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Julia Roberts

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Ultimately, then, we get to a chicken-and-egg question: Is it the box office queen who makes the movie or the movie that makes the box office queen? ''One feeds the other,'' says Joe Roth, chairman of Walt Disney Pictures. ''Producers feel people like Julia and Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise have the best chance of giving them a hit, so they send those actors the best material. The true test is that real superstars understand their range and know what the audience wants to see them in.''

And in the end, as reigning monarch Fisher admits, ''working for George Lucas sure as hell helps.'' Are you listening, Natalie Portman?

HIGHEST-GROSSING ACTRESSES
Actress Carrie Fisher
# of Films 14
Total Gross (in Billions) 1.40

Actress Whoopi Goldberg
# of Films 31
Total Gross (in Billions) 1.29

Actress Julia Roberts
# of Films 21
Total Gross (in Billions) 1.28

Actress Drew Barrymore
# of Films 21
Total Gross (in Billions) 1.08

Actress Meg Ryan
# of Films 19
Total Gross (in Billions) 1.01

Actress Demi Moore
# of Films 21
Total Gross (in Billions) 0.97

Actress Glenn Close
# of Films 19
Total Gross (in Billions) 0.81

Actress Sigourney Weaver
# of Films 18
Total Gross (in Billions) 0.81

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer
# of Films 22
Total Gross (in Billions) 0.76

Actress Sharon Stone
# of Films 26
Total Gross (in Billions) 0.74

Source: Exhibitor Relations

Demi Moore: 4 (Ghost, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Drew Barrymore: 3 (E.T., Batman Forever, Scream)

Glenn Close: 3 (Fatal Attraction, 101 Dalmatians, Air Force One)

Cameron Diaz: 3 (The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, There's Something About Mary)

Carrie Fisher: 3 (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)

Jodie Foster: 3 (Silence of the Lambs, Maverick, Contact)

Whoopi Goldberg: 3 (Ghost, Sister Act, The Lion King)

Meg Ryan: 3 (Top Gun, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail)

HIGHEST-GROSSING LEAD ACTRESSES*
Actress Julai Roberts
# of Films 12
Total Gross (in Millions) 960.9

Actress Meg Ryan
# of Films 12
Total Gross (in Billions) 690.0

Actress Meryl Streep
# of Films 19
Total Gross (in Billions) 654.7

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer
# of Films 13
Total Gross (in Billions) 630.9

Actress Demi Moore
# of Films 13
Total Gross (in Billions) 591.0

Actress Sandra Bullock
# of Films 9
Total Gross (in Billions) 579.5

Actress Whoopi Goldberg
# of Films 14
Total Gross (in Billions) 519.5

Actress Jodie Foster
# of Films 8
Total Gross (in Billions) 486.3

Actress Sigourney Weaver
# of Films 10
Total Gross (in Billions) 443.5

Actress Susan Sarandon
# of Films 10
Total Gross (in Billions) 409.6

Counting only films in which actress was a primary star