Technically, Smith hasn't had the title for a while, but After Earth and Focus underperforming indicate that he's definitely not top of the roost anymore (he DOES still have drawing power, but ten years ago it would have done $30+ million OW pretty easily, I think). So, who has the title now? I'll allow people to pick three, because I don't think there's a clear #1 the way that Smith was last decade (no one could pull off an opening like Smith did for I Am Legend, for example), and a Top 3 is more round than a Top 2.

I think DiCaprio is a pretty easy pick right now. J. Edgar aside, his movies have been over-performing since Shutter Island, despite all being non-franchise work and in many cases R-rated. He has pretty intense four-quadrant appeal too - it's the classic "women wants him and men want to be him" thing. #2 is also pretty easy - Sandra Bullock. I almost forgot her since she's slowing down her productivity, but the one-two one-two punches of The Proposal and THe Blind Side followed by The Heat and Gravity remains pretty incredible. So long as the movies don't suck ass (All About Steve, Extremely Loud/Incredibly Close), her appeal is immense.

Picking a third one is a little harder. Lawrence seems like she should be an easy pick, but she hasn't really had a project sold just on her to show how strong she is on her own - it's been either franchise flicks or ensemble pieces since 2012. Joy will be interesting to watch perform. I'm tempted to pick McCarthy, because Tammy was oh so very poorly marketed, had poor reviews, mixed WOM, and still managed to make back four times its budget in the U.S. alone. Her international appeal is currently non-existent, though, but that could change. Cooper is also tempting, especially after the breakout of Sniper, but I'd like to see at least one more big breakout on is name alone before saying that (Ahola could be the ticket, but early word on the movie's quality is poor). Brad Pitt is also super-consistent when he's not doing arty stuff, and I was about to go with him.

But then I remembered Denzel, who may not make $150+ million blockbusters but has had only one sub-$60 million grosser in the last ten years, and I was like "Oh yeah, him."

My personal Top 5:

1. DiCaprio
2. Bullock
3. Washington
4. McCarthy
5. Pitt

Thoughts?!

1. Denzel Washington
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
3. Melissa McCarthy
4. Sandra Bullock
5. Angelina Jolie
6. Kevin Hart
7. Brad Pitt
8. Seth Rogen
9. Mark Wahlberg
10. Jennifer Lawrence
11. Meryl Streep
12. Bradley Cooper
13. Channing Tatum
14. Matt Damon
15. Will Smith
16. Tom Hanks
17. Adam Sandler
18. Tom Cruise
19. Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise probably scare away business at this point.

Leo, Pitt, and Denzel.

Starpower was replaced by brandpower...

Marvel, Pixar, Disney, Lego, etc.

Even some directors ooze brandpower with the right project: Eastwood, Spielberg, Nolan etc.

Mark nailed it.

Nobody can call Denzel was one of the biggest draws when his films routinely bomb overseas

I don't think people go to see a film just because a certain actor is in it. It is when an actor is associated with quality films over a long period of time that audiences tend to notice and the actor develops a brand of their own.

I think it depends. Star power is very fleeting at the moment, Dicaprio, Denzel, and Bullock aside.

I don't think Jennifer Lawrence is anything close to big enough to headline on her own.

Choosing the right projects is so key for an actor, anyone could feasibly have a bomb. But some people have consistently picked the right projects and they connect with audiences, so I'd say they're on a roll. Current top 3 for me was similar to Jonathon's analysis, selected Sandra Bullock and Leonardo DiCaprio immediately, then was torn between Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington (ultimately ruling out Bradley Cooper or Jennifer Lawrence because I feel like their streaks have been too short? and seemingly really 'lucky' and/or they've just really picked the right projects very well). Voted for Denzel for that damn consistency at the (domestic) BO, then 1924 mentioned lack of international draw and I thought "Damn, didn't think of that, should've gone gut with PITT who I think routinely puts butts in seats, for a lot of people he brings a real something-something to a project." or something to that effect.

Sandra Bullock
Leonardo DiCaprio
Brad Pitt
Denzel Washington
(Bradley Cooper
Jennifer Lawrence)
I think Melissa McCarthy just murdered her own hot streak, we'll see

But mark66 had a good point too. How would you rank the brands?

Marvel
Pixar
Disney
Peter Jackson and or Lord of the Rings? Christopher Nolan?
James Bond
Rogan/Franco/Apatow/Jonah Hill

and coming up again, Star Wars.... ?

Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio.

A great range of consistency and drawing power.

Mark is right.

Marvel, Disney/Pixar, Batman, Despicable Me, Hunger Games etc are brands today.

OS Ice Age is a mega brand as well. As is Transformers in Asia(especially in China). if Furious 7 also explodes then it can join other mega franchises.

Among Actors only Leo has delivered hits across genres. Angelina has proved to be big in most projects. JLaw, Sandra Bullock are up there as well.

It's not like she has done that before.

They "bomb"? Lol

Everyone is correct that it is about brand power not star power these days. But if i had to name a few that are still huge names worldwide- Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp (not domestically), Sandra Bullock, Leonardo Dicaprio, Denzel Washington (mainly domestically), Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Liam Nesson, Adam Sandler

These names are popular right now, it remains to be seen if they will become consistent draws. With the right projects it can happen.
Bradley Cooper- he's probably the closest to the top group, in fact he probably should be there right now but i want to see how Aloha does in the summer; Cooper does comedy, drama, action, etc.
Robert Downey Jr.- I could have put him in the top group, but his highest grossing films are all franchises or branded material (Sherlock Holmes).
Jennifer Lawrence- shes done with Hunger Games now, she can do anything she wants, let's see what happens.
Shailene Woodley-she has her own franchise, and led a popular romance-drama but we'll see what happens after that.
Chris Pratt- he's headlining two franchises, has to pick different projects in order to prove draw.
Ben Affleck-i think he has a more positive public reception ever since getting married and having kids. But we'll see how his next several projects do.
Scarlett Johansson- she's becoming a bit of an action star.
Channing Tatum- he's a draw in certain projects; not consistent though.
Jennifer Aniston- she's a draw in comedies.
Kevin hart-he's a draw in comedies. But he needs to do a drama or action like Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey in order to get on their level.
Melissa Mccarthy- she's a draw in comedies.
Seth Rogan- he's a draw in comedies. But he needs to go the Jonah Hill route if he wants to have a long-lasting career.

Tough ones to figure out:
Tom hanks- he was popular in 90s and is a well known actor. But im not sure of his brand right now.
George Clooney- seems to be more well-known as a celebrity than actor.
Matt Damon-Not a consistent draw but well-known
Mark Walhberg-Not a consistent draw but well-known

Melissa McCarthy is probably #1.

Is fat funny again? I thought we got over that after Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy lowered the genre to fart jokes.

Tammy would have done Delivery Man numbers or worse without her. And Identity Thief would have gotten nowhere near 100 million. The Heat would have just crawled to 100 million, not flown past 150.

There is only one persone on that list, that no matter what type of movie it is, I would guarantee success for it.

Leo.

Everyone else needs the right project, and most of them choose it. Pitt may be close to Leo, but he chooses a dud every now and then because he'll do a super weird film.

Sandy and Leo are #1 and #2 by a mile, as you said. Denzel is probably #3, but its hard to say, so I only voted for those two.

Agreed.

If Spy can break $100 mil, I would include her.

It will easily.

Sure, there's nothing really going against it after it releases... but Pitch Perfect 2 is the weekend before. It would need $35+ mil OW to get to $100 mil, imo.

With not-so-hot WOM Bad Teacher did 100 Million after a 31.6 Million weekend. Female-led comedies tend to have strong weekdays and a lot of McCarthy's older fans might not come out right away. If WOM is good for Spy I could see it opening to 29 Million and still getting to 100.

Feig's first two movies made over $150M, why would Spy drop so dramatically?