8 Legitimate Box Office Draws
Sandra Bullock
The fantastic $34.1 million debut of The Blind Side inspired this list, and Sandra Bullock has proven time and time again that she can open movies. Beautiful, hilarious, and yet somehow down-to-earth and relatable, Bullock comes across as funny and appealing to guys, and appealing as an everyday woman to her fellow females. While her main audience is certainly females, and most of her big box office hits are romantic comedies (Miss Congeniality - $106 million, Two Weeks Notice - $93 million, The Proposal - $163 million), she's proven a few times that she's more versatile than that. Look no further than Speed, with its $121 million gross, or The Blind Side's current box office performance- she's a true-blue box office star.Adam Sandler
I wrote about Sandler's box office viability extensively a while ago. You can read that post here. All you have to know, is that this man is one of the smartest decision makers in Hollywood. He knows his target audience, and he constantly releases films that they want to see. Voila! You've got a formula for great box office results.Jim Carrey
The go-to man for comedy. Jim Carrey, more than any other funnyman in the last 20 years, has established himself as the most popular comedian at the box office. Audiences love his brand of absurd facial expressions and heartfelt sincerity. He's been trying to branch out lately, but when he sticks to high profile, big budget releases like Fun With Dick And Jane ($110 million), Bruce Almighty ($242 million), How The Grinch Stole Christmas ($260 million), Liar Liar ($181 million), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls ($108 million) features, he really hits his stride and rakes in the dollars. I personally love it when Carrey mixes his comedy persona with some more serious roles, like in The Truman Show, which resulted in great reviews great box office ($125 million).Jennifer Aniston
People love to tear down Jennifer Aniston, saying she hasn't been successful as a movie star and that she should have stuck to TV. I beg to differ. When Aniston sticks to the breezy romantic comedy genre, she's remarkably popular. She's found big success with films like Along Came Polly ($88 million), The Break Up ($118 million), Marley And Me ($143 million), He's Just Not That Into You ($93 million). By my calculations, that makes someone a movie star.Will Smith
Like Sandler above, way back in the day, I dedicated a whole post to Will Smith's box office success. I don't need to tell you how famous he is... Just read the old post and add 2008's $227 million gross for Hancock to the mix.Brad Pitt
The godfather of all celebrities has really established himself as a major box office force in the 2000s. He doesn't have as much of a defined genre as some of the other people on this list, but he typically plays cocky, comedic characters, though he has done his fair share of dramas as well. In the last decade, he's found success with Oceans Eleven ($183 million), Troy ($123 million), Oceans Twelve ($125 million), Mr. And Mrs. Smith ($186 million), Oceans Thirteen ($117 million), The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button ($127 million), and Inglorious Basterds ($120 million).Katherine Heigl
Heigl is certainly the youngest and least proven actor on this list, but in the last three years, since che burst onto the scene in TV's Grey's Anatomy, she has chosen her film roles wisely, and I have my eye on her as the young box office star with the most potential drawing power. She already has figured out that her bread and butter is in the romantic comedy genre. In 2007, she starred in Knocked Up, which grossed $146 million. In 2008, she took 27 Dresses to $76 million. And in 2009, she helped The Ugly Truth to $88 million. If she continues to pick strong roles within her genre, she'll keep seeing strong returns.|
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12 comments:
The Forbes article you linked to the other day stated that Carrey's draw might not be worth his high cost. His return on investment gets pulled down because of films like The Number 23, $77 million worldwide. The article said that for every $1 Carrey was paid, his films earned an average $8.62. (And Christmas Carol won't help... yet.)
Great list, Grady. Happy Thanksgiving, man.
Yea, his salary may be too much, but in terms of getting people to the theaters, he definitely succeeds.
It's driving me crazy that there are 2 comments here, but the main page only says 1... Now there will be 3, but the comments on the main page will say 2! Oh well, it's only flukey for this post.
I gotta say, Will Smith has proven to be #1. This man can seriously attract HUGE audiences with solely his name.
If I Am Legend had someone like Mark Wahlberg, the results wouldn't have been nearly as successful.
Grady, you're also forgetting a lot of the African American draws. Denzel has proven time in and time out he can carry a picture. Also Tyler Perry. Say what you will about the quality of his films, but the man can bring hordes of viewers to the cinema.
I actually had Tyler Perry on the list, but I took him off since he isn't an actor. Denzel, I thought about, but he hasn't been super busy lately.
... Call me stupid, but doesn't Tyler Perry act in all his movies? Isn't he Madea?
...Call me stupid, but doesn't Tyler Perry star in his movies? In fact isn't he Madea?
NOW the first post shows up...
URGH, yea, he does- but I just consider him more of a director even though he does act in them! Gah, I probably should have left him on there. Oh well!
It's cool, just making sure I wasn't going crazy.
No that's actually right because Tyler Perry draws viewers to his films based on his direction not acting.
Good list Grady but where's Shia Labeouf? Besides the two Transformers movies, he had two very big hits in the last two years with both Eagle Eye and Disturbia.
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