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Guest Mole

Which actors...

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Guest Mole

Which actors do you think are the best box office draws? Basically if this actor is in a movie, then the movie is almost certain to reach atleast $100 million. If not $100 million domestic, than a $20 million opening weekend.

 

Tom Hanks is the biggest draw in recent times. Ever since Forrest Gump, I believe that every movie, other than That Thing You Do, had gotten to $100 million. I would look it up at IMDB, but they are charging you too look at box office reports, so fuck them.

 

Mel Gibson

Tom Cruise

Jim Carrey

Adam Sandler

 

What do you fellas think?

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Guest Vitamin X

Jack Nicholson. Kevin Spacey is also known to bring life to a dead film (and he's also my favorite actor). Same with Nicholas Cage, and sometimes Bruce Willis.

 

But I'm a mark for old school Hollywood. Most of the new crop of actors are strictly comedy or aren't very good at all.

 

Ben Affleck seems like he draws a big crowd as well. Oh, and I forgot to mention America's Whore, Jennifer Lopez.

 

Trust me, I work at Blockbuster. Hispanic women love J-Lo, it's a law of nature like the sky is blue or grass is green.

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Guest red_file

No really sure.

 

Have Carey's recent forays into more serious film done well? I know The Truman Show did well, but The Majestic did poorly, and I don't think Man on the Moon covered its advertising budget. When he's working within the comedic genre he seems to be a draw, but not when working outside of it.

 

Cruise seems spotty as well. He'll have a few that do extremely well, and then he'll do an arthouse picture that'll skew the curve. When he's working mainstream he's a draw. Even when he goes a bit left of mainstream, as in Vanilla Sky (100.6mil), his films seem to have some longevity. But when he does something very arthouse (Eyes Wide Shut 55mil, Magnolia 22mil), or a role that isn't either action based or clean-cut heartthrob (Far and Away 58mil), the public doesn't exactly beat down the door. Granted, for those movies it's a pretty good showing, but not spectacular.

 

Gibson usually draws 20mil opening weekend and his last few films (not sure about Signs) got to 100mil. To find a real failure of his you have to go all the way back to Man Without a Face or Hamlet, which speaks to the same drawing problem that Carrey and Cruise have: the audience is acceptant of him only in certain genres.

 

I don't think Sandler could be put in the same league as the other three. His last few films have been relatively unsuccessful. Both The Wedding Singer and The Waterboy were successful, but those successes didn't extend to following films. Nor were the films previous to them wildly successful.

 

Willis is a draw in recent times whenever he's paired with M. Night. And Armageddon was quite successful, but that was five years ago. Beyond that, he hasn't really been in the league of Cruise and Hanks. He's had a lot of moderately successful films and some that could probably be considered failures.

 

Will Smith seemed to have quite a run going for him from Independence Day until there was that resounding thud that was Ali. He might still be a draw, who knows.

 

You're probably right with Hanks. Unlike the others, it seems as though the public's willing to go see Hanks in anything, so I'd say that gives him an edge. I mean, when something like Cast Away can make 230mil, you've got a draw.

 

As said, thinking this through would've been a lot easier with IMBD's help.

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Guest MaxPower27

IIRC, Hanks makes 20mil a picture, but has been in something like 8 straight 100+million movies.

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Guest Mik at Cornell

All Time Top 100 Stars at the Box Office Name Movies Total Box Office Average

1 Harrison Ford 31 $3,191,831,016 $102,962,291

2 Samuel L. Jackson 57 $2,857,952,717 $50,139,521

3 Tom Hanks 30 $2,807,539,290 $93,584,643

4 Tom Cruise 26 $2,436,662,742 $93,717,798

5 James Earl Jones 36 $2,326,924,965 $64,636,805

6 Eddie Murphy 27 $2,300,000,784 $85,185,214

7 Mel Gibson 31 $2,285,154,698 $73,714,668

8 Robin Williams 41 $2,230,226,135 $54,395,759

9 Jim Cummings 25 $2,220,774,134 $88,830,965

10 Rance Howard 38 $2,190,905,060 $57,655,396

11 Bruce Willis 40 $2,185,913,165 $54,647,829

12 Gene Hackman 55 $2,159,304,361 $39,260,079

13 Frank Oz 20 $2,110,786,891 $105,539,345

14 Clint Howard 30 $1,989,231,870 $66,307,729

15 Kenny Baker 10 $1,957,093,192 $195,709,319

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Guest Mik at Cornell

The numbers came out all messed up. But total: Harrison Ford easily. He's even winning per picture. But take away the Star Wars trilogy and Cruise and Hanks are neck and neck w/ an average of 97 mil per picture. Interesting.

 

(The data came from www.the-numbers.com)

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Trust me, I work at Blockbuster. Hispanic women love J-Lo, it's a law of nature like the sky is blue or grass is green.

Oh, trust me...in The Bronx, J-Lo's popularity has plummeted. It's all because of her claiming to be "real", yet becoming the standard for bitchy Hollywood divas lately. Not to mention her "Jenny from the Block" video didn't include ANY footage of her in The Bronx at all...

 

Yeah, she's keeping it real alright.

 

Dames

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Guest Mole
The numbers came out all messed up. But total: Harrison Ford easily. He's even winning per picture. But take away the Star Wars trilogy and Cruise and Hanks are neck and neck w/ an average of 97 mil per picture. Interesting.

 

(The data came from www.the-numbers.com)

Don't forget Indian Jones.

 

Sandler's movies have made $100 atleast, other than working with Watson or Satan.

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Guest razazteca
Samuel L. Jackson 57 $2,857,952,717 $50,139,521

 

Mr Jackson is hit or miss as Formula 51 and a few other films with him as the Feature Actor do not stay in theaters long but he was in Star Wars as a supporting actor which made Billions.

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Guest Kahran Ramsus
Samuel L. Jackson 57 $2,857,952,717 $50,139,521

 

Mr Jackson is hit or miss as Formula 51 and a few other films with him as the Feature Actor do not stay in theaters long but he was in Star Wars as a supporting actor which made Billions.

And Jurassic Park.

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Guest EdwardKnoxII
Oh, trust me...in The Bronx, J-Lo's popularity has plummeted. It's all because of her claiming to be "real", yet becoming the standard for bitchy Hollywood divas lately. Not to mention her "Jenny from the Block" video didn't include ANY footage of her in The Bronx at all...

 

Yeah, she's keeping it real alright.

 

Yeah and I also read that one of her bodyguards push away a little girl trying to get an autograph from J-Lo and made her cry. Yeah that's real nice.

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Guest Choken One

Ford depended on Indiana Jones and Star Wars for that clout...Has anyother of his movies done outstanding..

 

But I bet more people could name Hanks movies then they could Ford...

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Guest Lethargic

This list is a little suspect. The fact that Clint Howard is on there simply because his brother gives him bit parts in his movies like he's throwing a dog a bone, is pretty weak.

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Guest Edwin MacPhisto
Ford depended on Indiana Jones and Star Wars for that clout...Has anyother of his movies done outstanding..

 

But I bet more people could name Hanks movies then they could Ford...

Harrison Ford has always done well, though he's tailed off in the last few years. Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger made big money, Air Force One was huge, and many of his straight dramatic forays like Regarding Henry and Witness were successful as well. Hell, he even dragged What Lies Beneath and Six Days, Seven Nights to healthy profits. He's been a pretty big draw all his career. And he's totally sweet, which is another bonus.

 

::shakes his head at the likes of K19::

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Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20

Mel Gibson.

 

It's like the guy can do no wrong(Except for "The Man Without A Face")

 

How many bombs has he had in the last 5 years?

Chicken Run, Signs, What Women Want, & The Patriot all did well at the B.O.

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Guest Ravenbomb

ugh, Jennifer Lopez... :firing:

Maybe Kevin Smith can pull a good movie out of her via Jersy Girl

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Guest razazteca

Michael Myers of SNL fame is a big draw now due to the Austin Powers films.

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Guest C.H.U.D.

I'm pretty sure Tom Cruise has been the most solid at the box office in recent times, even more than Tom Hanks. I think every film he has starred in since The Firm has made $100 million or more.

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Guest Mole
I'm pretty sure Tom Cruise has been the most solid at the box office in recent times, even more than Tom Hanks. I think every film he has starred in since The Firm has made $100 million or more.

Okay, lets look at Cruise first ever since The Firm, then Hanks since Forrest Gump, then Gibson since Maverick and Carrey since Ace Ventura: Pet Detective .(They all since 1993/1994)

 

Cruise:

The Firm: $158.3 million

Interview with a Vampire: $105 million

Mission Impossible: $181 million

Jerry Maguire: $153.6 million

Eyes Wide Shut: $55.7 million

Magnolia: $22.5 million

Mission Impossible II: $215.4 million

Vanilla Sky: $100.6 million

Minority Report: $132 million

 

Hanks:

Forrest Gump: $329.7 million

Apollo 13: $172.1 million

Toy Story: $191.8 million

That Thing You Do: $25.8 million

Saving Private Ryan: $216.1 million

You've Got Mail: $115.7 million

Toy Story 2: $245.8 million

The Green Mile: $136.8 million

Cast Away: $233.6 million

Road to Perdition: $104.1 million

Catch Me If You Can: $164.3 million

 

Gibson:

Maverick: $101.6 million

Braveheart: $75.6 million

Pocahontas: $141.6 million

Ransom: $136.4 million

Conspiracy Theory: $76.1 million

Lethal Weapon 4: $130.4 million

The Million Dollar Hotel: $.1 million

Chicken Run: $106.8 million

The Patriot: $113.3 million

What Women Want: $182.8 million

We Were Soldiers: $78.1 million

Signs: $228 million

 

Carrey:

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: $72.2 million

The Mask: $119.9 million

Dumb & Dumber: $127.2 million

Batman Forever: $184 million

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls: $108.3 million

The Cable Guy: $60.2 million

Liar Liar: $181.4 million

The Truman Show: $125.6 million

Simon Birch: $18.3 million

Man on the Moon: $34.6 million

Me, Myself, & Irene: $90.6 million

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: $260 million

The Majestic: $27.8 million

 

Cruise average: $124.9 million

Hanks average: $176 million

Gibson average: $157.6 million

Carrey average: $115.4 million

 

Hanks wins, but not by much. Actually, if you don't count the Million Dollar Hotel with Gibson, then the average is $171 million. I believe I did all my math correct, but I could of made a mistake.

 

Anyway since 1993/1994, Hanks is the biggest draw by these numbers. He has had the biggest gross overall with Forrest Gump also.

 

Take that for what it is worth. If someone wants to do another actor, go ahead, but I believe Hanks wins.

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Guest hardyz1

I never heard of Million Dollar Hotel, but it must not be that good if it only made $100,000

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Guest Mole
I never heard of Million Dollar Hotel, but it must not be that good if it only made $100,000

I remember it, sort of. I think it was an indie movie and wasn't really marketed that much.

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Guest WrestlingDeacon

For Gibson you forgot Payback.

 

Really most those guys real drawing power started about 1990, so you could go back even further, although that would drop Carrey off the list pretty much.

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Guest EdwardKnoxII
I never heard of Million Dollar Hotel, but it must not be that good if it only made $100,000

 

Wasn't that the movie that was written or co-written by Bono?

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Guest Mole
For Gibson you forgot Payback.

 

Really most those guys real drawing power started about 1990, so you could go back even further, although that would drop Carrey off the list pretty much.

Oops, I even looked it up and everything.

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Guest WrestlingDeacon

Here's an added questions. If you adjust for inflation, who would be the biggest box office draw of all time. My guess would be John Wayne.

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