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Black Enterprise's March cover feature, "The Top 25 Moneymakers in Hollywood," touts itself as the "most comprehensive and qualitative measurement of black clout in entertainment."
Oprah Winfrey tops the list after a year that saw her "Oprah Winfrey Show" continue to score the highest ratings of any talk show. She also signed a deal with Discovery Communications to launch OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in 2009.
In developing its Bankability Index, the publication evaluated box office revenues, television ads, estimated salaries, name recognition, and major award wins and nominations. The result, reports BE Editorial Director Alan Hughes, "demonstrates that money is the key determinant when it comes to who gets to make plays and who's forced to sit on the sidelines in Tinseltown."
With one of the highest-rated shows on television, "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes owns the No. 2 spot on on BE's Top Moneymakers list. The buzz and the advertising dollars "Anatomy" has generated for ABC Network and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., powered her to the upper echelons of the ranking.
Earning a reported $20 million, plus a percentage of the box office gross for each big-budget film he appears in, Will Smith secures the No. 3 spot. To date, his films have generated $4.9 billion worldwide, placing him at the top of Hollywood's elite.
Denzel Washington continued his box office reign in 2007 with two highly acclaimed films, "American Gangster" and "The Great Debaters," earning him the No. 4 slot. "Gangster" generated some $223 million worldwide.
Although Halle Berry reportedly is not making the $14 million salary she earned during her "Catwoman" days, she still receives about $10 million per flick, putting her at No. 5.
Rounding out the list's top 10 are Jamie Foxx (No. 6); The Wayans Family (No. 7); Martin Lawrence (No. 8); Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens (No. 9); and Laurence Fishburne (No. 10).
The entire Top 25 Moneymakers in Hollywood list is available in the March issue of Black Enterprise, on newsstands now.
