Will Smith, who stars with South Africa’s Charlize Theron in new release Hancock, is now the most powerful actor in Hollywood, with a career box office of $4.4bn.

Smith leads established heart-throb Johnny Depp and, surprisingly, comic actor Ben Stiller, who are in second and third spots. Hollywood’s previous most powerful actor contenders were Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and occasionally, Mel Gibson.

As Sean Smith’s article on www.newsweek.com states: “Gibson hasn’t starred in a major film in five years. Cruise lost his cool on Oprah's couch, and it's unclear if he can get it back. And Hanks, while undeniably bankable, is, at 50, no longer viable for most leading-man scripts.”