Top Box Office Stars of the 2000s

Who were the Top Box Office Stars of the 2000s statistically?  This page will attempt to answer that question.  Our main source of information was our Ultimate Movie Ranking (UMR) pages that covered movie stars that made movies in the 2000s. So far we have box office grosses on 5,255 movies made between 2000 and 2009.  Granted this is far from all the movies made during that time frame….but it does cover most of the major movie releases in that decade.

We have included four lists of information.  List one looks at the Top 15 stars by adjusted domestic box office.  List two looks at the Top 15 stars by highest average rating per movie according to critics and audiences.   List three looks at the Top 15 Stars by highest average UMR score per movie.  List four shows our entire table of all the stars we looked at while complying these lists.

Top 15 Adjusted Domestic Box Office Leaders 2000 – 2009

  1. Orlando Bloom $3,464.40 million in adjusted domestic gross
  2. Samuel L. Jackson  $3,254.50 million in adjusted domestic gross
  3. Morgan Freeman $2,610.90 million in adjusted domestic gross
  4. Ben Stiller $2,603.90 million in adjusted domestic gross
  5. Cate Blanchett $2,568.60 million in adjusted domestic gross
  6. Eddie Murphy  $2,552.50 million in adjusted domestic gross
  7. Johnny Depp $2,489.90 million in adjusted domestic gross
  8. Emma Watson $2,475.60 million in adjusted domestic gross
  9. Cameron Diaz  $2,469.20 million in adjusted domestic gross
  10. Owen Wilson $2,451.70 million in adjusted domestic gross
  11. Daniel Radcliffe  $2,433.60 million in adjusted domestic gross
  12. Will Smith $2,303.00 million in adjusted domestic gross
  13. Geoffrey Rush  $2,256.70 million in adjusted domestic gross
  14. Gary Oldman $2,253.00 million in adjusted domestic gross
  15. Zoe Saldana $2,150.40 million in adjusted domestic gross

Top 15 Average Critic/Audience Rating Leaders 2000 – 2009 (minimum 8 movies)

  1. Viggo Mortensen 75.1 % critic and audience voting
  2. Philip Seymour Hoffman 73.8 % critic and audience voting
  3. Leonardo DiCaprio 73.7 % critic and audience voting
  4. James McAvoy 72.8% critic and audience voting
  5. Emma Thompson 71.9 % critic and audience voting
  6. Russell Crowe 71.9 % critic and audience voting
  7. Emily Blunt 71.1 % critic and audience voting
  8. Ed Harris 70.9 % critic and audience voting
  9. George Clooney 70.6 % critic and audience voting
  10. Jake Gyllenhaal 70.3 % critic and audience voting
  11. Kate Winslet 69.9 % critic and audience voting
  12. Cate Blanchett 69.8 % critic and audience voting
  13. Matt Damon 69.8 % critic and audience voting
  14. Frances McDormand 69.6 % critic and audience voting
  15. Tom Cruise 69.6 % critic and audience voting

Top 15 Average UMR Score (combo of box office, reviews & awards) Per Movie 2000-2009

  1. Leonardo DiCaprio 57.27
  2. Tom Cruise 56.67
  3. Russell Crowe 54.81
  4. Tom Hanks 54.73
  5. Orlando Bloom  54.34
  6. Brad Pitt 52.52
  7. Will Smith 52.51
  8. Seth Rogen 52.41
  9. Viggo Mortensen 51.23
  10. Mel Gibson 49.81
  11. Denzel Washington 49.13
  12. George Clooney 48.81
  13. Jim Carrey 48.53
  14. Johnny Depp 48.39
  15. Steve Carell 48.01

Top Movie Stars 2000-2009 Main Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort by actor or actress
  • Sort by movies made between 2000 and 2009
  • Sort by total adjusted domestic box office from 2000 to 2009
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each performers’ movies earned
  • Sort by average Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
RankActor/ActressMovie CountTotal Adjusted Domestic B.O. (mils.)AVG Review %Oscar Noms / WinsAVG UMR Score
Orlando Bloom13$3464.468.1 %046 / 2054.34
Samuel L. Jackson31$3254.058.2 %008 / 0238.18
Willem Dafoe28$2770.366.6 %022 / 0739.17
Alan Rickman15$2651.472.2 %010 / 0148.91
Maggie Smith11$2621.374.5 %014 / 0155.98
Morgan Freeman23$2610.963.1 %022 / 0743.93
Ben Stiller18$2603.958.0 %003 / 0045.26
J.K. Simmons24$2577.361.8 %015 / 0239.68
Cate Blanchett23$2568.169.8 %068 / 2745.78
Eddie Murphy14$2552.649.1 %013 / 0342.26
Johnny Depp17$2489.867.2 %031 / 0348.39
Elizabeth Banks24$2483.660.6 %012 / 0138.22
Cameron Diaz14$2469.258.7 %015 / 0146.05
Owen Wilson19$2451.960.7 %004 / 0044.60
Daniel Radcliffe8$2433.975.9 %007 / 0059.85
Will Smith12$2303.858.0 %005 / 0052.51
Geoffrey Rush17$2256.569.5 %031 / 0543.70
Gary Oldman9$2253.466.1 %013 / 0254.95
Jon Voight17$2238.653.6 %010 / 0141.62
Zoe Saldana15$2150.156.2 %018 / 0438.08
Alec Baldwin25$2105.958.8 %022 / 1040.84
James Franco16$2083.365.2 %013 / 0340.89
Shia LaBeouf14$2056.161.6 %006 / 0044.15
Hugh Jackman16$2045.161.1 %005 / 0145.03
Matt Damon20$2021.069.8 %014 / 0847.63
George Clooney20$1911.170.6 %027 / 0248.81
Ewan McGregor21$1895.961.3 %014 / 0438.81
Jim Carrey12$1892.760.7 %009 / 0348.53
Jack Black17$1886.161.6 %008 / 0343.92
Seth Rogen12$1864.068.9 %001 / 0052.41
Angelina Jolie17$1857.755.7 %008 / 0042.10
Michael Caine19$1820.063.3 %018 / 0240.62
Viggo Mortensen10$1818.875.1 %032 / 1751.23
Keira Knightley13$1811.064.8 %024 / 0343.74
Tom Cruise10$1806.369.6 %012 / 0056.67
Brad Pitt14$1804.968.7 %023 / 0452.52
Vince Vaughn19$1783.651.8 %003 / 0037.92
Sigourney Weaver18$1776.863.4 %016 / 0439.17
Tom Hanks10$1774.967.6 %014 / 0154.73
Mel Gibson9$1749.562.2 %009 / 0049.81
Octavia Spencer22$1727.855.6 %002 / 0035.56
Bruce Willis24$1712.559.7 %000 / 0038.89
Nicolas Cage21$1700.956.7 %004 / 0138.43
Adam Sandler14$1678.751.6 %001 / 0042.76
Halle Berry11$1672.759.1 %002 / 0147.19
Christian Bale18$1662.968.8 %016 / 0242.89
Robin Williams19$1633.153.8 %004 / 0137.07
Robert DeNiro19$1632.452.5 %003 / 0035.52
Jon Favreau14$1631.057.3 %003 / 0042.84
Christopher Walken22$1618.049.1 %003 / 0034.01
Steve Carell12$1587.562.0 %004 / 0248.01
Bill Hader14$1478.562.4 %001 / 0044.98
Will Ferrell17$1465.656.7 %000 / 0039.75
John Goodman21$1461.756.8 %010 / 0135.78
Mark Wahlberg15$1449.358.7 %008 / 0441.74
Laurence Fishburne14$1429.661.3 %006 / 0242.57
Liam Neeson17$1422.666.5 %015 / 0141.94
Christopher Plummer18$1411.163.9 %020 / 0740.78
Jason Bateman14$1409.457.0 %010 / 0142.42
John C. Reilly17$1402.270.2 %045 / 1246.12
Julia Roberts14$1396.064.2 %008 / 0145.61
Paul Giamatti21$1394.362.1 %012 / 0139.27
Keanu Reeves15$1378.155.8 %001 / 0038.32
Natalie Portman14$1373.063.1 %004 / 0038.43
Ben Affleck21$1371.054.9 %005 / 0135.55
Sandra Bullock14$1366.150.6 %008 / 0439.39
Russell Hawn29$1365.852.1 %010 / 0132.00
Joaquin Phoenix14$1321.464.6 %022 / 0644.72
Robert Downey Jr.19$1312.066.2 %014 / 0140.48
Meryl Streep18$1301.968.5 %029 / 0346.03
John Krasinski16$1301.058.3 %009 / 0238.23
Dustin Hoffman15$1287.964.1 %012 / 0241.38
Reese Witherspoon14$1259.258.6 %005 / 0142.11
Heath Ledger14$1249.866.3 %024 / 0642.29
Dennis Quaid18$1246.657.4 %009 / 0437.49
Amy Adams14$1238.763.3 %013 / 0043.90
Nicole Kidman18$1222.661.1 %032 / 0641.40
Denzel Washington12$1222.168.0 %004 / 0149.13
Russell Crowe10$1207.271.9 %037 / 1154.81
Antonio Banderas15$1194.355.2 %006 / 0236.15
Michael Shannon20$1190.759.7 %008 / 0137.44
Dwayne Johnson12$1182.349.6 %000 / 0037.46
Jude Law18$1181.363.7 %025 / 0340.36
John Travolta15$1164.945.3 %001 / 0033.70
Jennifer Aniston12$1147.952.9 %000 / 0037.73
Judi Dench15$1138.665.7 %021 / 0143.97
Joel Edgerton11$1137.163.8 %002 / 0037.58
Drew Barrymore16$1129.560.5 %000 / 0039.49
Anna Faris13$1119.957.6 %004 / 0139.52
Matthew McConaughey15$1095.152.8 %003 / 0136.95
Bradley Cooper12$1064.752.7 %000 / 0035.72
Emma Thompson12$1061.871.9 %006 / 0043.07
Vin Diesel11$1058.453.5 %000 / 0039.37
Daniel Craig18$1051.164.4 %014 / 0239.11
Steve Martin12$1023.353.3 %000 / 0038.24
Anne Hathaway14$984.658.1 %011 / 0339.18
Colin Farrell21$979.862.3 %007 / 0236.80
Harvey Keitel13$975.451.1 %002 / 0132.74
Gerard Butler17$970.854.4 %003 / 0033.90
Paul Rudd16$969.864.3 %000 / 0039.16
Delroy Lindo11$969.857.4 %005 / 0239.01
William Hurt18$943.366.2 %010 / 0139.59
Luke Wilson23$942.257.5 %003 / 0033.29
Jamie Foxx13$938.262.0 %018 / 0442.48
Philip Seymour Hoffman20$937.173.8 %024 / 0344.01
Albert Finney8$934.877.6 %014 / 0855.14
Rosario Dawson24$931.057.9 %000 / 0032.06
Leonardo DiCaprio8$925.873.7 %036 / 0957.27
Paul Walker11$919.357.1 %002 / 0039.03
Dan Aykroyd12$915.950.2 %004 / 0134.36
Andy Garcia15$905.956.2 %000 / 0035.18
Jennifer Connelly15$901.166.1 %021 / 0541.20
Jeff Bridges15$895.860.9 %015 / 0236.92
Robert Duvall16$879.760.1 %003 / 0237.01
Charlize Theron21$874.454.1 %004 / 0132.10
Edward Norton13$830.467.3 %001 / 0041.64
John Cusack14$827.560.2 %000 / 0037.66
Woody Harrelson22$826.560.5 %010 / 0434.69
Ryan Reynolds16$819.551.8 %000 / 0032.33
Bill Murray17$815.364.9 %007 / 0138.48
Rip Torn17$814.350.3 %004 / 0230.94
Tim Allen10$806.847.8 %000 / 0034.52
Tommy Lee Jones10$806.264.1 %010 / 0443.10
Susan Sarandon19$804.859.8 %005 / 0034.67
Chiwetel Ejiofor15$798.268.3 %005 / 0040.51
Brendan Fraser10$796.960.7 %007 / 0339.08
Alan Arkin15$795.459.5 %004 / 0236.71
Helen Hunt8$789.759.4 %002 / 0037.81
Colin Firth17$785.463.3 %005 / 0036.90
Danny Glover16$783.957.6 %009 / 0235.29
Ice Cube14$773.548.9 %000 / 0031.97
Scarlett Johansson21$772.162.7 %014 / 0235.81
Donald Sutherland17$768.059.2 %012 / 0134.80
Clint Eastwood8$764.978.2 %022 / 0755.13
Terence Stamp11$762.950.7 %002 / 0034.54
Anthony Hopkins14$750.056.9 %000 / 0034.45
James McAvoy11$734.172.8 %015 / 0342.21
Jennifer Lopez12$711.545.1 %001 / 0031.52
Kevin Spacey12$706.358.0 %001 / 0035.55
Tim Robbins15$705.665.4 %009 / 0237.51
Mark Ruffalo21$702.262.1 %006 / 0134.47
Scott Wilson14$699.361.8 %010 / 0236.11
Bill Paxton12$695.558.9 %002 / 0137.63
Nick Nolte15$691.267.1 %001 / 0038.54
Chris Evans12$691.150.4 %000 / 0032.66
Richard Gere14$689.061.1 %015 / 0636.32
Anton Yelchin10$681.656.7 %004 / 0135.84
Julianne Moore19$670.660.2 %018 / 0134.25
Sam Shepard13$668.762.8 %006 / 0237.68
Kevin Hart10$667.543.1 %000 / 0030.76
Jason Statham19$652.453.7 %000 / 0031.08
Helen Mirren14$649.766.7 %015 / 0238.86
Jake Gyllenhaal12$623.770.3 %008 / 0341.85
Ed Harris13$614.770.9 %022 / 0641.44
Hugh Grant9$608.761.8 %002 / 0039.25
Michael Douglas12$602.155.2 %008 / 0534.52
Sam Rockwell16$590.867.3 %007 / 0037.18
James Caan12$587.560.1 %000 / 0034.93
Kevin Smith9$576.657.9 %000 / 0037.24
Taraji P. Henson13$575.460.6 %015 / 0435.99
Channing Tatum10$571.655.9 %000 / 0034.99
Forest Whitaker19$569.855.5 %001 / 0131.78
Idris Elba11$561.957.0 %002 / 0034.41
Kurt Russell8$542.862.4 %002 / 0040.12
Pierce Brosnan10$540.259.0 %000 / 0035.39
Tyler Perry8$539.052.2 %000 / 0034.95
Martin Sheen9$529.462.4 %007 / 0438.68
Peter Dinklage15$528.963.2 %000 / 0034.45
Michael Keaton8$525.751.6 %002 / 0031.73
Chris Pine8$523.557.4 %004 / 0135.32
Billy Bob Thornton18$523.457.4 %003 / 0131.75
Hilary Swank10$514.760.4 %008 / 0438.22
Josh Brolin12$507.266.6 %020 / 0639.98
Burt Reynolds9$499.233.2 %000 / 0024.16

All of yearly and decade reviews can be found at this UMR link

Yearly Reviews

13 thoughts on “Top Box Office Stars of the 2000s

  1. Too many numbers not enough text! Making me dizzy, I have to avert my eyes!
    [Bob groans]

    Interesting seeing Orlando Bloom topping all those bigger stars, thanks primarily to three epic fantasy and three epic pirate films. But shouldn’t Johnny Depp be near the top too, the three Jack Sparrow movies must surely have been more successful than the various Ben Stiller comedies released in that decade? Was Stiller in a hit animation series? Can’t remember.

    Willem Dafoe at no 3? Maybe a breakdown on the top 10 actors and the films that contributed to that total gross might have been helpful.

    Fascinating, as Spock would say. Vote Up!

    1. Hey Steve…sorry there are so many numbers in here…..but it is a statistical look at that decade….hard to get lots of text in a stat page…hopefully you have recovered from this “Stat Attack”…lol.

      As for Bloom and Depp….they share the grosses fro P.O.T.C. trilogy…but Ollie has the L.O.R trilogy, Troy and Black Hawk Down….while Johnny’s next three biggest hits in that decade where Charlie and Chocolate Factory (big hit) and Public Enemies and Chocolate (both barely reached 100 million). The L.O.R. movies dwarfed Depp’s totals.

      Willem Dafoe is at number 3 on the master table…..but when I was doing my Top 15….I left him off…..since almost every role of his was a supporting one. A breakdown of the Top 10 actors would be interesting…..but it would make the page even bigger…..some of this pages are probably too big already. Thanks for the Spock compliment. Good feedback as always.

  2. Hey Bob. Glad you like this new page. Diaz had a great decade for sure….so no misprint. Clooney, though not a favorite also had his best run of movies in this decade. I feel this are fun pages to view but pains to write. Though WoC says there might be a way to make them dynamic as well. We are back on the road again…..but we were able to get some new pages done. I suspect you will like Sunday’s page as well, since it combines movies and music.

    1. HI BRUCE

      Thanks for feed back and for fixing J K. Looking forward to Sunday’s post provided it comes out before I shut up shop at about 10pm on Sunday evening our time to go off on holiday – I think you are some 5 hours behind us.

      1. Hey Bob……that post is scheduled to come out Sunday morning 6;00 am your time….the page is actually listed in the site index right now….hiding in plain site…lol.

        1. HI BRUCE

          Thanks for the notification

          They say that Rafa Nadal counts clay court rallies in his sleep. I sometimes count movie things like Cogerson pages so maybe overnight in my dreams I’ll beat you to the punch and pick up the latest subject in your index!

          Steve has just brought out his latest video [Hanks] and I’m working on a response to that at the moment. Naturally your love of Hanks gets a high profile in my comments!

          1. Looking at the views for that mystery page and I see it has only been 7 times since I wrote…so not thinking many people found it. Funny about Nadal….and you counting UMR pages…whatever it takes to get to sleep….lol.

  3. HI BRUCE: Like Alexander The Great you have clearly been “looking around for fresh worlds to conquer.” Good stuff; it will take a while for me to properly analyse it but already I see some things I like-for example:

    1/Morg 3rd in Table 1

    2/Cam at last getting the Cogerson love she deserves with a 9th ranking in table 1. Sure that’s not a misprint?

    3/Gorgeous George 9th in table 2. Aunt Rosemary would be proud of her boy.

    4/Denzel and George 11/12th respectively in table 3

    5/JK must think it’s his birthday today. Not only does he (1) belatedly make the Cogerson Main Index but (2) he is listed a high 8th in the main table. What idiot said lightning rarely strikes twice? JK sure has that Cogerson Watch group a lot to be thankful for re (1)

    6/SURPRISE rankings. Hollywood’s leading real-life bad boy ranked 3rd in table 3 and 6th in table 2. To the old adage that “the good die young” we should perhaps now add “and the bad do well”!

    A nice eve-of holiday treat for me. “Voted Up” – and highly!

    1. Hey Bob Part 2…..thanks for checking out our Friday page…..lots of stats on this puppy. Glad you liked Freeman getting the 3rd spot on the box office table. Russell Crowe….has never been better than the early 2000s…..too bad he was not able to maintain that pace.

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