vampire film Sinners, Jordan finds himself once again making box office headlines, teamed up for the fourth time with director Ryan Coogler.
Jordan and Coogler’s collaborations Creed and Sinners may have both been box office hits in their own right, but Black Panther saw the pair breaking into the superhero world, and riding high to the top of the all-time box office charts. But that massive MCU blockbuster wasn’t Jordan’s first superhero rodeo. The same year Creed was released, the star played Johnny Storm in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four, an ill-fated attempt at adapting the legendary Marvel Comics title.
Jordan’s Chronicle Is A Hit On The Streaming Charts
It’s Up To Number 6 On Max
His prior collaboration with director Trank, 2012’s Chronicle, is not the first movie that comes to mind when pondering Jordan’s filmography, but the film is currently seeing a resurgence in popularity on streaming. The found-footage superhero film seemingly presaged big things to come for all involved, including writer Max Landis, when it grossed $126 million on a budget of $15 million. Trank and Landis both saw their fortunes plummet, however, for differing reasons.
Chronicle is a found-footage movie that follows three high school seniors given superhero-like powers by a mysterious alien artifact.
Jordan’s presence in the cast is likely a big reason why the largely-forgotten Chronicle is now a streaming hit on Max, climbing to number 6 on the service’s top 10 chart (via Flixpatrol). Two versions of the movie are currently available on the streamer, and it’s the director’s cut that is shown as the one currently camped out in the top 10.
Our Take On Chronicle Being A Streaming Hit
The Movie May Be Unjustly Maligned After Trank And Landis’ Downfalls
Trank became one of the hottest young directors in Hollywood when the small-budget Chronicle sured $100 million at the box office. But his star quickly crashed when Fantastic Four utterly bombed, grossing just $167 million worldwide on a reported budget of $120 million. Trank has directed just one movie since then, the perplexing Tom Hardy flop Capone, and may not get another opportunity after going public with bridge-burning stories about the disastrous Fantastic Four production.
Michael B. Jordan's Best Movies Ranked
Michael B. Jordan has been a part of two franchises that have had critical and commercial success and in between, he's had fantastic smaller roles.
The downfall of Chronicle screenwriter Landis was even more spectacular, and indeed began during the making of the movie, when he was banned from the set by Trank. Since then, multiple sexual assault allegations have emerged against Landis, and he hasn’t had a screenplay made into a released film since 2020’s Shadow in the Cloud.
Jordan’s lesser-known 2012 superhero movie Chronicle remains an interesting entry in his filmography, and might even make a fun double-feature with Black Panther.
Chronicle may indeed have disappeared from pop culture due to the black marks on its director and writer, but others involved in the film do not have such stains on their reputations, and it’s refreshing to see that their work is getting renewed attention thanks to streaming. Jordan, for his part, escaped from his two-movie association with the seemingly cursed Trank unscathed, going on to much bigger and better things. Jordan’s lesser-known 2012 superhero movie Chronicle remains an interesting entry in his filmography, and might even make a fun double-feature with Black Panther.
Source: Flixpatrol
- Writers
- Max Landis, Josh Trank
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