3rd Annual THB Biggest Stars Survey – Pt 1
STILL SUSPECT
Jennifer Aniston has been in some big successes, but always with a power guy by her side, whether Vince Vaughn or Ben Stiller or Jim Carrey or even Kevin Costner, who is still pretty effective drawing women to movies. But without the support?
Gerard Butler has a major cult following and 300 is a huge hit ,,, but there is little to suggest it has much to do with Mr. Butler in a specific way.
Jake Gyllenhaal – Gyllenhaal has an interesting thing about always being considered on the edge of “;happening,”; yet he makes movie after movie that is bigger than his role in the film. Can any financier really credit him with the box office success of Brokeback Mountain or the openings of Zodiac, Jarhead or The Day After Tomorrow? And he hasn’t had any of his films gross more than $15 million aside from his career starter, October Sky in 1999.
Jon Heder – Is it him or is it his co-stars? I love his work, but his box office value is still a giant question mark.
Samuel L. Jackson – It’s hard not to love and/or respect him, but since 2003’s SWAT (and ensemble film), Snakes on a Plane is his second biggest hit after Coach Carter. Great performances, but a box office cipher.
Shia LaBeouf – The star of Transformers has been in some hits ,,, but is anyone paying to see him?
Eva Mendes – She has become The Girl of choice in town lately, along with Ms. Biel. And films with Nic Cage, Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Denzel Washington have all done a bit better than expected with her along for the ride. But can she draw ticket buyers?
Hilary Swank – She has actually had a decent run since the second Oscar. But she’s only been the lead twice and neither film will crack $40 million domestic, so…
More…
Not a bad list, though i would question the exclusion of the following (unless they are in the top 23):
Mark Wahlberg (Shooter opened, Invincible and Four Brothers both performed well,and then there’s that little Scorsese picture).
Milla Jovovich (yes really, the Resident Evil movies may be dreck but they open, and there’s no other real female action star out there now outside of Beckinsale’s Underworld franchise).
Hugh Grant (always big internationally, and Music & Lyrics very quietly did good business for longer than people expected).
Ice Cube (Friday, Are We There Yet and Barbershop are at least solid mid-range franchises that could all yet return, we’ll pass over the TripleX disaster)
Christian Bale (The Prestige was a success d’estime at worst, there’s another Batman coming, and Harsh Times is quickly gathering cult status on DVD)
Cate Blanchett (a very respected actress with more taste than say, Nicole Kidman, don’t forget that next year some little Spielberg / Lucas adventure movie could vault her to A-List status)
Josh Lucas (appeared in a bunch of expensive movies that underperformed, will get it right one day)
Zach Braff (pigeonholed a little at the moment, but has an audience. When Scrubs finishes it’s run we will have a better idea of his stardom).
“FRIDAY: The Top 23”
It’s all about the number 23, hear?
Gerard Butler’s star turn had as much to do with 300’s success/legs as it’s groundbreaking visuals and clear black & white storyline. He was acting like a star during last year’s Comic Con panel (I remember thinking – WHO THE FUCK DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS)
But the fact is – He has the chops. He has the charisma.
SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I would say that Keira Knightley and Jon Heder don’t belong on the top 52 list, they’re both supporting players with pretty limited ranges.
Well, after the job he did on the awful Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith has got to be number one again, right?
Gerard Butler’s fans are crazy hardcore.
hmmmm
okay Dave–If Harrison Ford is where you put him I hope the other old man of action, Denzel, is in the top 23, but should he be? Not top 23, but I think Denzel should be in a top 50 since he is still getting good parts in good movies (Inside Man and the Gangster pick with Ridley Scott coming up). Also…don;t know what to think about Russell Crowe and where he should be. Too many actors are more visible as celebrities rather than doing decent work in a decent movie. I think he’s been crap for awhile overall.
I love me some Gerard Butler (a la Dear Frankie and NOT 300) and Daniel Craig. They’re eye candy to me but they are alpha males that can at least be Leads.
I hope you have Ryan Gosling, Diane Keaton in that top 23 too. For an old broad Keaton’s doing well, BETTER than Harrison Ford.
C’mon Dave–Harrison Ford’s last 5 years= Firewall Hollywood Homicide, K-19: The Widowmaker. He should be on a top 50 list.
Keaton’s been in Something’s gotta give and even though I didn’t like Family Stone particularly it was a high profile movie and she still has a few things in the pipeline, one movie coming up with Jon Heder, a rising star in the lists so to speak. She’s made some cash for studios, more than many of the high profile youngsters & how much has H Ford cost?
Kurt Russell should be higher than where he is–he has Skyhigh–a big surprise and he did well in Miracle.
Charlize should be off.
Streep has to be up there. She has returned and is in a shitload of movies. Will they be any good? DUnno, but she is still kicking it and commanding respect and making some $$$ for other people.
I’d like to see Virginia Madsen get back to Sideways size movies, but will she get the offers? She isn’t powerful but she’s matured and she should be used.
Mickey ROurke and WOody Harrelson are sorta come-back, but maybe as character actors.
WIll Smith is #1 of course.
And IF he aint Dave, we will have to step outside!
sorry Harrison Ford Should NOT be in a top 50 list and NOT above Kurt Russell or Diane Keaton who have earned it more $$ and otherwise.
I swear Diane Keaton is the most bankable woman in the movies at this point. And she’s 61. She opened Because I Said So, for God’s sake.
Who are her competitors? Julia’s MIA – as is last year’s sure thing Rachel McAdams – and Dave has already touched on Nicole, Halle, Angelina, Charlize, Catherine, Renee, etc.
oh…in case y’all think I have something against Indy, I don;t. It’s just that Harrison Ford has been getting ~20 mil per picture for the last 10 years and back end on some movies and he hasn;t had a profitable movie since What Lies beneath if I remember correctly, even though, yes, he is a Big Star.
I love Han Solo, hottest character ever, but I think him and others who are costing way more than their movies earn in the last 5 years should not be in a star or biggest star ranking as they Currently don;t have the $-Karma.
Oh, besides Reese Witherspoon, of course.
Since DP’s list is about who can open a movie and not who’s a good actor, Ryan Gosling will not be on his top 23 (unless Fracture mysteriously opens to $25m+).
It would be great if there could ever be a thread about ‘who are the best actors working’ as separate from boxoffice decisions…somewhere…
Diane Keaton is so ridiculously low paid for how much $$$ she has made for studios/investors.
Pay the women who can act since the bubble headed broads aren’t bringing in the money in most cases anyway.
Diane Keaton and WIll Smith in that top 23 Dave. You have til Friday to Change Your Mind 🙂
Also in that list for top 23 I hope we’d see
Penelope Cruz
Johnny Depp
Nathalie Portman
Eddie Murphy
Kate Winslet
Rachel Weisz
Jodie Foster
Adam Sandler even though i dislike his ‘style’ so immensely
and a stretch…even though I think they are worthy of being bankable/great leads if they get the right parts–
Cillian Murphy
Reese Witherspoon
Jennifer COnnelly
Joseph Gordon Leavitt (sp?)
Anne Hathaway (or am I reaching)
eventually Samantha Morton & Djimon Housou
sorry if I included anyone you already had on your lower list or rejects
Dave has some people on his list who can open movies on their name, but if the movies haven’t turned a domestic profit should they be on the list? I don’t think so. But it’s not my list.
I think Ryan Gosling and Penelope Cruz (& others) will continue to move “up” in ability to open as long as they get appropriate movies.
Oh yeah
How could I forget Dave’s girlfriend RAchel McAdams–well in profit. Her loyal Notebook worshipping girl fanbase should mean she can open a movie.
“How could I forget Dave’s girlfriend RAchel McAdams–well in profit. Her loyal Notebook worshipping girl fanbase should mean she can open a movie.”
Except hasn’t tested that hypothesis for the past two years. Poland is keeping her in his top 23 just to drum up controversy.
I think DP’s list is based purely on openings/publicity value, not on profitability which is a separate issue.
yeah well Dave likes him too many young perky women.
But in defense of Dave’s hormones, the hypothesis for McAdams being able to get butts on seats is less Aged than the hypothesis for others. Harrison Ford might be a big star re. recognition but he looks like a lead weight $$$. Same with Charlize.
Now that Denzel will be in a movie with Forest Whitaker, or says Variety email today, I think you should be kicking Denzel into the top 23 Dave, including my defense of him above.
I have free time, so here’s my prediction of DP’s top 23, roughly from the top down:
MEN (19):
Will Smith
Tom Hanks
Tom Cruise
Adam Sandler
Brad Pitt
Will Ferrell
Eddie Murphy
Johnny Depp
Ben Stiller
Denzel Washington
Nicolas Cage
Jim Carrey
Steve Martin
Vince Vaughn
Matt Damon
John Travolta
Tim Allen
Mark Wahlberg
Robert DeNiro
WOMEN (4):
Reese Witherspoon
Jodie Foster
Meryl Streep
Cameron Diaz
(with Rachel McAdams probably squeezed in there instead of Diaz or DeNiro).
Whoops, I missed Cameron Diaz already on the first part of the list.
C’mon Jeff you always have free time for this Blog.
I’m off for a few days so I posted Extra to give you some competition.
I sincerely hope Nic Cage and Cameron Diaz aren;t in the top 23.
Nicolas Cage certainly has to be, because he wasn’t in the 23-52 list and because Ghost Rider, World Trade Center, and National Treasure were all reasonably successful in the last few years.
Nic cage has been in more bombs than Matthew McCon-icky in the last few years Jeff [weather man, wicker man, lord of war] so I’d say the public may not be keen. Glad Ghost Rider did well cuz I love comics, but…heck. It wasn’t Nic cage at his best. If he goes back to his forte of Raising Arizona type stuff he’s be back in the money again.
I’d say Nic Cage is where Nic Kidman is right now.
but I’m just an opinionated hayseed.
In a moment of contrition of what I said about Nic Cage, I remove Rachel Weisz from my suggested top 23.
90% of the list belongs on television because they are not movie stars. Especially the women. Better roles for them there anyway.
sheesh. and there are also better ‘roles’ for women in the home than the workplace. Doesn’t mean that it Should be.
or maybe you didn’t mean it like it sounds RNash
That’s been said about African Americans in the not-too-long-ago past and look where they are now in the power list simply because someone Cast them instead of relegating them to the small screen.
There are men, women of all colors who have charisma and can become a ‘character’ memorable enough that the public will want to see them again on the big screen. The trick is getting them cast and seen.
Nothing wrong with TV–I’m an addict– but ‘keeping’ a group of people in one medium as opposed to the other isn’t sensible for building a broad audience unless in the future we are doing away with Theatrical entirely and going to home viewing via entertainment systems etc. Then it will all be TV.
heck maybe we should do that if we are going to limit ourselves, since on TV the sky’s the limit compared to movies last few years.
Lota, you’re spot-on abbut Hathaway. She already has three $100 million grossers under her belt, and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for getting PRADA to $125 mill. If GET SMART works, she won’t get enough credit for that, either.
But, Dave, please. Enough already with Diaz. She doesn’t open pictures; never has, never will. All her hits were opposite a strong male star or concept-driven (MARY wouldn’t have made one penny less if it had starred, say, Christina Applegate). She is arguably the most overpaid star in movie history.
You knocked Hugh Jackman off the list, wondering if he could open a movie, large or small. I have no doubt that he could open a Wolverine movie. And yes, it would be him as much as the character/franchise opening the movie. He makes that character great.
Richard Nash’s post is pretty much content-free, like diet Fresca or a rice krispie treat.
Anne Hathaway has class and charm AND she is beautiful so she and natalie Portman should have good futures I hope.
Well what about Denzel? Can;t he open a movie? DIane K? She can too better than the racktastic youngsters.
Stumping for Denzel & DIane to get into the top 23. I know Will Smith will be there already.
Back to the kitchen. Have to go bake a cake now.
COme to think of it the old broads are doing quite well since I think Mirren and Dench are likely to be able to open a movie too.
Lota, you’re probably right about Keaton ending up on the list but as much as I love Mirren and Dench, they won’t be there.
Can’t imagine there’s even a question that Denzel would be in the top 23 of THB list.
He hasn’t had a wide-release opening of less than $16.2 million since 1998.
His pictures aren’t the leggiest, but he definitely gets them started.
Denzel should probably be in the lower end of the top 12. Among dramatic actors, I think only 5 or 6 guys are ahead of him.
Not only is he domestically consistent with his openings, he’s now a bonafide major international draw. After his 2006 showing, it’s arguable that he may now be bigger draw overseas than he is at home.
Inside Man did major buisness overseas (about 95 million dollars). I think David credited it to the presence of Foster and Owen, on the assumption that Denzel couldn’t do that type of buisness overseas without help. Deja Vu proved everyone wrong by doing over 115 million dollars overseas, almost double it’s domestic take. I don’t think anybody expected that. And that movie was all Denzel. It more than made up for the slight domestic underperformance of Deja Vu (which was probably down to opening only 5 days after another adult thriller, Casino Royale, the highest grossing Bond movie ever)
All in all, Inside Man and Deja Vu each made over 180 million worldwide. And these movies weren’t especially hyped or effects heavy. Washington’s worldwide average used to be closer to 120 million, so his sudden status as an international draw means he’s developed a reliable international following that most black dramatic actors (bar Will Smith) don’t have.
I expect American Gangster, a film that does have pre-release hype behind it to easily outgross Deja Vu and Inside Man worldwide.Maybe over 250 million dollars worldwide. And while the presence of Russell Crowe will help, I think most of the credit will be deservedly go to Denzel.
Anne Hathaway has almost single handedly stolen Rachel McAdams’ fire, I reckon. She was important to Prada‘s success (very much so actually, I think) and Becoming Jane is slowly making some decent change internationally (well, UK and Australia anyway). The Get Smart movie could be a hit or not, Passengers could be her Sandra Bullock-type dramary movie if that’s what it actually is. And the cast of The Women looks quite enticing. I hope Rachel isn’t being ridiculously picky. Even Ryan Gosling is in that silly-looking Fracture to get a paycheck. “I shot my wife… PROVE IT” Dear god.
Gotta say I agree with Diane Keaton. She and Meryl Streep always pique the interest of people. Man, I wish Goldie Hawn and Better Midler would really get back into the movie making business. We’d be over run with crazy old ladies.
Can I say I’m actually impressed with Keira Knightley. I’m a fan, sure, but I mean she’s had stuff like Bend it Like Beckham and Love Actually and then the big Pirates films and now she seems to wanna carve out a british period arthouse career. With an oscar nod already and stuff like Atonement and Silk. I don’t think she’ll ever be a major box office drawer, but she’s showing some smarts these days in the movie-picking arena. Hopefully no more King Arthurs and The Jackets.
Whoa. Sorry about that.
Harrison Ford shouldn’t be on that list at all btw. Neither should Ashton Kutcher. And how come Tyler Perry is on there now after Daddy’s Little Girls flopped? And, Angelina Jolie…? Does anyone care about her anymore?
Re Shia LaBeouf. I don’t think your everyday person even knows his name. I’m sure they could say, “Oh yeah, him.” if you mentioned what he was in. But for the moment he seems like the actor du jour that is being forced upon us for no particular reason – except of course the HW publicity machine.
He may be competent, but he has not really shown much charisma to endear himself towards audiences. Maybe Transformers will change all of that, but I doubt it.
Right now he is probably the actor most likely to illicit, “Who the hell are you?” from audiences.
That being said, I do think Disturbia looks fun. Probably not great, but whatever. This weekend isn’t looking too promising.
Hey, Camel, how do you do bold and underline and stuff like that? Is it things like [B] and [U]?
Alladin,
You hit the nail on the head with Shia. It seems there are always those celebs that the public makes and the ones that Hollywood makes.
The ones that get plum roles given to them with no real track record, get lots of press and are treated as ‘stars’ but they really are not.
Guys like Tim Allen on the other hand or Martin Lawrence do not generate much ink, but they do have a following.
Wild Hogs may be crap, but people are seeing it for the actors in it. Nobody but nobody will be seeing Transformers for Shia.
I also think DiCaprio has coasted a lot longer than he should by getting good projects, not necessarily projects he was good in.
There seems to be a lot more ‘stars’ in Hollywood now that are celebrities more for their tabloid lifestyle or their photo-layouts than for the way the public receives them.
The Magnificent Flying Gyllenhaal Twins are also perfect example of this.
Neither are bad or great but generate a hell of a lot more buzz than their resumes deserve.
The Gyllenhaals are both pretty good, but better in smaller projects like Donnie Darko or Sherrybaby. While Jake is a little overhyped (on the score CD of Zodiac there’s a short soundbite where Fincher expresses his frustration, briefly, that Gyllenhaal didn’t perform as he had hoped), Maggie is consistently good in everything I’ve seen her in and I don’t think she’s been overhyped or forced down the public’s throat.
I don’t think either of them are bad actors by any definition…but they do seem to have that ‘Hollywood royalty’ thing happening with the press.
They are good, but not exceptional, although I agree Maggie is superior to Jake.
I don’t believe either though are assets to a film in a box-office sense. BBM was a hit through concept, and the same could be said of Day After Tommorrow.
I do not disagree with most of what you say, although BBM was a success because of good critical reaction and word-of-mouth, and that only happened because people liked the performances.
Doesn’t it suck not being famous? I despise myself each and every day I’m not a successful actor. Can I get a tirade from anyone else about how they’d be happier if they were Mark Wahlberg?
To deny that seems disingenuous.
Maggie is sure to become one of the finest actresses of her generation. All she needs is to use the talent she has and get some bigger films. Her best acting yet was in Happy Endings and nobody seems to mention that movie anymore.
About Shia. I like him. I thought he did great in the equally great Holes. But, it does seem odd that he’s suddenly Mr Everywhere.
Cadavra, it’s for bold, for italics and, i presume, for underline. I tried to add a link before but it didn’t work and that’s why I got underline. You obviously need to get rid of the spaces and then close it off with or after the desired text. Make sense? I’m really bad at explaining HTML.
I like Keira Knightley. I think she’s smarter than she seems. Her choices in films since that Oscar nomination is proof of that. I also like Anne Hathaway a whole lot…even more than Knightley. I’ll bet Hathaway is around for a while. Scarlett Johansson appears to be a lot of hype, and not much else. Julia Roberts remains the biggest draw, even if she has done nothing for years.
As for the men, Will Smith remains among the strongest. People will still see anything that involves Tom Hanks, as well. Jon Heder, as much as I like him, is almost certainly a one trick pony, and headed no where. Oh, and I’ve really got my eye on Jake Gylenhall.
I actually really like Keira Knightley. I think she’s smarter than she seems. Her choices in films since that Oscar nomination is proof of that. I also like Anne Hathaway a whole lot…even more than Knightley. I’ll bet Hathaway is around for a while. Scarlett Johansson appears to be a lot of hype, and not much else. Julia Roberts remains the biggest draw, even if she has done nothing for years.
As for the men, Will Smith remains among the strongest. People will still see anything that involves Tom Hanks, as well. Jon Heder, as much as I like him, is almost certainly a one trick pony, and headed no where. Oh, and I’ve really got my eye on Jake Gylenhall. The only thing holding him back is the fact that his name is hard to spell.
I love Knightley, too, and good for her that she’s sticking with the art-house stuff. I used to adore Beckinsale until she whored herself out to all those garbage horror movies.
I’m not sure DiCaprio is a coaster. True there have been a couple projects that weren’t perfectly suited to his skills – see GONY (which is still enjoyable)…but he’s not a star made by Hollywood. He was made by a bunch of people seeing R+J and Titanic. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed his last couple of collaborations with Scorsese and BD was a decent action flick. At least DiCaprio is seeking to do challenging material.
I’ve felt that way about Jake Gyllenhaal at times. Maggie not so much, but I haven’t seen enough of her stuff to be honest. Still my favourite Jake performances were in Donnie Darko and Jarhead. I think he’s best when he’s playing quirky characters.
And I read on AICN this morning that Shia LaBeouf is definitely in Indy IV? Heaven help us!
Whoa whoa whoa! They’re remaking The Women? Sweeeeeet!
They’ve been announcing a remake of The Women for about a full decade now.
Comment: how come Tyler Perry is on there now after Daddy’s Little Girls flopped? >>>
Isn’t the list about star power on the screen? Tyler Perry wasn’t *in* “Daddy’s Little Girls.”
So it’s Friday and where’s Part II?
Hurry up. I would like to start drinking.
I realize that Sacha Baron Cohen will probably be on the top 23 somewhere. I hope he isn’t too high up.
Yeah David, where is the top 23? I was so looking forward to reading the list this morning…
RP, I wasn’t aware of that. None of his movies have even been released here so I never even bother to read about him/them.
“34. Tyler Perry (-) – He really belonged on this list last year. He has his limitations, but he is a cash machine.”
Umm.. I know I’m going to get rapped in the mouth for this…. but…
who is Tyler Perry?
Greg
http://www.denvertvguy.com