MUMBAI: Sandra Bullock has been voted as the top money-making star of 2009 in Quigley Publishing Company’s 78th annual poll of exhibitors and is the first female to win since Julia Roberts in 1999. Bullock is the eighth woman chosen number 1 in the Poll’s 78 year history. She appeared in three films in 2009, The Blind Side, The Proposal and All about Steve.
The Quigley Poll, conducted each year since 1932, is an annual survey of motion picture theatre owners and film buyers, which asks them to vote for the ten stars that they believe generated the most box-office revenue for their theatres during the year. It has been long regarded as one of the most reliable indicators of a Star’s real box-office draw because the selections are done by people whose livelihood depends on choosing the films that will bring audiences to their theatres.
Johnny Depp placed second this year based on Public Enemies and a small role in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. He was number 1 in 2006 and 2007. Matt Damon made his second appearance in the survey, placing number 3 with 2009 roles in Invictus and The Informant! Although George Clooney, placing number 4, has never won in his seven mentions in the Poll, he had an extremely productive year with Up in the Air, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Fantastic Mr. Fox (voice). Robert Downey Jr.’s performances in Sherlock Holmes and The Soloist helped him place number 5. He was number 2 in 2008.
Tom Hanks is number 6, which marks the fifteenth time in the Poll since he first appeared in 1988, including five times as number 1. Meryl Streep was in Julie and Julia, It’s Complicated and a voice in Fantastic Mr. Fox and placed number 7, her third mention in the Poll. Brad Pitt made his fifth appearance coming in at number 8, due to Inglourious Basterds. 2007’s Star of Tomorrow, Shia LaBeouf scored number 9 with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Denzel Washington rounded out the Top Ten with The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
With Bullock’s win, eight women have been voted the Top Money-Makers sixteen times as follows: Marie Dressler (1932, 1933), Shirley Temple (1935, 1936, 1937, 1938), Betty Grable (1943), Elizabeth Taylor (1961), Doris Day (1960, 1962, 1963, 1964), Julie Andrews (1966, 1967) and Julia Roberts (1999).
