Today, winning awards, financing movies or scoring magazine covers is not enough to be a player in the Australian film industry. We've crunched the numbers to discover who the real heavy hitters are, with surprising results.
How we rated them
We collated our master list of films made and/or released January 2010 - October 2012 from the Screen Australia, Box Office Mojo, Urban Cinefile and IMDB databases, cross-referencing releases with Empire and FilmInk magazines.
For the films' producer(s), director, writer, and five top-billed actors (and we began with a list of 400 names), we awarded two points each per $1 million earned at the Australian box office; one point for each $1 million earned elsewhere in the world (global box office was the telling factor); plus points were also given for major award wins (including Oscars, BAFTAs, AACTAs), major Festival appearance and/or prizes (including the Sydney, Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Venice and Toronto festivals), and magazine covers (sampled 2011-2012 from WHO, New Weekly, Empire, FilmInk etc). Voice animation work also counted.
We asked Sydney photo agencies, including Jamie Fawcett's PhotoNews, to rate our top 40 (hello, Naomi Watts!). We awarded bonus points to internationally known 'names' who returned home (good on you, Guy Pearce!) and deducted points for Golden Raspberry Award mentions (sorry, Nicole!).
1. Sam Worthington (actor, 3796 points)
Avatar is just the gift that keeps giving. Sam doesn't set the photo agencies alight and his Clash of the Titans was undermined by ballyhooed sequel Wrath of the Titans and a Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Rip-Off. Solid dramas The Debt and Man on a Ledge helped. And no-one seethes as cinematically as our Sam …
Year ahead: steady
2. Chris Hemsworth (actor, 2540 points)
The 29 year old went stratospheric, because of his roles in 2012's top-grossing film (so far) The Avengers, and also Thor and Snow White and the Huntsman.
Year ahead: up (thanks to sequels to the above)
3. Geoffrey Rush (actor, 1540 points)
Rush's combination of box office gold (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; The King's Speech) is boosted by a willingness to return home for local gems (Bran Nue Dae; Eye of the Storm).
Year ahead: steady
4. Mia Wasikowska (actor, 1145 points)
The 23-year-old has barely been seen home recently, moving steadily from blockbusters like Alice in Wonderland and smaller dramas like Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs and The Kids are all Right. She's back for the lead in Tracks.
Year ahead: up
5. Stuart Beattie (writer, director, 1086 points)
The internationally renowned scriptwriter (the man behind the characters on Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) made his directorial debut with the AFI Award-winning Tomorrow When The War Began. Pity about that Razzie for Beattie's G.I. Joe script.
Year ahead: up
6. Liam Hemsworth (actor, 823 points)
Chris's little brother scored his own lucrative franchise (The Hunger Games), was anointed into the action man club (The Expendables 2) and actually rated 'hotter' than his brother (photo-agency-wise) thanks to high profile romance with Miley Cyrus.
Year ahead: up
7. Guy Pearce (actor, 621 points)
Film critics like him more than the photographers but Pearce's consummate acting skills shone in Hollywood sci-fi (Prometheus) and Oscar winners (The Hurt Locker, The King's Speech). But he was happy to come home for juicy supporting roles (Animal Kingdom). His latest (Lawless) has already racked up $47 million overseas.
Year ahead: steady
8. Rose Byrne (actor, 517 points)
Byrne hasn't been home since her Two Hands break-out success and she doesn’t rate with most local photo agencies. But she had a monster hit with Hollywood's Bridesmaids and her trashy pop star stole Get Him to the Greek.
Year ahead: steady
9. Emile Sherman (producer, 468 points)
Wins at the Oscars and BAFTA (and that worldwide box office) made The King's Speech producer our biggest behind-scenes player. He also produced Oranges And Sunshine and his upcoming projects include the adaptation of Robyn Davidson's desert memoir Tracks.
Year ahead: up
10. Cate Blanchett (actor, 412 points)
No local movies for Cate (but sterling theatre contributions). Her Robin Hood box office and 'warm' photo rating earns this slot and keeps her a point above co-star Russell Crowe.
Year ahead: steady
11. Russell Crowe (actor, 411 points)
Just two outings in the last three years (The Next Three Days, Robin Hood) means Crowe missed the top 10. A lead role (singing?!) in upcoming Les Misérables could change that.
Year ahead: up
12. Hugh Jackman (actor, 314 points)
Maybe Australia (the movie, not the country) soured photographers' favourite Hugh on coming home. He's spent recent years hosting the Oscars (and rappelling in to help Oprah) and on US fodder like Real Steel. Next up: Les Misérables and that Wolverine sequel.
Year ahead: steady
13. Alex Russell (actor, 304 points)
The young Australian's share of Chronicle's $285m global box office lifted Russell past small returns of local flicks like Wasted on the Young and Bait 3D. Next up: the American remake of high school horror flick Carrie.
Year ahead: up
14. Nicole Kidman (actor, 284 points)
What the God of Movies giveth, he taketh away: Kidman earned big box office for the woeful Adam Sandler comedy Just Go With It but copped a Razzie nomination. Rabbit Hole's Oscar nomination soothed the pain of another Razzie nom (Worst Screen Couple, alongside Nicolas Cage in Trespass) and iffy box office for Nine.
Year ahead: steady
15. Abbie Cornish (actor, 283 points)
Bright Star earned her raves, that relationship with Ryan Phillippe got her into the mags. Reviled Sucker Punch and Madonna's tepidly received W.E. couldn't dim the lustre of Limitless' worldwide take.
Year ahead: steady
16. Leigh Whannell/James Wan (Actor-writer/Director, 253 points each)
The hardly respected executive producers of the Saw torture-porn franchise clawed back some credibility with housebound horror thriller Insidious (directed by Wan, written by Whannell). If Saw is all they can do …
Year ahead: down
17. Teresa Palmer (actor, 239 points)
Solid global box office for I Am No. 4 was backed up by a great turn in local flick Wish You Were Here. Now to prove she's not just another pretty blonde …
Year ahead: steady
18. George Miller (writer-director, 186 points)
The Happy Feet Two maestro also produced via his renowned his company Kennedy Miller Mitchell and both it (and he) stays firmly based in Sydney. If that Mad Max sequel, with The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy, finally unreels ...
Year ahead: up
19. Naomi Watts (actor, 161 points)
The only name to earn an unequivocal 'hot' from the photo agencies (especially for pics with husband Liev Schreiber and kids), Watts enjoyed steady returns (and great leading men) with J. Edgar and Fair Game.
Year ahead: up
20. Joel Edgerton (actor, 139 points)
The hardworking drama star has had a dream run, with local hits Animal Kingdom and Wish You Were Here, and Hollywood outings Warrior and The Thing. His The Odd Life Of Timothy Green just opened to $50 million in America. Next up: Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby remake.
Year ahead: up
The ones that got away ...
Baz Luhrmann's been quiet on the movie scene, preparing to unleash The Great Gatsby and Les Miserables – so expect him to figure in a list like this again soon. Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver and Hanna star Eric Bana got pipped at the post, as did up-and-comer Bojana Novakovic (Devil and Burning Man) and Rango voice-star Isla Fisher. And after a few bad years (box office and press-wise), Mel Gibson scored less than also-rans such as Sanctum's Richard Roxburgh.
