Will 'American Sniper' director Clint Eastwood come out victorious over 'Blackhat' helmer Michael Mann? Find out!
On Friday, director Clint Eastwood's American Sniper went head-to-head against director Michael Mann's new release Blackhat at the box office, and it was a bit of a bloodbath.
American Sniper, which technically opened Dec. 6 but only in limited release, stars Bradley Cooper, while Blackhat stars People's Sexiest Man Alive Chris Hemsworth -- but Hemsworth's dreamy looks weren't enough to take down Cooper and his sniper rifle.
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In its first weekend of wide release, American Sniper snagged a staggering $90.2 million and earned itself the box office top spot. Meanwhile, in it's opening weekend Blackhat came in 10th with a disappointing $4 million.
However, Mann is considered to be one of the best action-thriller directors of our generation, with films like Heat and Collateral securing his legacy. Eastwood, on the other hand, is a legend in the field of filmmaking and has created a slew of Oscar-winning movies.
Is Mann's short-but-celebrated track record enough to beat Eastwood's long but occasionally turbulent directorial career? Let's find out with our first ever Celebrity Showdown Director's Edition.
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Looking at seven unique criteria that weigh box-office earnings, critic's reviews and award season gold, Celebrity Showdown examines the anatomy of both stars' careers to show who's really the best. For this Director's Edition, we will only be looking at their work as filmmakers, and not stars or producers.
Well, let's get to it!
ROUND 1: TOTAL FILMS
Clint Eastwood: 33 (WINNER)
Michael Mann: 11
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ROUND 2: HIGHEST GROSSING FILM
Clint Eastwood: $148 million - Gran Torino (WINNER)
Michael Mann: $101 million - Collateral
ROUND 3: AVERAGE GROSS
Clint Eastwood: $43.4 million
Michael Mann: $47.2 million (WINNER)
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ROUND 4: TOTAL COMBINED GROSS
Clint Eastwood: $1.43 billion (WINNER)
Michael Mann: $520 million
ROUND 5: HIGHEST RATED FILM
Clint Eastwood: 96% - High Plains Drifter (TIE)
Michael Mann: 96% -The Insider (TIE)
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ROUND 6: AVERAGE RT SCORE
Clint Eastwood: 74.7% (WINNER)
Michael Mann: 72.5%
ROUND 7: 'AWARDS SCORE'*
Clint Eastwood: 15 (WINNER)
Michael Mann: 1
*2 points for Oscar wins, 1 point for Golden Globes, Emmy or Screen Actors Guild Wins, .5 points for People's Choice Wins and -1 point for a Razzie Win.
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AND THE WINNER IS…
CLINT EASTWOOD! 5-1!
Wow, that was a real blowout. While Mr. Mann tried hard – and even came close in a few categories – he never had a big enough hit or enough award season love to take down Mr. Eastwood when it came to the sheer number of films he's directed.
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Congrats Mr. Eastwood! Your four Oscars and 33 celebrated films have made you a legend of cinema, and winning this coveted and hugely respected victory in ETonline's Celebrity Showdown series will forever cement your legacy in Hollywood.
While Blackhat might not be the film to define Chris Hemsworth's career -- his role as Thor just might -- he looks as awesome as ever in the newly released Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. Check it out, below.
For more Celebrity Showdowns and fun movie news, you can follow Zach Seemayer on Twitter @ZachSeemayer.
