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Ranking the Movie Stars Who Actually Matter

National Research Group’s latest study on the actors who put butts into theater seats reveals a number of unsurprising truths: ’90s stars still reign, women are underrepresented (except Zendaya and Margot), and a dozen or so younger stars are building real staying power.

Zendaya
The takeaway from this entire study might be that whatever Zendaya is doing, everyone should do that. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Matthew Belloni
April 24, 2025

Remember two years ago, when I revealed a fascinating study that was making the rounds in Hollywood executive suites about which actors were considered most theatrical? If you don’t recall, National Research Group, a leading entertainment data firm, had surveyed 3,000 Americans age 12-74 from census-balanced backgrounds, and posed perhaps the most crucial query for the future of both the talent and movie theater businesses: