Mark Wahlberg is one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood today, and his fans won’t hear otherwise, us included. Having starred in films like Uncharted, Pain & Gain, and Father Stu, the actor has time and again proved why he’s top tier. Of course, we cannot dare forget his run with the Transformers franchise in which he gracefully brought Cade Yaeger to life.
Unfortunately, despite having his name plastered on a ton of movies, the box office is simply not too impressed with Mark Wahlberg. Keeping his stint with Transformers aside, only one other film was able to cross the $500 million mark. Of course, to no one’s surprise, the film in question is none other than the 2012 laughter-fest, Ted.
Mark Wahlberg’s Ted Breaks Through
In 2012, director Seth MacFarlane blessed Hollywood with a comedy that actually made people ‘LOL.’ The story was based on John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) who wished his teddy bear, Ted, to life and was able to live the life children can only dream of. However, with a mind of his own now, Ted’s interference in John’s life proved to be an obstacle for the human half of the duo.
The unique concept was so well-received by the audience that the box office numbers only kept going upward. Eventually, the film was able to pocket $556 million, as per The Numbers. Thus, the friendship between John and his foul-mouthed teddy bear helped Wahlberg get his name in the half-a-billion-dollar Hall of Fame.
In fact, Ted is the only Wahlberg film, aside from the Transformers franchise, to have crossed $500 million. The actor starred in Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight, which made $1.1 billion and $603 million, respectively.
Ted 2 Fails to Make it Big
There is always a huge gamble when it comes to making sequels of films that have performed exceptionally. It’s either a hit or a miss, the latter more often than the former. Unfortunately, Ted 2 had a similar fate. MacFarlane released the sequel just three years later, hoping it would make waves just like its predecessor. But just like many sequels, Ted 2 failed to make it big, both at the box office and with the viewers. The film was only able to bag a mere $217 million at the box office.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Ted 2 was given a score of just 45% with an audience rating of 50%. As for the O.G., Ted boasts a much higher score of 69% with an audience rating of 73%. According to one critic, Ted 2 “proves that sequels rarely ever stand up to their originals.” Exactly our point!
You can stream Ted on Peacock, whereas Ted 2 is available to stream on Max.
