Hanks' name is guaranteed box office

The last list, published in 1999, had Roberts at number eight - before she won an Oscar for her role in Erin Brockovich.

But Roberts is the only woman among the top 10 stars rated by the magazine as having "maximum star power".

Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey, George Clooney and Russell Crowe were also rated in this category.

Russell Crowe, last year's Oscar winner for his role in Gladiator, jumped from a mid-level ranking in 1999 to number seven this year.

Crowe is likely to be in the running for another best actor Oscar this year for A Beautiful Mind.

British actors were relegated to the lower reaches of the list.

The top-ranked Briton was Sir Sean Connery, who came in at joint 15th, along with Jackie Chan and Eddie Murphy.

Only five British stars, including Sir Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta Jones, made it into the top 50.

Nominations

The Oscars are a good guide to actors' performance in the survey.

Of the top 20 stars in this year's poll, 12 have received best actor nominations for the Academy Awards - and eight have won.

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The Starpower survey is intended to measure not only the stars' box office drawing power, but also their ability to get films funded and to obtain wide distribution internationally.

Two black actors, Will Smith and Denzel Washington, were assessed as having "maximum star power".

Female stars who scored well included Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman, all of whom were rated as having "strong star power".

Commenting on the female presence in the upper reaches of the survey, the Hollywood Reporter's international editor John Burman said: "Certainly at the upper levels, you are seeing some strides being made.

"It's pointing in the right direction, but there's still a way to go."