Entertainment

Disney stars branching out

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"The Lucky One" is Zac Efron's latest attempt to distance himself from his teen-heartthrob image and establish himself as a serious actor. Unfortunately, audiences haven't been inclined to grow up with him. Last year, he was part of the star-studded ensemble in "New Year's Eve," but the movie only grossed $54 million in the US, $2 million less than its production budget. 2010's "Charlie St. Cloud" made just $4 million more than its production budget in worldwide ticket sales. Efron also struck out with the indie film "Me and Orson Welles," which pulled in a pitiful $1.8 million. The movie's production budget was about $23 million more than that. But he isn't the only former Disney star to ditch his Mouse House persona with uneven results.

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Efron's former love interest Vanessa Hudgens tried to distance herself from her sunny "High School Musical" character by playing a scantily-clad asylum inmate who engages in fantastical warfare in "Sucker Punch." Audiences didn't buy it. The movie got awful reviews, earning only a 22% freshness rating ( The Post gave it zero stars). Commercially, the movie made $7 million more than its $82-million budget, but that was mostly due to overseas ticket sales. Hudgens bombed at the box office before. 2009's "Bandslam," about a group of misfits who form a rock band, had a $20M budget but only made $12.2M worldwide.

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"High School Musical" alum Ashley Tisdale also experienced box-office failure in the Fox family comedy, "Aliens in the Attic," which would have been lucky to break even with its $57.9 million gross. The movie's production budget was $45M, but if Fox spent more than $13M marketing the film, they'd still be in the red.

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Before "HSM," Hilary Duff was a Disney star with her "Lizzie McGuire" show and movie, and she also hit pay dirt in an array of other frothy films. But the 2008 political satire, "War, Inc.," in which she plays an Asian pop star was a disaster, only pulling in $1.3 million globally.

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Disney star Selena Gomez has been slightly more successful playing other kids on the big screen. This past summer, she joined "Gossip" gals Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy in Fox's "Monte Carlo." The "princess and the pauper"-esque film had a $20 million budget and made almost $40 million worldwide. The year before, Gomez helped Fox's well-reviewed "Ramona and Beezus" rake in $27 million worldwide, almost double its $15 million budget.

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Other Disney stars have done well when they haven't strayed too far from their small-screen personas. Raven-Symone, best known in tween circles for "That's So Raven," raked in $51.5 million in 2008 with "College Road Trip."

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Disney's most marketable star, Miley Cyrus, didn't stray too far from her "Hannah Montana" roots when she played a troubled teenager who falls in love in "The Last Song." Perhaps that's why the film grossed $88M worldwide, more than earning back its $20M budget.--By Hilary Lewis