A box-office banker: How Matt Damon became Hollywood's leading man - Independent Online Edition > Americas

The smartest way a movie studio can spend its money: hire Matt Damon

Damon's films return $29 for every dollar he is paid. That's twice as much as Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. The number 2-3-4 guys are Pitt, Depp, and Vaughn. The top female is, suprisingly, Jennifer Aniston.

Ther worst investment is Russell Crowe, whose price tag is high and whose grosses don't seem to be substantially affected by his presence.

The list is restricted, of course, to top-liners. If it included all players I'm pretty sure the winner would be the guy who plays C3PO.

It seems to me that Eddie Murphy should be high on the list, but is not included in the analysis.