In the New Hollywood Economy, the old-school, "Back Dumptruck Full of $1000 Bills into Julia Roberts's Driveway, Release Load, Hope Movie Breaks Even After Home Video and Cable Sales" formulas just don't apply anymore. That's why Forbes has now begun ranking movie stars according to value, as opposed to only their Gross Celebrity Product. A simple algorithm calculating how many box office dollars they've pulled in per dollar earned reveals some surprising results.
Naomi Watts stoop atop the list, the King Kong star offering $44 per $1 she's earned. She's followed by Jennifer Connelly, who brought in $41; then Rachel McAdams at $30 per; Natalie Portman at $28; and Meryl Streep rounds out the top five with $27 per dollar earned, due in no small part to the $600 million-earning performance of Mamma Mia.
For fun, we tried to figure out on our own where Katherine Heigl, who's a top ten no-show, figures on this list. She made $300,000 for Knocked Up, a rumored $6 million (!) for 27 Dresses, and, based on the success of her previous films and her EP credit, let's shoot conservatively and say $8 million on The Ugly Truth.
Total gross of those three films: $314,492,785
Heigl Value Index: $22
Of course, that number could tumble precipitously, if we only knew what she made for the $30-earning Zyzzx Road.
The full list:
Top 10 actresses and their ROI
1. Naomi Watts, $44 for every $1
2. Jennifer Connelly, $41 for every $1
3. Rachel McAdams, $30 for every $1
4. Natalie Portman, $28m for every $1
5. Meryl Streep, $27 for every $1
6. Jennifer Aniston, $26 for every $1
7. Halle Berry, $23 for every $1
8. Cate Blanchett, $23 for every $1
9. Anne Hathaway, $23 for every $1
10. Hilary Swank, $23 for every $1
ยท Naomi Watts named Hollywood's best-value star [Guardian]