Blockbusters continued to dominate at the box office in 2018. Films such as “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” grossed hundreds of millions of dollars each.
To ensure the success of these big-budget movies, Hollywood must be prudent in casting actors. The inclusion of a movie star in a film is often all it takes to lure audiences to the theater, helping to minimize the risk that studios take with their investments.
Certain actors seem to have the special spark when it comes to raking in box office dough. Whether it be their good looks, comedic talent, or thespian charisma, these actors offer something that entices moviegoers to shell out for their latest films, over and over. These actors can be trusted to turn big-budget movies into even bigger returns at the box office.
24/7 Wall St. has identified the most bankable actors as of 2018. These are the performers who ensure the highest box office earnings when cast in a movie’s lead role.
Click here to see the most bankable actors as of 2018.
Click here to see our methodology.
25. Ryan Reynolds
> Avg. box office gross: $73.4 million
> Most recent leading role: “Deadpool 2” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Deadpool” (2016)
> Lifetime lead roles: 16
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24. Ben Affleck
> Avg. box office gross: $76.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Justice League” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
> Lifetime lead roles: 23
23. Andrew Garfield
> Avg. box office gross: $77.3 million
> Most recent leading role: “Breathe” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012)
> Lifetime lead roles: 7
22. Jack Black
> Avg. box office gross: $78.4 million
> Most recent leading role: “The House with a Clock in Its Walls” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Kung Fu Panda” (2008)
> Lifetime lead roles: 13
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21. Johnny Depp
> Avg. box office gross: $81.4 million
> Most recent leading role: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006)
> Lifetime lead roles: 33
20. Will Ferrell
> Avg. box office gross: $82.1 million
> Most recent leading role: “Daddy’s Home Two” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Elf” (2003)
> Lifetime lead roles: 21
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19. Shailene Woodley
> Avg. box office gross: $83.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Adrift” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Divergent” (2014)
> Lifetime lead roles: 6
18. Anna Kendrick
> Avg. box office gross: $86.6 million
> Most recent leading role: “A Simple Favor” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Pitch Perfect 2” (2015)
> Lifetime lead roles: 8
17. Seth Rogen
> Avg. box office gross: $86.7 million
> Most recent leading role: “Sausage Party” (2016)
> Highest grossing movie: “Neighbors” (2014)
> Lifetime lead roles: 8
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16. Angelina Jolie
> Avg. box office gross: $87.0 million
> Most recent leading role: “Maleficent” (2014)
> Highest grossing movie: “Maleficent” (2014)
> Lifetime lead roles: 9
15. Dwayne Johnson
> Avg. box office gross: $87.2 million
> Most recent leading role: “Skyscraper” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (2017)
> Lifetime lead roles: 19
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14. Melissa McCarthy
> Avg. box office gross: $87.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Life of the Party” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Ghostbusters” (2016)
> Lifetime lead roles: 5
13. Owen Wilson
> Avg. box office gross: $88.6 million
> Most recent leading role: “Father Figures” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Cars” (2006)
> Lifetime lead roles: 13
12. Ben Stiller
> Avg. box office gross: $90.2 million
> Most recent leading role: “Brad’s Status” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Meet the Fockers” (2004)
> Lifetime lead roles: 25
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11. Christian Bale
> Avg. box office gross: $90.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Vice” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “The Dark Knight” (2008)
> Lifetime lead roles: 20
10. Sandra Bullock
> Avg. box office gross: $94.5 million
> Most recent leading role: “Ocean’s Eight” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Minions” (2015)
> Lifetime lead roles: 20
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9. Adam Sandler
> Avg. box office gross: $94.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Hotel Transylvania 2” (2015)
> Lifetime lead roles: 28
8. Steve Carell
> Avg. box office gross: $107.4 million
> Most recent leading role: “Welcome to Marwen” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “Despicable Me 2” (2013)
> Lifetime lead roles: 16
7. Tom Cruise
> Avg. box office gross: $108.1 million
> Most recent leading role: “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (2018)
> Highest grossing movie: “War of the Worlds” (2005)
> Lifetime lead roles: 33
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6. Bradley Cooper
> Avg. box office gross: $108.3 million
> Most recent leading role: “Burnt” (2015)
> Highest grossing movie: “American Sniper” (2014)
> Lifetime lead roles: 9
5. Hugh Jackman
> Avg. box office gross: $109.3 million
> Most recent leading role: “The Greatest Showman” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Logan” (2017)
> Lifetime lead roles: 12
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4. Daniel Craig
> Avg. box office gross: $109.5 million
> Most recent leading role: “Spectre” (2015)
> Highest grossing movie: “Skyfall” (2012)
> Lifetime lead roles: 10
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3. Tom Hanks
> Avg. box office gross: $112.5 million
> Most recent leading role: “Sully” (2016)
> Highest grossing movie: “Toy Story 3” (2010)
> Lifetime lead roles: 36
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
> Avg. box office gross: $121.4 million
> Most recent leading role: “The Revenant” (2015)
> Highest grossing movie: “Titanic” (1997)
> Lifetime lead roles: 19
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1. Will Smith
> Avg. box office gross: $132.9 million
> Most recent leading role: “Bright” (2017)
> Highest grossing movie: “Suicide Squad” (2016)
> Lifetime lead roles: 20
Detailed findings
While each of the most bankable actors is active, only eleven released a new film this past year in which they star in the lead role. These include the 56-year-old Tom Cruise, whose film “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” grossed $220 million in the U.S., making it the year’s seventh highest grossing movie. Sandra Bullock also scored a hit with “Ocean’s 8,” which grossed nearly doubled it’s reported production budget of $70 million in the U.S.
Comedy has also been a lucrative genre for actors this past year. Melissa McCarthy had a more modest success with “Life of the Party,” which followed her previous box office successes “The Boss” and “Spy!” Jack Black also did well with his “The House with a Clock in its Walls,” which grossed over $68 million domestically.
Perhaps surprisingly, the comedic roles in movies that make the most money are often in animated films. Despite starring in movies for over 20 years, Adam Sandler’s biggest hit to date is the computer-animated “Hotel Transylvania 2.” The follow up – “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” – grossed nearly as much upon its release this past summer. Similarly, Owen Wilson, who has found major success starring in movies such as “Wedding Crashers” and “The Darjeeling Limited,” has not starred in a more financially successful movie than the animated “Cars.”
Methodology
To determine the most bankable actors as of 2018, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the average box office per film of 2,383 actors with data from the Internet Movie Database. Only films in which the actor has a lead acting credit were considered for his or her average box office gross, and only films with at least 10,000 user ratings on IMDb were included. Actors with fewer than five unique lead credits — excluding sequels — were not considered. Actors were also excluded from consideration if 25% or more of their lead acting credits were in sequels to their own movies. As a result, actors who star in major franchises but may not claim primary responsibility for each film’s success – such as Daisy Ridley who has starred in the last two Star Wars films – were excluded. If an actor met the qualifications, however, their films that are sequels or included in a franchise were included in the average gross. Finally, actors who had not starred in at least two movies that had grossed at least $100 million since 2010 or one movie grossing at least $100 million since 2013 were excluded.
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