Imagine blending the essence of a young Jesse Eisenberg with a pre-cloning perfection version of Jake Gyllenhaal. That might just capture the breakout appeal of Mason Thames, the 18-year-old actor who has achieved a remarkable feat in 2025 by leading three box office hits to the top. Thames captivated audiences as the live-action Hiccup in the summer blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon, returned as Finney, the troubled teenager in Black Phone 2, and charmed viewers alongside Mckenna Grace in the romantic film Regretting You. While the latter claimed the number-one spot during a notably slow ticket-sales weekend, it’s a close race with Black Phone 2; either way, Thames is holding the top two spots at the box office.

The last actor to achieve such a rapid succession of number-one films was Jim Carrey in 1994, a year marked by his iconic roles in Ace Ventura, The Mask, and Dumb & Dumber. Carrey’s impressive streak continued into 1998, with eight consecutive films debuting at the top, including The Cable Guy. For Thames, whose upcoming projects are more niche indie road-trip comedies, replicating Carrey’s sustained success may be challenging.

Despite the differences in context (for instance, Carrey’s films were original works), Thames’ accomplishment stands out in today’s diverse film landscape. His roles span across various genres—from a fantasy adventure, an R-rated thriller, to a classic romance—showcasing his versatility as an actor.

While Thames’ performances might not drastically revolutionize cinema, he exhibits a commendable ability to engage audiences. Landing three leading roles at such a young age speaks to his talent in capturing the emotional nuances and presence needed on screen. However, there are moments when his performances echo the casting call for a “young Jake Gyllenhaal type.” This comparison is understandable, especially in How to Train Your Dragon, where he steps into a role originally voiced by Jay Baruchel, making his portrayal a significant shift for the franchise. In Black Phone 2, he revisits a familiar character, Finney, embodying the archetypal teenage hero with a dark twist akin to a Stranger Things vibe. The film’s narrative flaws overshadow the actors’ contributions, leaving the sequel’s messiness beyond Thames’ control.

In Regretting You, Thames faces his most demanding role yet. The film, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel, weaves a complex tale of love and secrets, starting in 2007 when actors Allison Williams, Dave Franco, and Scott Eastwood (all in their late 30s) portray teenagers. The plot thickens with a tragic car accident that unveils a potential affair, challenging Thames’ character, alongside Mckenna Grace, to navigate the emotional fallout. The film’s unconventional storytelling raises questions about casting and execution, providing a unique backdrop for Thames to demonstrate his acting chops.

Where does international superstar Mason Thames fit into all of this?! He plays the dreamy lastie-lastie Miller Adams, a local teenager who’s also the son of someone Clara’s parents knew in high school. (Unless I missed something, this connection to their past doesn’t really amount to anything.) He’s mysterious yet sensitive, and Clara starts to fall for him, which causes chagrin levels in Morgan that seem more appropriate to secret cousins than two extremely clean-cut teenagers. (They are not secret cousins.)

Because Miller Adams isn’t on the same everykid level as the leads Thames plays in the other two films, he actually gives the actor a little more leeway, which Regretting You does not necessarily take advantage of. Miller Adams is also an aspiring filmmaker and because Regretting You comes from Paramount Pictures, this means his wall is plastered with exclusively Paramount catalog titles, including a prominently displayed poster for Patriot Games. (Or maybe Gen Z just loves Patriot Games?) This doesn’t have anything to do with Thames… except that he is tasked with creating a cinephile character whose movie literacy seems limited to his job at the local AMC, his beloved Paramount classics, and a final film he shows that suggests more of a talent for promposals than cinema.

Thames does adapt well to the romance-novel flirtiness of his character here; it’s probably the most traditionally charming of his three 2025 performances, even if the movie can’t give Miller three full dimensions. He also feels like he’s playing a composite: maybe of those other aforementioned actors, maybe of several different love interests (the outcast, the artist, the whimsical lover of life and all its challenges). Some would probably attribute that to the oft-cited lack of masculine assertiveness in contemporary leading men, but Thames really is a kid, and playing close to his real age; he’s not a twentysomething still clinging to teenage roles. It’s more that Regretting You creates a series of test balloons with its mismatched stars; Williams, Franco, and Grace have all been good in other movies, and here, along with Thames, they seem like they’re different ways of asking: Is this it? Does this work? Thames is just the latest actor to get movie-star parts in an industry that’s skittish about building movies around single personalities, the way that Carrey’s three 1994 titles were unapologetically, almost stupidly constructed around an untested persona. Thames is getting tested plenty – in front of millions of people at a time.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.