Image Credit: John Shearer/WireImage.comA new report in Forbes magazine tallies the monetary worth of Hollywood actors, working in the numbers of their fees, their movies’ budgets, and how well studios fared for their investments once the box office receipts were all counted. Shia LaBeouf gets to spend the day feeling like the cock of the walk as, thanks to a comparably modest quote and hits like the Transformers sequel and the fourth Indiana Jones, he claimed the top spot. For every dollar a studio invested, LaBeouf turned around and made them $81. It’s an impressive trade-off but perhaps a dubious victory in a town where people are commodified and an actor’s worth is decided by box office and magazine covers. Something tells me LaBeouf’s agent will most likely spend the day on the phone hollering like Ari Gold for Hollywood to show his client the money. Anne Hathaway, Daniel Radcliffe, and Robert Downey Jr. round out the top four. Bewilderingly (and this coming from a person who adored his supporting role in Kick Ass), Nicolas Cage also makes an appearance.
No reasonable person would ever wring her hands over whether an actor pulls in $2 or $12 or $20 million a picture. But a bell-ringer line from the story — “Because women typically earn less than men in Hollywood, they make up a full half of our top 10 list” — is nevertheless distressing. Bravo to Meryl Streep for swanning her way into the No. 6 spot, without the help of 3D or CGI or robots or merchandising tie-ins. Bravo to Jennifer Aniston (and this coming from a person who threw a Pillsbury crescent roll at the screen during the interminable Love Happens), for reminding her critics that people like her, they really like her. Robert Downey Jr., do your thing.
What say you PopWatchers? Whose inclusion on this list baffles you the most? Delights? Should we take the buck out of the equation and simply make a list about the actors whose choices and goods we trust, whose name in the credits secures a call to the babysitter? I’ll start: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Matt Damon… Your turn.
I didn’t pay money to see Transformers and Indy 4 becuase of Shia. I paid becuase I thought they were going to be good movies. Boy, was I wrong.
quirky you are 100% correct. MR.Dicaprio can do no wrong. brad pitt and yes, i am shameful to admit but christian bale also bring me to the theatre.
Since I somehow ended up seeing “The Soloist” in theatres, I guess I have to say that Robert Downey Jr. is one of the guys whose movies I always sign up for.
Also pleasantly surprised to see Anne Hathaway on the list (even if “Alice in Wonderland” skewed her numbers). She can do comedy and drama, and she’s a babe, but when people think of the biggest female movie stars, I don’t know if they necessarily think of her. (At least not before Bullock, Roberts, Streep.)
I don’t necessarily think of Anne as one of the “biggest” female stars, but I personally think she is very talented and very likable. Its refreshing to see a beautiful young woman in Hollywood who is talented and doesn’t need to depend on tabloid coverage to stay relevant.
Shia was cast in Transformers and Indy BECAUSE he was cheap. I’ve never heard of anyone wanting to see a movie because he was in it. He’s kind of followed the Demi Moore career plan. Take less money to be in big movies – it makes you seem like a bigger movie star than you actually are.
Jeff Goldblum did the same thing. In the mid-90s, EW did a report on how much of a bargain certain actors were and how much stars SHOULD be making, based on their movie grosses, and Jeff Goldblum lead the list, but that was the same timeframe he was making Jurassic Park and Independence Day, movies which people went to see for the movies themselves and not any particular actor. Shia LeBouf is the same way.
So, happy Anne Hathaway made the cut. She is versatile. Yes, Hathaway can do comedy & drama, but she can sing, dance ,and act on stage. That sets her apart from most other acting peers.
P.S. Anne was absolutely marvelous last summer for the production of Shakespeare In The Park’s Twelfth Night. One of the best theatre experiences of my life.
I remember reading that Nicole Kidman is frequently at the bottom of lists like this because she’s always highly paid but her movies rarely make a lot of money.
My list: Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, Laura Linney, Cate Blanchette. If he keeps making movies, Jon Hamm will be on this list too.
Dicaprio, Aniston, Streep, Downey Jr all get my money. I love them!
OK, yes, Aniston is a good, likable actress who does interesting work. But she’s only on the list because of Alice in Wonderland. I’m sick of these lists. No offense to Shia LaBeouf, who is easily castable, but he’s not the most bankable star. As Karen wrote, it’s Leonardo DiCaprio, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Matt Damon, in addition to Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, and Robert Downey Jr., who can sell movies.
Ugh, Aniston makes horrible movies. Her last 4 movies were absolute garbage.
Robert Downey, Jr., is the most beautiful man to ever touch Earth <3
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, any of the actors who have been in the Harry Potter movies: Daniel, Emma, Rupert, Alan Rickman, etc; also Rdj, Johnny Depp, Meryl, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, and a few others are guaranteed to get my money.
No Johnny Depp or was he just not mentioned in the article?
hasbeen TV starlet Jen should just retire!! tee-hee!
Meryl Streep is the best actress of all time and I would pay anything to watch a movie with her in so she deserves to be higher than some people who’s acting is a lot less serious like Daniel Radcliffe.
i thought Aniston bombs – and here she making $21 per $1 of her salary??? more reasons to think the media is out to get her….