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You Give Me One Dollar, I’ll Earn You $44

posted by Women & Hollywood
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 6:06pm CDT

Sometimes I don’t know how Forbes comes up with all these lists that they run. Here is their latest. Actresses who provide the biggest bang for the buck.

The woman who provides the biggest bang for the buck is Naomi Watts. She doesn’t star in big movies, and earns around $5 million a picture but she’s been in a bunch of hits which put her in the top position.

Here’s one important assessment:

One thing most of the actresses on this list have in common is that they did not carry the films on their own. In Hollywood, it’s still rare for a woman to be the main star. For the most part, women are co-stars or they appear in ensemble films like He’s Just Not That Into You, which was a surprise hit in February, earning $177 million at the box office worldwide.

A couple of the women on the list get paid the most and provide the biggest bang for the bucks and those include Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway.

I haven’t noticed Forbes creating a list like this of male actors. Why do it for women who make so much less and barely carry any movies?

The list:

Naomi Watt – 44 to 1

Jennifer Connelly – 41 to 1

Rachel McAdams – 30 to 1

Natalie Portman – 28 to 1

Meryl Steep – 27 to 1

Jennifer Aniston – 26 to 1

Halle Berry – 23 to 1

Cate Blanchett – 23 to 1

Anne Hathaway – 23 to 1

Hilary Swank – 23 to 1

Here’s how they came up with the list:

They looked at the 100 biggest stars in Hollywood. To qualify, each actress had to have starred in at least three movies in the past five years that opened in more than 500 theaters.

Best Actresses for the Buck (Forbes.com)