Austin Butler's 2019 Zombie Movie Marked The End Of A Concerning RT Trend

Summary Austin Butler's streak of poorly reviewed films ended following "The Dead Don't Die."

Butler's recent projects like "Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood" and "Dune: Part Two" have been critically acclaimed.

His upcoming movie "The Bikeriders" is expected to continue his streak of starring in "Certified Fresh" films.

Austin Butler appeared in the zombie flick The Dead Don't Die in 2019, interestingly ending a downward trend regarding the actor's Rotten Tomatoes scores. Jim Jarmusch directed and wrote the absurdist zombie comedy, which revolves around the citizens of a small rural town — the (boring) aptly named Centerville — trying to survive a sudden zombie outbreak. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14, 2019, before it was domestically released in theaters on June 14 of the same year. The Dead Don't Die ultimately grossed around $15 million at the box office during its theatrical run.

The Dead Don't Die features an ensemble cast of several noteworthy actors, including Butler as Jack, Bill Murray as Chief Cliff Robertson, Adam Driver as Officer Ronnie Peterson, Tilda Swinton as Zelda Winston, Chloë Sevigny as Officer Mindy Morrison, Selena Gomez as Zoe, and Carol Kane as Mallory O'Brien. Jarmusch's movie primarily focuses on the police force and how they react to the zombie invasion, but it also includes Butler and Gomez's characters who are just passing through the town when they get mixed up in the horror.

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The Dead Don't Die Was The End Of Austin Butler's Bad Movie Streak

Austin Butler Had A Streak Of "Rotten" Films

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Austin Butler had been on a "Rotten" streak on Rotten Tomatoes since the beginning of his career (excluding Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure's 60% Tomatometer score averaged from five reviews) until after The Dead Don't Die's ending. The 2019 zombie comedy (which earned a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes) was the actor's final poorly scored film before he began starring in acclaimed projects. Since The Dead Don't Die premiered, Butler has only played roles in movies that have been "Certified Fresh" on the review-aggregation website, like Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, Elvis, and Dune: Part Two.

Austin Butler's Movies Role Release Date Tomatometer Audience Score Aliens in the Attic Jake Pearson July 31, 2009 34% 43% Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure Peyton Leverett April 19, 2011 60% 43% The Bling Ring Zack Garvey September 27, 2011 N/A 29% The Intruders Noah Henry February 24, 2015 17% 21% Yoga Hosers Hunter Calloway September 2, 2016 26% 35% The Dead Don't Die Jack June 14, 2019 55% 38% Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood Tex Watson July 26, 2019 86% 70% Elvis Elvis Presley June 24, 2022 77% 94% The Bikeriders Benny June 21, 2024 83% TBA Dune: Part Two Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen March 1, 2024 92% 95%

Austin Butler's Next Movie Will Likely Continue His Rotten Tomatoes Hot Streak

The Actor Stars In The Bikeriders

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Austin Butler's run of "Certified Fresh" movies isn't likely to get broken anytime soon, especially following the release of his next film, The Bikeriders. The drama movie, directed and written by Jeff Nichols, is inspired by the Outlaws MC, a motorcycle gang in Chicago during the 1960s, and its story follows the members of Vandals MC (based on Outlaws MC) over the course of a decade. Butler is set to star as Benny, one of the key figures in Vandals MC, as seen in the trailer for The Bikeriders, which will be released in theaters on June 21, 2024.

Based on his performances in The Dead Don't Die, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, and Dune: Part Two, Austin Butler is more than capable of handling darker roles and even thrives in them.

The Bikeriders debuted at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023, and was scheduled to premiere in theaters in December 2023, but the SAG-AFTRA strike delayed its release. However, since several critics have already watched the movie, Rotten Tomatoes already has a Tomatometer score for The Bikeriders — 83 percent, which is averaged from 36 reviews. The closer the premiere date gets, the more reviews will start to accumulate on the website, but this early number from the viewings at the Telluride Film Festival is a good sign for the drama (and Butler's "Certified Fresh" streak).

Austin Butler received several award nominations for his portrayal of the King of Rock and Roll in Elvis, and the actor even won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama in 2023 for his performance as Elvis.

Related Why Austin Butler Turned Down A Top Gun: Maverick Audition For Quentin Tarantino: "I Had To Choose" Austin Butler had a chance to play Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick, but he turned it down in favor of working with Tarantino, and this is why.

Why Austin Butler Should Return To Horror In The Future

Austin Butler's Performances In Darker Films Are Impressive

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Based on his performances in The Dead Don't Die, Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood, and Dune: Part Two, Austin Butler is more than capable of handling darker roles and even thrives in them. Some of the actor's horror movies haven't received great reviews, but Butler has still shown he can play a wide variety of characters, including heroes and villains. Consequently, perhaps Butler should consider returning to the horror genre to explore this side of his acting further. The Dead Don't Die shouldn't be Butler's final role in a horror movie, after all.

The Dead Don't Die Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available The Dead Don't Die is a horror comedy released in 2019, directed by Jim Jarmusch. The Dead Don't Die focuses on a small town in Centerville that struggles to battle off hordes of zombies after the dead come back to life. The film has a star-studded cast, including Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, and Danny Glover. Director Jim Jarmusch Release Date June 14, 2019 Writers Jim Jarmusch Cast Austin Butler , Tom Waits , Selena Gomez Adam Driver , Chloe Sevigny , Bill Murray , Danny Glover , Tilda Swinton , Steve Buscemi , Caleb Landry Jones , Iggy Pop Runtime 103minutes

Source: Rotten Tomatoes