Will Smith’s star power just doesn’t stop. Although it occasionally has a lull, like when audiences collectively yawned for his last film, Seven Pounds. But minor box office blips don’t count when Will’s films have made more than $5.2 billion dollars. That kind of money buys a lot of donations to the Church of Scientology. And it’s the kind of money that makes Will Smith Forbes Magazine’s number one on the Forbes Star Currency List, a judgment based on past box office, potential financial attraction, whether a star can “carry” a film, and media relations.

Filling out the top five are Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Angie is the highest ranked woman on the list, and she’s only one of three women in the top twenty. The other two are Julia Roberts and … Meryl Streep! Surprise! After her fifteenth Oscar nomination and hit films like Mama Mia and The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep is now seen as the female Jack Nicholson – someone really cool and hip that audiences love. The Telegraph has more:

[Will Smith] topped the Forbes Star Currency list, which measures actors’ financial clout.

The data was based not just on box office success but also on a star’s ability to attract financing and guarantee cinema distribution for a project, and whether or not their presence “significantly drives box office performance”.

“Will Smith stands alone as the only actor to score a perfect 10 among industry voters in the Star Currency survey,” the magazine said.

The 40-year-old star’s films have made $5,239,409,825 (£3,615,342,000) at the worldwide box office. In the US, eight of his movies have debuted in the number one slot at the box office.

“He has shown, time and again, that, in today’s world, regardless of the material, people want to watch Will Smith. He is cross-genre and proved it multiple times,” says Ashok Amritraj, chairman and CEO of Hyde Park Entertainment.

Johnny Depp was second in the list, thanks in part to his Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, although the magazine dubbed him “the poster child for ‘indie actor as box office star'”. Leonardo DiCaprio was third.

In fourth place, Angelina Jolie was the highest ranked actress – one place ahead of her partner, Brad Pitt. Forbes said: “She’s got the acting credibility and exposure – key ingredients. Some of her peers on the upper reaches of the list have more box office to their names, but right now, the industry clearly recognises what she can mean to a project.”

Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson made up the rest of the top 10. Of Nicholson, still going strong at 71, the magazine said: “Iconic. Living-legend status, but still hip with audiences. The three-time Oscar winner has mapped his career in a way few others have.”

From The Daily Telegraph

Shall I just cut this one off before it starts? There are many people who claim that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not liked by audiences, even if their films make huge box office and hard data doesn’t lie. I’m not claiming that everyone loves Brangelina – only stating that Forbes does pretty impartial analysis, and if Forbes puts both Brad and Angelina in the top five, they’re doing better than a lot of their critics claim.

Just in the past year, Angelina was declared a “billion dollar woman” because her three 2008 films (Wanted, Kung Fu Panda, Changeling) made more than a billion dollars within a nine-month period. Brad’s supporting role in Burn After Reading had a number-one box office opening weekend, and Brad earned a BAFTA nomination for his hilarious turn as a dumb, dorky gym employee. This was followed by his Oscar-nominated turn in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is the number one film in the world this week. Just sayin’. Here’s a list of the top twenty:

1 Will Smith
2 Johnny Depp
3 Leonardo DiCaprio
4 Angelina Jolie
5 Brad Pitt
6 Tom Hanks
7 George Clooney
8 Denzel Washington
9 Matt Damon
10 Jack Nicholson
11 Julia Roberts
12 Adam Sandler
13 Tom Cruise
14 Russell Crowe
15 Will Ferrell
16 Meryl Streep
17 Robert De Niro
18 Ben Stiller
19 Jim Carrey
20 Clint Eastwood