And the winner, according to a story on a Forbes magazine survey, is Matt Damon, who earns $29 in revenue for every $1 in salary.

Rounding out the top five, with there returns on the dollar, are...

2. Brad Pitt... $24

3. (tied) Vince Vaughn and Johnny Depp... $21

5. Jennifer Aniston... $17

IMHO, this survey is a bit skewed, in that it only accounts for the last three films in each actors resume, and not overall career. If you look at the past ten films of each actor in the top 5, there are a lot of duds that would probably place some different names into the top 5.

How did Hugo Weaving rank?!? (LOTR + Matrix = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
or Christopher Lee? (LOTR + StarWars = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
or Ian Holm (LOTR + Ratatouille + Alien/Fifth Element/he's-just-cool-in-my-book = $$$$$$...)

Or do films made in New Zealand count?

Or John Rhys-Davies. LOTR + Indiana Jones = $beaucoup.

It looks as though we're here concerned with leading actors. Otherwise Sheb "Purple People Eater" Wooley might be the most bankable actor of all time...

Baal_T'shuvah wrote:
: IMHO, this survey is a bit skewed, in that it only accounts for the last three films in each actors resume, and not overall career.

I wouldn't count the OVERALL career, personally. Consider how Ian McKellen toiled away in arthouse movies like Scandal or in small roles in big movies like The Last Action Hero, YEARS before he came to prominence with Richard III and then the X-Men and Lord of the Rings movies (although, even in THOSE films, he is part of a larger ensemble and not the "star", per se).

McKellen may be a star NOW, but there was once a time when he was only an actor. Nobody expects actors to be bankable. Only stars.

Well, the new numbers are in from Forbes for most bankable star. And this time the winner is....


Vince Vaughn


Vince earned studios $14.73 for every dollar paid to him for his last 3 films (DVD revenue is included)... nearly $15 less than Matt Damon returned investors according to last years numbers.

Rounding out the Top 10...

Could you provide a link please? Also, I can't believe that Will Smith is not on that list.

Naomi Watts[!?!?]

I mean, I know King Kong did well, but being that it broke even, it is considered a disappointment. And The Ring did well (as its sequel), so I shouldn't misjudge that. But after that...

Funny Games / Eastern Promises / I Heart Hukkabees / The Painted Veil / Inland Empire / The Assassination of Richard Nixon / Ellie Parker / 21 Grams / We Don't Live Here Anymore / Mulholland Drive...

I mean, if Forbes includes King Kong in its tallies, where did Jack Black fall? (Or is her asking price so low that she skewed the results?)

Don't get me wrong... she is a fine actress. But I'd never thought I'd see her in this sort of Top Ten list. It's not like she's continually hounded by the paparazzi or anything...

Here's the lnik to the Forbes article.

Forbes has released a contrasting list. The second annual "Most Overpaid Celebrity" list has been put together. Using a similar formula as the "Most Bankable Star" list - salary of the last 3 films vs. box office gross - Forbes has determined that Nicole Kidman is the most overpaid celebrity, earning only $1 for every $1 paid to her for her last 3 films. This is quite a dropoff from last year, when Kidman was number 2 on the list, with an $8/$1 ratio. Last years number 1 was Russell Crowe, with a $5/$1 return rate.

Others on this years list include Jennifer Garner at number 2 with a $3.60/$1 ratio, and Tom Cruise at number 3 with a $4/$1 ratio.

The rest of the top (or bottom) 10 can be found here.