A new, in-depth study reveals Tom Cruise is the top movie star in America. It also reveals several interesting things [emphasis original]:
The National Research Group, an analysis firm specializing in entertainment and technology, commissioned a surname asking respondents to “name up to five actors that would make them most interested” in going to the movie theater.
It wasn’t a question of favorites, or which films fans are most interested in, but other what star would motivate you to go and see a movie at a cinema, and the list is as follows:
- Tom Cruise – 60
- Dwayne Johnson – 50
- Tom Hanks – 66
- Brad Pitt – 59
- Denzel Washington – 68
- Julia Roberts – 55
- Will Smith – 54
- Leonardo DiCaprio – 48
- Johnny Depp – 59
- Kevin Hart – 43
- Keanu Reeves – 58
- Sandra Bullock – 58
- Ryan Reynolds – 46
- Adam Sandler – 56
- Harrison Ford – 80
- George Clooney – 61
- Robert Downey Jr. – 58
- Angelina Jolie – 47
- Morgan Freeman – 85
- Chris Hemsworth – 39
I’ve added their ages, and as you can see, other than Hemsworth, who turns 40 in a few months, no one on this list is under 40. That is a pretty amazing discovery.
In 1987, here were the biggest movie stars, along with their age:
- Eddie Murphy – 26
- Michael Douglas – 43
- Michael J. Fox – 26
- Arnold Schwarzenegger – 40
- Paul Hogan – 48
- Tom Cruise -25
- Glenn Close – 40
- Sylvester Stallone – 41
- Cher – 41
- Mel Gibson – 31
Look for yourself. No matter how far you go back, almost all of the biggest stars were in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The exceptions were true exceptions. Charles Bronson wasn’t a true box office attraction until he hit middle age. John Wayne held on to his audience well into his sixties. Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, and Jack Nicholson pop up now and again, but young people always surround them.
How will Hollywood march on without stars? With the superhero genre fading fast, what’s left other than animated movies and cheapie horror productions?
File/Portrait of American actor John Wayne (1907 – 1979) leaning on a wooden bar holding a cigarette, dressed in a suit and checkered cap. The Hollywood legend held on to his audience well into his sixties. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Instead of grooming new, young talent, Hollywood has been deliberately diminishing the power of the star by focusing on franchises, remakes, and high-concept junk that will draw customers regardless of who stars in it. But those workarounds are running out of steam.
It’s not all the fault of the industry. The so-called stars are also to blame. Too many of them are stone-cold idiots annihilating the thing required to be a star—audience goodwill—by behaving like mean, bullying jackasses on social media or while sitting next to Jimmy Kimmel. Out of the gate, they kill any chance at earning the goodwill earned by those aging names above.
Of the 20 biggest movie stars today, while some of them promote political causes, not a single one is a jerk about it. Instead, they’re generally classy and never mean-spirited or superior.
At times, some of those names have made mistakes. George Clooney was outright obnoxious for a while. But unlike what we see all over Twitter by so many young Hollywood jerks, it’s not a relentless, 24/7 hate-fest from the aging top 20.
Hey, it’s no skin off my nose. With notable exceptions, I’ve given up on modern movies and retreated into filmdom’s rich past. Life is too short to waste on garbage starring garbage that hates me.
Josh Gad or a John Garfield movie I’ve already seen five times?
Easy choice.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.