MVPs of the Movies: Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Eddie Murphy and Robin Williams Top the List

What does it take to be one of the most valuable actors of all time? 24/7 Wall St. considered this and ranked almost 700 leading actors. They found that in order to top the list, an actor needed to have starred in not just one but several high-grossing franchises. They point out that "Success in the box office is not the same as success with the critics. A look at the top actors on this list makes that clear." But two of the top ten--all men--are also double Oscar winners: Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks, who is #1.

Take a look at the top ten below.  Here's how they calculated the list:

There are movie stars, and then there are actors whose involvement appears more important than the movie itself. Some are so critical to success that studios will pay them tens of millions of dollars to be in their pictures. To identify the most valuable actors of all time, 24/7 Wall St. ranked nearly 700 leading actors in online movie data resource Box Office Mojo’s database. Actors ranked higher if they starred in more films, if the films they starred in averaged high ticket sales, and if they had among the highest combined box office gross adjusted for ticket price inflation. Based on a review of films’ gross box office sales, adjusted for ticket price inflation, from Box Office Mojo’s data, these are the 10 most valuable actors of all time:

The complete list and analysis is here.

10. John Travolta
Total film gross: $4.3 billion
Average film gross: $99.7 million
Films: 43
Top grossing film: Grease
Acting Oscars: 0

9. Clint Eastwood
Total film gross: $4.3 billion
Average film gross: $93.3 million
Films: 46
Top grossing film: Every Which Way But Loose
Acting Oscars: 0

8. Morgan Freeman
Total film gross: $4.5 billion
Average film gross: $95.8 million
Films: 47
Top grossing film: The Dark Knight
Acting Oscars: 1

7. Sean Connery
Total film gross: $4.5 billion
Average film gross: $122.9 million
Films: 37
Top grossing film: Thunderball
Acting Oscars: 1

6. Dustin Hoffman
Total film gross: $4.6 billion
Average film gross: $117.5 million
Films: 39
Top grossing film: The Graduate
Acting Oscars: 2

5. Tom Cruise
Total film gross: $5.0 billion
Average film gross: $153.0 million
Films: 33
Top grossing film: Top Gun
Acting Oscars: 0

4. Robin Williams
Total film gross: $4.8 billion
Average film gross: $108.4 million
Films: 44
Top grossing film: Mrs. Doubtfire
Acting Oscars: 1

3. Eddie Murphy
Total film gross: $5.9 billion
Average film gross: $154.6 million
Films: 38
Top grossing film: Shrek 2
Acting Oscars: 0

2. Harrison Ford
Total film gross: $7.4 billion
Average film gross: $218.3 million
Films: 34
Top grossing film: Star Wars
Acting Oscars: 0

1. Tom Hanks
Total film gross: $6.2 billion
Average film gross: $155.4 million
Films: 40
Top grossing film: Forrest Gump
Acting Oscars: 2