Drew Barrymore Ranks 1 in Forbes' List of Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors
For every dollar Barrymore is paid, her films make an average of 40 cents. Reuters

Some might argue that all Hollywood stars are overpaid, but Drew Barrymore and Eddie Murphy are in a league of their own, according to a survey conducted by Forbes.com and published on Thursday.

Top stars can make tens of millions of dollars on a single film, and the payout can be justified when a movie like one of the installments in the Pirates of the Caribbean series brings in several hundred million dollars at the box office. But when their movies bomb, that's another story.

Barrymore saw her 2010 romantic comedy Going the Distance earn just $17.8 million in ticket sales. Her 2009 movies Everybody's Fine and Whip It fared even worse.

Forbes.com said the actress returned just 40 cents for every dollar movie studios spent for her participation. By contrast, Murphy's films returned $2.70 for each dollar he was paid.

Compared with Barrymore, Murphy is a financial superstar, wrote Forbes.com's Dorothy Pomerantz, who compiled the list.

But Beverly Hills Cop (1984) star Murphy has struggled in recent years, too, with bombs like Imagine That and Meet Dave. He might take solace in his promising new film Tower Heist and upcoming gig hosting the Oscars, Forbes.com said.

The magazine compiled the list from Hollywood's 40 top-earning actors, and based it on each star's compensation for his or her last three films and the operating income on those films. From that, Forbes.com derived a return-on-investment figure.

Oscar winners were not immune from the dubious distinction of being the most overpaid, either.

Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington, and Reese Witherspoon all made the top 10. In Witherspoon's case, she mostly owed her spot to her starring role in the James L. Brooks disaster, How Do You Know, which Forbes said cost an estimated $120 million to produce, but brought in only $50 million worldwide.

At least Will Ferrell can take consolation in not finishing first this time around, after owning the top spot for the previous two years. This year, he placed third.

The full list can be found here

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Investment Oscars Hollywood Investment