The summer of 2001 was filled with huge event movies that drew tons of fans to the theaters -- and tons of searches to Lycos. This resulted in a number of movies appearing on the Lycos 50, including Pearl Harbor, The Mummy Returns, and of course our proud (and accurate) choice as sleeper hit of the summer, The Fast and the Furious.
Summer movie season also meant that a number of stars saw searches grow. But many of these stars were already popular. Which stars really broke out thanks to their appearances in 2001's big films?
Well, we could take a look at the growth in searches before and after movies appeared in theaters. Of course, the summer of 2001 was well-known for the quick turnover in movie popularity, with a new film at number one nearly every week. So that method might highlight a number of stars who got a lot of searches when their movies appeared? and then perhaps disappeared from the American consciousness just as quickly.
Instead, we've taken a look at which summer stars saw the greatest increase in searches when their popularity two weeks before a movie's opening is compared to their popularity five weeks afterwards. That gives the so-so celebrities time for temporary interest to fade, and it leaves the real stars of the future.
The big breakout star of 2001 will be no surprise if you read the Lycos 50 all summer. Here's the top ten list:
1) Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor)
2) Brittany Murphy (Summer Catch)
3) Oded Fehr (Mummy Returns)
4) Patricia Velazquez (Mummy Returns)
5) Kathleen Robertson (Scary Movie 2)
6) Helena Bonham Carter (Planet of the Apes)
7) Freddie Prinze Jr. (Summer Catch)
8) Estella Warren (Planet of the Apes)
9) Alyson Hannigan (American Pie 2)
10) Brendan Fraser (Mummy Returns)
Back in June when Pearl Harbor was in theaters, Josh Hartnett came out of nowhere to become the most popular actor in Lycos 50 history -- bigger than Russell Crowe or Brad Pitt at any point. That popularity continued for weeks after the movie ended. Five weeks later, Hartnett was still receiving about 10 times as many searches as he did before Pearl Harbor opened. Even last week, Hartnett still got three times as many searches as he did before the summer.
Hartnett's appearance in the film O didn't turn out to be the big deal we expected, but there's no doubt that if Hartnett is used right and promoted right, he will be a huge star and make some movie producers tons of money. Hartnett next year will appear as an American soldier in Somalia in Black Hawk Down, as well as in the romatic comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights.
The rest of this list sees a big contingent from The Mummy Returns (stars Rachel Weisz and The Rock also got tons of searches). Lycos users also sought out Kathleen Robertson, who we wrote about in August, and a more recent but significant breakout actress, Brittany Murphy, who is getting raves in the current Don't Say a Word. We expect you'll be seeing a lot of these folks in the future.
What about the stars of The Fast and the Furious? Well, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez fell just below this list. Paul Walker, on the other hand, significantly dropped in searches after the movie had been around a few weeks with Vin Diesel clearly passing him in popularity.
Now let's take a look at which stars got flash-in-the-pan interest this summer. These are the five stars with the greatest decrease in searches between the week after their movie opened and their searches five weeks later:
1) Tim Roth (Planet of the Apes)
2) Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale)
3) Colleen Haskell (The Animal)
4) Zhang Ziyi (Rush Hour 2)
5) Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor)
For some reason, Tim Roth was hugely popular when Planet of the Apes premiered, but that didn't last long. Colleen Haskell received a lot of press as the first Survivor cast member to make a movie, but Lycos users were pretty bored after a few weeks. Kate Beckinsale lost a lot of popularity after Pearl Harbor had been around a while, but she also saw a lot of growth compared to her searches before the film, so we expect to see plenty more of her (like in the current Serendipity).
Shannyn Sossamon is an interesting story. Our numbers would seem to indicate that Lycos users tired of her quickly, as she went from virtually no searches to a ton and back to virtually none in short order. But Sossamon's next movie could draw tons of interest. That's because she'll be playing the love interest of breakout star number uno, Josh Hartnett, in 40 Days and 40 Nights.
