Many American movie fans may still be unaware that some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are Canadian — but at least the market recognizes their worth.
The 10 and 3 has rounded up the most bankable Canadian film stars, and their lists feature some obvious names, from Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves to Hayden Christensen and Ryan Reynolds.
The site put together a few lists to evaluate how much money an actor is making the industry, including the number of films in which they had lead roles and how much money those films made in total, both domestically and internationally.
Unsurprisingly, Carrey is at the top, with his films raking in US$4.58 billion at the box office. Myers is right behind, with $4.08 billion, and Keanu Reeves, with $3.78 billion.
Younger celebrities like Reynolds, Christensen and Rachel McAdams are on the list, too. And Christensen has held his own in his movies — the eight productions where he was the lead raked in nearly $2 billion.
The same principle applies to Myers — while Carrey has starred in 27 films, Myers was only the lead in 12 — making the latter more bankable per film.
So The 10 and 3 also looked at the box office earnings per movie in which Canadian actors had leading roles. There, Myers is on top, no doubt propelled by blockbuster franchises like "Austin Powers" and "Shrek."
In second is Kim Cattrall, who brought in a not-too-shabby $237 million for her three starring roles. For two of those, she brought back her iconic “Sex and the City" character Samantha Jones, according to the site.
The 10 and 3 also looked at the total box office earnings for every movie where an actor appeared. There, funnyman Will Arnett is on top, likely because he’s lent his voice to animated hits like "Ratatouille," "The Lego Movie" and "Despicable Me."
Right below are Carrey and Seth Rogen.
The 10 and 3 got its data from movie business site The Numbers, which considers a leading actor to be one that appears on the film's promotional poster. If the poster features more than four people, then all of them are dubbed lead ensemble actors, which The 10 and 3 don't consider leading.
But while some of these results surprised us, one fact did not — that a number of the actors were comedians. Not only are we Canadians a funny bunch, but the world appreciates our humour, too.
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