Whatever happened to movie stars?

Others have written endlessly about how movie star salaries are pushing the cost of film production too far (not to mention that idiotic and cowardly EW story on star perks that was a lot more US Magazine than Wall Street Journal, though without naming names that we all know). I have long been of the opinion that there is always a group of stars who are paid a whole lot of money, but who earn their keep.

None of the top seven grossers of 2004 were films led by a major movie star. That includes Meet The Fockers, which certainly puts much of its success on the shoulders of Stresiand/Hoffman/DeNiro, but, like Ocean’s Twelve (also a sequel), that is a combo platter sale… no one can really get the credit as the driving star. There are a bunch of movies like that.

In 2004 and 2003, about half the movies that opened to more than $10 million was a leading-star-driven vehicle. And given that we are just at the start of summer, I would expect that even though only seven of the twenty-seven films to get that $10 million start so far this year are leading-star-driven, by the end of the year we’ll be back to a similar 50/50 bet. There are, of course, many significant variables that determine success, and this $10 million stat is far from being the most important one. However, in terms of determining the value of movies stars and the value in their salaries, no other element means as much.

Nicole Kidman can open a movie. But, she’s made a bunch of arthouse/Oscarbait movies and even her mainstream tastes have been more complex than commercial. You have to go back to The Peacemaker and Practical Magic to find as conventional a film as The Interpreter in her career. Her aesthetic ambition is impressive, even when the films come up short. But how much of a box office draw is she, really? Well, The Stepford Wives really didn’t have much commercial going for it except for Kidman and it opened to $21 million.

1. Will Smith
2. Tom Cruise
3. Adam Sandler
4. Jim Carrey
5. Russell Crowe
6. Tom Hanks
7. Eddie Murphy
8. Ben Stiller and…
9. Will Farrell
10. Denzel Washington
11. Steve Martin
12. Reese Witherspoon
13. Bruce Willis
14. Nicole Kidman
15. Leonardo DiCaprio
16. Julia Roberts
17. Vince Vaughn
18. John Travolta
19. Sandra Bullock
20. Mel Gibson (semi-retired)
21. Jennifer Lopez
22. Hilary Duff
23. Vin Diesel
24. Halle Berry
25. Drew Barrymore
26. Angelina Jolie
27. Lindsay Lohan
28. Cameron Diaz
29. Johnny Depp
30. Ice Cube

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