If you were pushed to name the most bankable movie stars in the world you’d probably kick off with Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, maybe Angelina Jolie, and at least one of the Chrises (probably Hemsworth).
And you’d be spot-on according to a new set of influential research into Hollywood’s current ranking of top 100 actors that’s come to light via influential Tinseltown blog, Puck.
The new study by National Research Group has crunched the data on audiences’ favourite movie stars – and the outcome should worry some of Hollywood’s big executives.
The analysis company asked moviegoers to name the five actors that would have them queuing up at their local cinema. The kind of stars, in other words, who can – in Hollywood parlance – ‘open’ a movie.
And the answers had a very, well, mid-2000s feel to them. Of the top 20 choices, only Chris Hemsworth was younger than 40 (and he turns 40 in August). Instead, it’s a who’s who of boomers and Gen-Xers like Cruise, Johnson, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Julia Roberts.
- Tom Cruise
- Dwayne Johnson
- Tom Hanks
- Brad Pitt
- Denzel Washington
- Julia Roberts
- Will Smith
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Johnny Depp
- Kevin Hart
- Keanu Reeves
- Sandra Bullock
- Ryan Reynolds
- Adam Sandler
- Harrison Ford
- George Clooney
- Robert Downey Jr
- Angelina Jolie
- Morgan Freeman
- Chris Hemsworth
Obviously, Hollywood studios would have been hoping to see bright young hopes like Zendaya (number 47 on the list, Michael B Jordan (43), Timothée Chalamet (a surprisingly low 94), Margot Robbie (67) and Jenna Ortega (54) featuring much more prominently.
As Puck editor Matthew Belloni puts it: ‘It’s almost like when people think theaters, they think throwback, meaning they stopped recognising actors as theatrical draws after Thor came out in 2011.’
Surprisingly, Johnny Depp still remains a draw – rating highly with females under 35, according to the study – even after being fired from his last blockbuster. Although is he enough of a drawcard, post-court case, to make one final return as Jack Sparrow? Seems doubtful.
The best movies of 2023 (so far).