If you’re as obsessed with analyzing the weekend box office results as we are, you’ve probably played the Hollywood Stock Exchange. It’s fun, but frankly we could never get over one glaring problem: it didn’t make us any real money. What was the point? According to Roger Friedman, that might be changing soon. He says that Cantor Fitzgerald’s Howard Lutnick is in the process of making this Hollywood Stock Exchange a reality.
If this gets approved, you’ll be able to bet real money on movies, movie stars, movie genres, production companies and more. To help prep you to make the big bucks, we review the top five riskiest starbonds after the jump. Keep in mind we determined this based off of the ratio of money paid to the actor for a film, versus how much the film grossed. Only movies within the last five years were counted.
5. Tom Cruise
He was funny in Tropic Thunder, but MI3 did terribly, as did War of the Worlds, Lions for Lambs, and Valkyrie. The Oprah and Today Show incidents haven’t helped matters. That said, he has a lot of movies in the pipeline and he is Tom Cruise. A stock to watch.
4. Drew Barrymore
We prefer her appearances on Family Guy to her recent film work. Some movies, like Lucky You and Fever Pitch, were absolutely terrible AND did poorly at the box office. Whip It was OK, but it only brought in $13 M domestically — that’s no E.T. At the same time, Barrymore has the kind of staying power most stars only dream of. Perhaps a good long-term stock pick?
3. Eddie Murphy
Everyone longs for the days of eighties Eddie Murphy, but for the last decade he’s been making films only kids would like. This hasn’t helped his box office appeal. The Shrek films save him a little bit, and Beverly Hills IV is on its way, but for the present he’s extremely risky. One to watch now, buy later.
2. Ewan McGregor
The Island did terribly, and most of the indie fare he loves has too. In terms of money made versus money earned, he’s bad news. You might love him, but this is one stock to dump.
1. Will Ferrell
The expensive remake of Land of the Lost was a major bomb. Also, the fact that he keeps playing the same roles has grown stale. Ferrell has some smash hits from yesteryear, and Anchorman 2 could be a box office comeback, but he’s the riskiest stock on the table right now. Are you feeling lucky?
