Emma Watson is the highest grossing actress of the decade

Harry Potter stars lead the way thanks to franchise box office bankability

Eighteen-year-old Emma Watson is the most bankable female star of the noughties, with six Harry Potter appearances, netting $5.4 billion dollars, to her name.

Emma's earning power is greater than that of male Potter counterparts Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, thanks to additional voiceover work on The Tale of The Despereaux.

In fact, Watson's biggest rival for the accolade is another Harry Potter co-star, Dame Maggie Smith. Although her role as Hogwarts teacher Minerva McGonagall has kept her busy, she's found time for parts in Gosford Park and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood too.

There's some discussion over who tops the list as the biggest-grossing male actor. The Guiness Book of World Records, who compiled the original list, names an exhausted Samuel L Jackson as the market leader, with credits in 44 films - including Star Wars - to his name.

But Entertainment Weekly disagrees, citing Orlando Bloom as the winner with box office takings of $6.5 billion. He's appeared in the massively successful Pirates of The Caribbean trilogy - as well as every boy's favourite, The Lord of The Rings.

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