Hollywood Movie Actresses With the Best ROI

Movie studios bet on these stars because they bring in tons of cash at the box office.

Hollywood is always looking for the biggest stars who can bring the most people to the box office (and now, get the most people to click “rent” on VOD).

Old Hollywood actresses like Marilyn Monroe, Kathryn Hepburn and Bette Davis were the biggest stars of their day and known around the world for their screen presence. Put them in a movie, and an audience was guaranteed.

So which actresses today are the most trusted by studios to bring in a huge audience? SavingSpot crunched the numbers and tallied up which Hollywood stars are worth the most bang for their buck. These movie actresses have the highest return on investment (ROI) per dollar spent on their paycheck.

17. Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron arrives at the Oscars in 2020. Richard Shotwell/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 47

Net worth: $160 million

Average salary per movie: $11,151,432

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $5.96

Average Metacritic rating for their entire career: 51.5

All ROI and movie numbers are from SavingSpot.

Bottom Line: Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2020. Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Charlize Theron got her start playing Keanu Reeves’ wife in the 1997 movie “The Devil’s Advocate,” a role where she ends up going insane after Satan (played by Al Pacino) has his evil ways with her.

She had a breakout role as the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster,” which netted her an Academy Award.

While Theron’s recent movies are often critically well-regarded, they don’t always perform well at the box office. See: “Bombshell.”

16. Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 55

Net worth: $250 million

Average salary per movie: $11,125,037

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $12.97

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 57.2

Bottom Line: Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman at the 2020 Producers Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP Photo

Nicole Kidman has had a long and accomplished career in Hollywood, with a breakout role in “Days of Thunder” where she met her soon-to-be husband, Tom Cruise.

The two were together for a surprisingly long 11 years, and during that time, Kidman bolstered her career with a number of films like “Moulin Rouge!” and “The Others.”

While Kidman has found steady work every year for decades, she now mostly plays supporting roles.

15. Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson at the Oscars in 2020. John Locher / AP Photo

Age: 38

Net worth: $165 million

Average salary per movie: $10,530,148

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $16.79

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 52

Bottom Line: Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020. Chris Pizzello / AP Photo

Thanks to “Endgame” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson is the highest-grossing actress in Hollywood.

But Johansson’s movies can be a mixed bag, box office-wise, because she often stars in lower-budget movies like “Marriage Story.”

Expect her ROI to jump after the box-office takes of “Black Widow” are tallied.

14. Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2020. Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 46

Net worth: $200 million

Average salary per movie: $15,704,154

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $17.40

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 46

Bottom Line: Reeese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon at the Golden Globe Awards in 2020. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Reese Witherspoon may not have the best ROI for a major studio, but she hasn’t starred in many big-budget productions since 2014’s “Wild,” which made $52.5 million on a $15 million budget.

Witherspoon has shifted her priorities from starring in movies to her own multimedia production company, Hello Sunshine.

She has inked deals with Apple, earning $40 million just from “The Morning Show.”

13. Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts listens to a student at a high school in Vietnam in 2019. Hau Dinh / AP Photo

Age: 55

Net worth: $250 million

Average salary per movie: $16,819,654

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $19.60

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 49.6

Bottom Line: Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts at the British Fashion Awards in London in 2019. Joel C Ryan/Invision / AP Photo

Julia Roberts is a world-renowned Academy Award-winning actress, whose breakout role came in 1990 with “Pretty Woman.”

Since then, Roberts has started in many blockbuster films like “Eat, Pray, Love,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Ocean’s 11.” She also was the first woman in Hollywood to earn $20 million for a role, which she earned for “Erin Brockovich.”

Her last few films have been hit and miss, with the 2016 box-office disappointment “Mother’s Day” and the 2018 box-office bomb “Ben Is Back.”

12. Margot Robbie

Margot Robie was born in Dalby, Australia, in 1990. Patrick L. / Wikimedia

Age: 32

Net worth: $26 million

Average salary per movie: $9,500,000

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $20.86

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 60.0

Bottom Line: Margot Robbie

Margot Robbie in London in 2019. Joel C. Ryan/Invision / AP Photo

Margot Robbie is one of the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood. She shined in “The Wolf of Wall Street” and was the only bearable thing in “Suicide Squad.”

She played excellent parts in “Bombshell” and “Once Upon a Time In America,” but “Birds of Prey,” — in which she starred in the leading role — was a box-office failure.

It needed to make at least $250 million at the box office just to break even, and came up short, with only $202 million.

11. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie at the European premiere of “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” in London in 2019. Grant Pollard/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 47

Net worth: $120 million

Average salary per movie: $15,004,458

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $26.35

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 55.8

Bottom Line: Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie in 2019. Willy Sanjuan/AP Photo / AP Photo

Angelina Jolie’s last two big hits were “Maleficent” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” which collectively earned $355 million at the box office.

Jolie has expanded into filmmaking in the 2010s, making the war-centric films “Unbreakable,” “First They Killed My Father” and “In the Land of Blood and Honey.”

However, she’s not done acting yet. She’s rumored to be playing Thena in Marvel’s upcoming film “Eternals,” although it’s unknown how large of a role she’ll have in that film.

10. Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020. Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 50

Net worth: $80 million

Average salary per movie: $4,099,232

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $32.55

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 57

Bottom Line: Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner an event in Culver City, California, in 2019. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

After the disaster that was 2003’s “Elektra,” Jennifer Garner had to build her career back up. And she did, especially with her costarring role in the Oscar-winning drama “Dallas Buyers Club” and then “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

“Peppermint,” a 2018 action-thriller film with Garner at the lead, performed badly at the box office, but she received good reviews for her performance.

It’s hard not to like Garner, and she never takes away from any movie that she’s in. She just needs to be in the right movie.

9. Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep in New York in 2019. Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 73

Net worth: $160 million

Average salary per movie: $5,403,521

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $37.60

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 61.6

Bottom Line: Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019. Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP Photo

Meryl Streep is one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood. She’s been in around 70 films and holds the record for most Oscar nominations in acting categories with 21 nods. Many of her movies are classics, and everyone loves “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Like many actors, she has been lured to streaming services and will star in Netflix’s musical comedy “The Prom.”

If a studio can afford Streep, she brings serious cred to a film. As The Guardian puts it, Streep “can score Oscar nominations merely for breathing within earshot of a camera.”

However, Oscar-winning films aren’t automatic blockbuster hits.

8. Renée Zellweger

Renee Zellweger at an event in Beverly Hills, California, in 2020. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 53

Net worth: $90 million

Average salary per movie: $11,614,554

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $43.25

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 64

Bottom Line: Renée Zellweger

Renee Zellweger won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2020 for her role in “Judy.” Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Renée Zwellweger had a string of hit movies in the 2000s, with starring roles in “Chicago,” “Cold Mountain,” “Cinderella Man” and two “Bridget Jones” films. In 2007, she was making $10 million to $15 million per film and was one of the top 10 highest-paid actresses in the world.

After making 2010’s “My Own Love Song,” Zewelleger took a six-year hiatus from acting because she “wanted to grow” and spent time taking screenwriting courses and just being able to enjoy life.

She came back in 2016 to finish up the “Bridget Jones” trilogy with “Bridge Jones’s Baby” and has been working on films ever since. She made her first television debut with Netflix’s “What/If” and received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Judy Garland in 2019’s “Judy,” which made $44 million on a $10 million budget.

7. Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Charles Sykes/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 44

Net worth: $16 million

Average salary per movie: $1,844,526

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $63.28

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 64

Bottom Line: Rachel mcAdams

Rachel McAdams at the Los Angeles premiere of “Doctor Strange” in 2016. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Rachel McAdams is a BAFTA-nominated actress who has appeared in a slew of films. Her role as Regina George in “Mean Girls” was a career-making role, and she followed that up with the ridiculously popular romance, “The Notebook.”

McAdams is an actress that is comfortable in both comedic and dramatic roles. Her role in “Spotlight” earned her numerous awards, including Best Supporting Actress. In 2020, she costarred alongside Will Ferrell in Netflix’s “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.”

6. Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock at a screening of “Bird Box” in New York in 2018. Charles Sykes/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 58

Net worth: $200 million

Average salary per movie: $14,601,535

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $73.48

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 53.9

Bottom Line: Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock at the Golden Globe Awards in 2020. Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP Photo

Sandra Bullock’s breakthrough role was in the 1994 blockbuster “Speed.” She followed that up with the mega-hit “While You Were Sleeping,” which made $182 million on a $17 million budget and earned her the title of “America’s sweetheart.”

In fact, she’s still America’s sweetheart, keeping her lovable self in the public eye with hits such as “Gravity” and “Bird Box.”

In 2014, she was Hollywood’s highest-paid actress.

5. Emma Watson

Emma Watson at the premiere of “Little Women” in New York in 2019. Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 32

Net worth: $80 million

Average salary per movie: $15,795,223

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $84.23

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 65

Bottom Line: Emma Watson

Emma Watson at a party in Beverly Hills in 2018. Chris Pizzello/Invision / AP Photo

Emma Watson became a household name for her role as Hermonie Granger in the “Harry Potter” franchise. After that series — which made $7.7 billion worldwide — ended in 2011, Watson stuck to smaller films for a few years before making the biblical blockbuster “Noah” in 2014.

She has since made a few other major hits, including the 2017 “Beauty and the Beast” remake and “Little Women.”

At only 30 years old, she has a long career ahead and a positive reputation as an actor.

4. Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman at the Oscars in 2020. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 41

Net worth: $90 million

Average salary per movie:$1,366,411

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $116.18

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 65.0

Bottom Line: Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman at an event in Los Angeles in 2019. Richard Shotwell/Invision / AP Photo

Natalie Portman’s movie career began as the young hitman protege in 1994’s “Leon: The Professional,” but her career really took off after playing Pamade Amidala in the “Star Wars” prequels.

While she didn’t win any awards for those movies, she cemented herself as one of Hollywood’s best actresses with her role as Evey Hammond in the hit movie and cult favorite “V for Vendetta” in 2005. She received glowing reviews for her leading role in “Black Swan” and received critical acclaim for her role in the criminally underrated film, “Annihilation.”

Interestingly, Portman isn’t really a blockbuster movie actor. She appeared in “Thor,” and “Thor: The Dark World,” which made $1 billion combined, but she usually sticks to more “serious” roles like 2016’s “Jackie.” For that film, she won an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Given her filmography, it’s pretty safe to say that if Portman is in a movie, chances are it’s going to be good.

3. Chloe Grace Moretz

Chloe Grace Moretz at the Los Angeles premiere of “The Addams Family” in 2019. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 25

Net worth:$12 million

Average salary per movie: $545,154

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $156.71

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 46

Bottom Line: Chloe Grace Moretz

Chloe Grace Moretz at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2019. Evan Agostini/Invision / AP Photo

Chloe Grace Moretz is a young actress who received her big break in “The Amityville Horror” remake.

In 2019, she starred as Wednesday Addams in the high-grossing animated film “The Addams Family.”

Given her average salary of $545,000, Moretz produces a sizable ROI.

2. Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart in Los Angeles in 2020. Mark Von Holden/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 32

Net worth: $70 million

Average salary per movie: $9,465,350

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $201.14

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 51.3

Bottom Line: Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart at the Los Angeles premiere of “Charlie’s Angels” in 2019. Jordan Strauss/Invision / AP Photo

Kristen Stewart made the majority of her money starring in “The Twilight Saga” film series, which made $3.3 billion worldwide.

After those movies wrapped in 2012, she starred in the box-office success “Snow White and the Huntsman.”

Then, she went on to do smaller independent movies.

1. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence at the “Red Sparrow” premiere in London in 2018. Joel C Ryan/Invision / AP Photo

Age: 32

Net worth: $130 million

Average salary per movie: $9,964,160

Average ROI per dollar spent on her salary: $782.80

Average Metacritic rating for her entire career: 65.3

Bottom Line: Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence in London in 2019. Joel C Ryan/Invision / AP Photo

Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most beloved actresses in Hollywood and has a huge following. She was only paid $500,000 for her breakout role in the critically acclaimed “Winter’s Bone,” which made $16.1 million at the box office.

From there, she made a name for herself as Mystique in the “X-Men” film series and starred as Katniss in “The Hunger Games” franchise. Those three movies made nearly $3 billion worldwide, yet she only received $26 million for all three films, not including back-end deals.

Lawrence has only made one major flop, “Dark Phoenix,” which lost somewhere around $100 million and was one of the biggest box-office flops of all time. However, she only played a supporting role.

While Lawrence has made an average of $10 million per film over her career, she’s certainly worth it because audiences will shell out cash to see her onscreen.