Is Elvis Presley’s Star Power Fading?

Austin Butler and Tom Hanks release their new Elvis Presley film titled Elvis next Friday. The Elvis biopic tells the King’s story through the eyes of his manager, Colonel Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Butler stars as Presley, which is great for Butler’s career. But, how much does anyone from the 30-year-old Butler’s generation even know about Elvis Presley? And do they care enough to watch this movie?

Elvis Presley died in 1977. If Presley were alive today, the King would be 87 years old. Butler is 30 years old and his fans are Gen-Z and Millenials. To them, Elvis is two generations removed. You know what other living celebrities are in their 80s? Jack Nicholson, Sophia Loren, Morgan Freeman. A very distinguished list right? But all of them are living with continuous bodies of work.

Elvis Presley made 31 films starting with 1956’s Love Me Tender and ending with 1969’s Change Of Habit. His more famous films, such as Jailhouse Rock from 1957 or Blue Hawaii from 1961, are rarely shown anywhere.

What 20-somethings are watching a movie from the 1950s? It’s hard to expect Austin Butler’s fans to know anything about Elvis Presley.

Butler’s fans certainly aren’t going to see Tom Hanks, 65, as Colonel Parker. Hanks’ movie You’ve Got Mail came out in 1998. That’s about when Butler’s fans were born.

The only Elvis Presley fans left are in their 80s and 90s. If you were in your teens when King Creole, one of Presley’s more famous films that came out in 1958, you’re almost 100.

Not only that, there’s also nowhere for younger fans to discover Presley. Elvis Presley films on Netflix aren’t available. Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) made half of Presley’s films. Since Amazon bought up MGM’s catalog, you’ll find Elvis Presley movies streaming on Amazon.

A quick search shows Presley’s movies like Girl Happy, Love Me Tender, Viva Las Vegas and others available to stream. Yet, what Millenial or Gen-Z person is bypassing TikTok, Youtube and Netflix to watch Flaming Star on Amazon.

Fans of Presley are dwindling and not being replaced by newer fans. Case in point: Elvis Presley memorabilia is dropping in value. No one’s there to buy up the old Presley collectibles. Few people remember first-hand experiencing the insanity of Presley’s dance moves like “Rubber Legs” or “The Pole Dance”.

Elvis the movie has star power with Hanks, director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby) and Butler. Yet, that’s not enough for anyone who didn’t live through the 1950s’ Korean War to care about an ancient Elvis Presley.