I genuinely enjoy the “most valuable” lists. Then again, I’m a gauche American and I love talking about money in general, and since we Americans are obsessed with being seen as a meritocracy, the Most Valuable list is perfect. Not only is it about money, it’s about how much money various actors bring in plus their star power/likeability. And once again, if you’re a studio and you want to make money on the shoulders of an actor, you should totally hire the young woman covered in Dorito dust, Jennifer Lawrence. You can see Vulture’s list of Most Valuable Actors here.
Vulture.com today released its fourth annual Most Valuable Stars list and Jennifer Lawrence took the top spot for the second year in a row. “Put very simply, she is the leading movie star of her generation,” Vulture’s editors write. The list ranks Hollywood’s 100 most valuable movie stars based on an exclusive formula that weighs a variety of factors including domestic and international box office, Twitter mentions, Oscar nominations, critical respect, feedback from Hollywood insiders, and a star’s overall “likability” (as determined by E-Poll).
The top three spots on the list remain unchanged from last year, with Jennifer Lawrence followed by Robert Downey Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio, who kept his place despite not releasing a film in the last year. Bradley Cooper rose to No. 4, thanks to the megahit American Sniper, which was 2014’s highest-grossing film domestically, followed by “franchise Viagra” Dwayne Johnson at No. 5, Tom Cruise at No. 6, Hugh Jackman at No. 7, Sandra Bullock at No. 8, Channing Tatum at No. 9, and Scarlett Johansson at No. 10, moving up 21 spots on the list from last year.
Debuts on the list this year include Amy Schumer (No. 39), Margot Robbie (No. 88), and Idris Elba (No. 97). The most notable gainer on the list was Chris Pratt, who jumped 57 points to No. 11 and also topped every other star’s likability score, even those of beloved veterans like Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.
Can you imagine the likability/value of a film starring J-Law and Channing Tatum? OMG. Someone needs to put them in a movie together, stat! Vulture also had a comparison list for the top ten between 2014 and 2015. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were on the top ten of the 2014 list, but dropped off the top ten of 2015 list. Tom Hanks also dropped off top ten too. How in the world did Chris Pratt not make the top ten? It seems like he’s the male J-Law. And yes, I side-eye the inclusion of Tom Cruise at #6. Really? Just goes to show you, his movies are still making crazy money overseas, thus he’s “valuable.”
And if you have a few minutes, check out J-Law gently handling the awkward flirtations of Olly Murs. I feel bad for him because he’s a big deal in the UK but Jennifer literally has no idea who he is. She thinks he’s just some random BBC guy.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
I would watch the shit out of a Jlaw-Tatum movie.
Me too.
Me too! They’d actually be really good together in a comedy/action film. She’s doing a film with Chris Pratt right now, so we’ll see how that works out.
She deserves it. She genuinely IS likeable and talented to boot (I saw Mockingjay Part 2 yesterday and she did her best Kaniss performance yet IMO).
(Chris Pratt was nr. 11 by the way.)
It must be good to be JLaw. I wish her the best.
i just can’t muster the desire to see Mockingjay 2. I dunno why… the story is just boring to me at this point, and the book was one of the worst i’ve ever read.
Because it is was unnecessarily chopped into two parts. That’s why.
I loved Winter’s Bone, she was terrific in it and but I think she’s overreated, especially in American Hustle. What was that “accent”.. I don’t get why the media keeps sucking up to her. She doesn’t seem genuine to me with the whole goofy act on talkshows that are often rehearsed in pre-interview.
I love JLaw so much and this makes me so happy that she is more valuable than RDJ’s conservative ass but i need to move away from when she does the hunger games press cos its always too much and then i cannot separate Katniss from JLaw. Also i dunno why but the Mockingjay movies feel really underwhelming . Like i loved the books and all but i hardly anticipate these movies. They are pretty serviceable at least and make tons of money but i never saw someone actually anticipating to see these( i am from Asia btw so it may be different in the US)
Lets see if she is still around in 20 years, I seriously doubt it.
If she avoids falling into the romcom trap and continues to do serious dramas and indies, I can easily see her becoming the next Meryl Streep.
i think she’s doing it right….. take note keira, scarlett, rachel mcadams, amanda seyfried, (watev on the spelling) i feel like they are missing or have missed the boat
She does megahits and critical acclaimed pieces and rides the wave of hotness all while having general fun it seems while doling it. ….. of course im sure it may be a shtick and she’s a miserable c*nt but as a 20 something seeing her is kinda inspiring on having fun, being the best at your career, and living and making mistake and still holding your head high.
I think ScarJo is doing fine. She also does megahits and critically acclaimed movies and rides the wave of hotness. And her salary goes up every year, so she’s probably going to join the $20 million club, too.
Rachel McAdams, though. Why isn’t she a bigger deal?
I think McAdams decided to take a break at the wrong time and kind of “missed the train,” so to speak. She’s lovely, and I’d love to see her do well, but I’d be very surprised if she’s able to regain her momentum from before.
Scarjo seems to be moving into indie film industry more with the occasionally big screen hit, which I think actually works better for her? I always liked her best in indie work rather than major film.
ScarJo is doing a good job balancing Marvel with smaller movies, you’re right. Even Lucy was “small” compared to your standard action movie. But Ghost in the Shell is going to be a big budget sci-fi production. I think as she approaches the end of her Marvel contract, she’ll start doing more studio movies. But I don’t think she’ll do as many as JLaw, whose “indie” movies are actually studio produced with decent budgets. ScarJo seems to really like actual independent filmmaking, like Under the Skin or working with Woody Allen.
I love Rachel McAdams. I agree that she seemed to step back and also made some film choices that did not work out well.
I hear she is great in Spotlight (which I’m going to see this week).
Because she’s not that talented? She’s a good actress who missed her moment, and when she next came around there was a sea of great actresses outshining her.
I think all of those actresses are doing well and seem to do projects that interest them, not just what pays the bills, with a mix of bigger budget and indies.
Rachel McAdams seems to be the only one struggling a bit, which is a shame. I really like her, but she got stuck in a rom-com rut, and then while she did very good work on it, True Detective season 2 was horrible and a critical failure. I hope something really good comes her way soon.
I like her a lot as an ambitious young actress, but I do think she benefited enormously from her franchise involvement. It’ll be interesting to see where her net worth goes in the next few years if she drops the mega-contracts for awhile to do more stand-alone film.
Well yeah. That’s why everyone is in a franchise now. Generally they all benefit enormously from it. She was smart to get two, one that appeals to younger kids/women and one that appeals to adults/men. She has all the bases covered.
Definitely the Hunger Games for sure, but I like that she’s balanced that out with smaller films too.
Chris Pratt is #11, so he’s right at the threshold, and you know next year he’ll be in the top 10. The thing holding him back is probably that he isn’t as famous in the real world as he is on the internet. I was shocked recently at a family event where *no one* knew who he was. I was like, “Andy from Parks & Rec?” Nothing. “Star Lord?” Oh yeah, him! People know his characters, not *him.* And I was amazed at how many people didn’t realize Star Lord and the guy from Jurassic World were the same guy.
I don’t know why but that first picture didn’t look like her. Anyway I don’t have a good or bad opinion of her. Winter’s Bone was a great movie and she kicked it in that movie.
That was flirting? Well, he is British, I guess…
I have nothing against J-Law, but I think I’m sick of the franchise.
I just love the length of her hair and cut.
I just love the length of her hair and cut.
I’m a fan but I’m kind of exhausted of her.
She’s also the most overrated actress for the third years in a row. Every plain blonde in her position, with two franchise in resumee, would achieve the same, no matter the talent.
Jennifer Lawrence + Chris Pratt > Jennifer Lawrence + Channing Tatum
I think she did something to her face and the blond hair is to distract us. Something has changed
I really hope she stays in the limelight for another 10 years at least. Sick of seeing female actors slowly disposed of when the hit their 30s. Keria, natalie, Scarlett, Mila, it’s just depressing. Then we have ugly ass actors who stay in the limelight when middle aged. I hope jennifer helps to change this ageism – even if it’s a little.