridiculously lengthy resume (not even counting the copious direct-to-DVD stuff heвЂ™s done in the last decade), his biggest outright starring vehicle hit, until last weekend, was John SingletonвЂ™s mostly terrific Shaft sequel/reboot. They are both essentially the lead characters, in a fashion not dissimilar to Changing Lanes, Rules of Engagement, The Negotiator or (heh-heh) National LampoonвЂ™s Loaded Weapon 1. In The HitmanвЂ™s Bodyguard, he is a good-hearted hitman who must get to the courthouse alive in order to testify against a genocidal dictator (Gary Oldman), and he is second-billed behind Ryan Reynolds as the bodyguard tasked with making it happen.

And, slight spoiler, he eventually becomes the lead in The Hateful Eight. He was a key supporting player in xXx, Django Unchained, Jurassic Park, The Incredibles, the Star Wars prequels and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If we note the irony that arguably his last major lead role came just one month before he cameoed in Iron Man as Nick Fury, then we should also note that he has been in several major movies as the second- or third-biggest character ( Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Legend of Tarzan, S.W.A.T., A Time to Kill, Pulp Fiction, etc.) and/or the prime villain of the piece ( Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kong : Skull Island, Unbreakable, Jumper, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, etc.). But itвЂ™s not like HollywoodвЂ™s $5 billion man has been hiding in the shadows. Sam Jackson didnвЂ™t miss a beat after a decade propping up other folksвЂ™ adventures. And with nearly $71m in North America, the picture is arguably his biggest (unadjusted for inflation) outright star vehicle earner ever. JacksonвЂ™s first outright major studio lead role since Lakeview Terrace back in 2008 and his first heroic action lead role since Snakes on a Plane in the summer of 2006. The picture opens in China tomorrow, where it could very well play like Mechanic: Resurrection or London Has Fallen and add another $50 million to its overseas cume, easily securing its destiny as a $200m+ worldwide grosser.

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