Cruise and DiCaprio are less profitable

The American actor Will Ferrell is the most overpaid in Hollywood, according to a list published today by Forbes which brings together the professionals who charge too much for movies with little success and which also includes Ewan McGregor and Billy Bob Thorton.

Ferrell, known for films such as "Blades of Glory" (2007) and "Step Brothers" (2008), leads the ranking which the paper dedicates to the famous actors who have not been friends with the box office lately since the productions they have appeared in have not received outstanding results.

The actor leads the list this year thanks to the opening of the multimillion-dollar film "Land of the Lost", which cost around 100 million dollars but managed to earn only 65 million after its release last summer.

"For every dollar that Ferrell has earned, his films have earned on average $ 3.29," say the makers of the list, who in contrast, highlight the successes that had previously been achieved with this same actor with movies such as "Elf" (2003 ), which raked in 220 million dollars at cinemas.

The Scot, Ewan McGregor, who debuted in "Trainspotting" (1996) and has participated in films such as "Moulin Rouge" (2001) and the second trilogy of "Star Wars" ranks second in the list, since for every dollar invested in him, his last films gained an average of $3.75.

Billy Bob Thornton takes the bronze medal in this particular ranking, since his films in 2007 "Mr. Woodcock" and "The Astronaut Farmer" grossed only 34 and 11 million dollars respectively, so that for every dollar he charged, his films have only earned four.

The fourth position in the list is occupied by comedian Eddie Murphy, "whose magic on the big screen seems to have vanished," according to the Forbes reporters, after his success in the sequels of "Dr. Doolittle" and "The Nutty Professor" which managed  to earn 300 million dollars each at the box office.

And now that his latest films "Meet Dave" and "Imagine That" were failures at the box office, the studios have earned $4.43 for every dollar invested in him.

In the middle of this list of ten actors is the hip-hop star Ice Cube, followed by Hollywood heavyweights such as Tom Cruise, Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Carrey.

"For a long time, Cruise was one of the most hired in Hollywood. Sometimes, the star wound up making money, while the studio was still in the red," they say about the star of "Jerry Maguire" (1996) and "Magnolia" (1999), who, for every dollar received, his films earned 7.18.

Drew Barrymore is the only woman in the Forbes list, who the magazine claims to have had "better luck as a producer than as an actress” lately and that for every dollar invested in her, her movies have earned 7.43.

Leonardo DiCaprio is the eighth most overpaid actor in Hollywood, even though the films that he starred in last year, "Revolutionary Road" and "Body of Lies" were "modest box office successes" because "a star who charges a salary like DiCaprios’ can not be content with only modest success”.

For every dollar that they pay to the eternal star of "Titanic" (1997), studios have earned 7.52.

The list finishes with Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Carrey, whose work earned a reported 8.59 and 8.62 dollars respectively.

Forbes explained that to create this list, they searched among the hundred biggest stars in Hollywood who had released at least three films in the last five years and have reached over 500 cinemas.

To obtain the comparison between the money charged and the impact on the box office, the magazine reporters divided the total of the operating income of the last three films between the total compensation received by the actors.