At a time when Hollywood has grown increasingly concerned over box office returns and how to make the most out of their multiple franchises, it always helps when a financial magazine crunches some numbers for them. While Forbes Magazine cannot tell the studios what properties to invest in, it can give insight into who is most worth the money to headline those films. The surprise here is that the list is headed by actresses, and by a solid margin too.
In crunching the numbers to determine their Best Actors For The Buck list, Forbes came out with four actresses at the top: Emma Stone, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence, and Natalie Portman. The list was determined by averaging box office takes from the actor’s last three films (including DVD sales) along with their salaries. This process might naturally produce some odd results, as can be seen by looking lower on the list. Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are both in the top ten, more a result of their Twilight runs than any other bankable successes.
So Forbes’ list is not perfect, but it is an interesting snapshot of where actresses stand in Hollywood right now. After all, Jennifer Lawrence, one of the top earners, leads a lucrative franchise and has appeared in some of the more critically acclaimed films of 2012/2013. Emma Stone might be a bit more of a surprise here, although I assume that her pay scale is slightly lower than either Lawrence or Portman.
The Best Actors For The Buck list might not change the way that Hollywood does business, but it does indicate that investing in female lead (or at least centric) films might be a savvy financial move all around. I would certainly not complain if I saw more women in lead roles.
We’ve listed the top ten below, alongside their return per dollar spent on salary. Check it out and leave your thoughts in the comments section.
1. Emma Stone $80.70
2. Mila Kunis $68.70
3. Jennifer Lawrence $68.60
4. Natalie Portman $31.30
5. Dwayne Johnson $31.10
6. Daniel Craig $25.60
7. Russell Crowe $25.60
8. Kristen Stewart $25
9. Robert Pattinson $23.50
10. Taylor Lautner $21.40
