The American market research agency National Research Group wanted to know which Hollywood stars people still go to the cinemas for at a time when the film business is strongly brand-driven. A larger survey was carried out for this purpose, in which it was deliberately not asked which films people looked forward to or who they personally liked. The question was: Who would you most like to see in the cinema?
The result has now been published in a study that was really only intended for the big Hollywood companies. But after it circulated there, it was leaked to entertainment journalist Matthew Belloni, who wrote on his blog has now published its key findings – including the top 20 of the 100-ranked list. And that’s quite an old man ranking.
Tom Cruise for Dwayne Johnson: The Top 20 Hollywood Stars
The information is important in advance. It’s a pure Hollywood study. Only Americans were interviewed. In an international study, the ranking would look very different, it would probably be dominated by Indian but also Chinese filmmakers, because not only is there a huge audience there, but the actors are usually even more the real brands and not franchises like Marvel and Co .
But here’s the top 20:
- Tom Cruise
- Dwayne Johnson
- Tom Hanks
- Brad Pitt
- Denzel Washington
- Julia Roberts
- Will Smith
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Johnny Dep
- Kevin Hart
- Keanu Reeves
- Sandra Bullock
- Ryan Reynolds
- Adam Sandler
- Harrison Ford
- George Clooney
- Robert Downey Jr.
- Angelina Jolie
- Morgan Freeman
- Chris Hemsworth
As said before, it’s an old men’s ranking. Only three women make the list with Julia Roberts (6th place), Sandra Bullock (12) and Angelina Jolie (18). With 39-year-old Chris Hemsworth in 20th place, only one person under 40 is on the list. In the entire top 100, there are at least 13 – with other names such as Jennifer Lawrence (25th place), Tom Holland (39th), Michael B. Jordan (43) and Zendaya (47). On the other hand, Harrison Ford (15) and Morgan Freeman (19) are two actors who are already over 80.
Even the young especially love the old ones
The study is, of course, a survey of the entire audience – which makes sense, old stars have an advantage because many will name the names they grew up with and look forward to seeing each new movie, perhaps for decades.
Yes on there are plenty of other details about the study, which also show, among other things, that even young audiences want to see much older stars. In the so-called Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2010), Tom Holland and Zendaya with 10th and 15th place are significantly higher than in the overall standings, but still behind Kevin Hart and Adam Sandler, who are 3rd and 5th respectively again find. Industry insider Belloni mainly cites their Netflix work as the reason for both. In fact, Sandler ranks second in the 18-24 age group.
Is the research just a gimmick or does it have value?
The research can now be dismissed as a gimmick, but Belloni is convinced it will have an impact. The insider, well acquainted with the work of Hollywood studios and an attorney in the industry before becoming a journalist, believes that such a list will influence casting issues.
In addition, it should also have an impact on things like marketing, if you see, for example – not surprising – that Tom Cruise owes his top position mainly to men (he is “only” 7th among women), Julia Roberts among women over 35 everything or women under the age of 35 are least affected by Johnny Depp’s missteps and he remains popular with them.