Forbes.com Unveils Hollywood’s Most Valuable Actors In Inaugural Forbes Star Currency™ Ranking

Will Smith is No. 1 in Entertainment Industry Survey of Actors’ Bankability

Forbes launched its inaugural Forbes Star Currency™ ranking today on Forbes.com, the leading business news Web site reaching 20 million affluent business decision makers each month. This new ranking, available at www.forbes.com/starcurrency, is based on a survey of entertainment industry professionals that measures the financial clout of more than 1,400 actors worldwide.

Will Smith came out on top with a perfect 10 cumulative rating, followed by Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, all tied at 9.89. The entire list of cumulative ratings, including the Top 20 and international rankings, can be found at Forbes.com.

“An actor’s involvement in a film is one of the primary elements contributing to the film’s financing, worldwide theatrical box office performance and post-theatrical life,” said John Burman, Special Projects Director, Forbes Media. “With this in mind, Forbes conducted the survey to gain greater insight into an individual actor’s impact on the bottom line and the overall financial success of a film.”

“To get a sense of Will Smith’s impact, his live-action films have generated more than $5.2 billion in global box-office. Starting with ‘Men In Black II” in 2002, through ‘Hancock’ in 2008, he had seven consecutive live-action films open No. 1 at the box-office in North America; and he’s received two Academy Award nominations to date,” added Burman.

The top 20 finishers have collectively garnered 69 Academy Award nominations and 15 wins. More awards are possible pending the outcome of the February 22 ceremony, which sees high-ranking Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Angelina Jolie (Changeling) among those up for honors.

Actors were ranked by more than 150 entertainment industry professionals (including producers, directors, financiers, and creative executives) using the following criteria:
Ability to attract significant financing for a project
Their appearance guarantees theatrical distribution
Their presence significantly drives box office performance
Their presence is an essential component in securing rights deals for revenue streams including DVD, pay/free TV, etc., and the project’s ultimate financial performance in those areas
Ability to attract audiences in any genre of film
Popularity among several demographic groups
Ability to attract other top talent by their involvement in a film
Their media exposure enhances their ability to attract financing and audiences to a project

The list of actors included in the confidential survey reflects a cross-section of names from around the world appearing in all types of films. The results were converted into scores ranging from 0-10, 10 being the highest rating. Each actor was given a cumulative score that combines all voters’ responses. Voters were asked to assign a ranking to each actor as it applied to them as an individual and not in comparison with other actors.

Forbes conducted the survey Sept. 3, 2008, through Nov. 16, 2008, in conjunction with Erdos & Morgan, a New York-based independent research firm that handled the tabulation and ranking of the results. Additional demographic data and analysis from this survey will be unveiled on Forbes.com in upcoming reports.

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Contacts

Forbes.com
Melanie Scharler, 212-366-8966
mscharler {at} forbes(.)net