First, some definitions.
What counts as 'bankable'? We've counted how many movies each star has made. Then we took the total box-office take for their back catalogue. We then ranked the stars by the average take per movie, as a signifier of their reliability as an industry money-spinner.
We haven't taken account of inflation, so this list favours recent performance over all-time success, and by definition, stars with a small CV packed with hits will do better than those who've done 100 movies but only scored big a handful of times. We also haven't taken into account the size of their roles.
Another important point: like Zoe Saldana says, "There's no one way to be black". In this case, though, we've included any star who identifies as having African or West-Indian heritage.
10. Forest Whitaker
Total gross: $2.8 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Black Panther ($700 million US domestic box office)
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Number of movies: 56
Average gross: $50.2 million
9. Samuel L Jackson
Total gross: $5.2 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Avengers Assemble ($623m)
Number of movies: 73
Average gross: $70.5 million
8. Morgan Freeman
Total gross: $4.5 billion. Highest-grossing movie: The Dark Knight ($533m)
Number of movies: 63
Average gross: $71.8 million
7. Eddie Murphy
Total gross: $3.8 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Shrek 2 ($441m)
Number of movies: 39
Average gross: $97.7 million
6. Don Cheadle
Total gross: $3.43 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Avengers: Infinity War ($678m)
Number of movies: 35
Average gross: $98.1 million
5. Zoe Saldana
Total gross: $3.2 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Avatar ($760m)
Number of movies: 29.
Average gross: $109.9 million
4. Idris Elba
Total gross: $3.6 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Avengers: Infinity War ($678m)
Number of movies: 32.
Average gross: $111.2 million
3. Dwayne Johnson
Total gross: $3.3 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Jumanji (2017) ($404m)
Number of movies: 28
Average gross: $117.9 million
2. Will Smith
Total gross: $3.2 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Suicide Squad ($325m)
Number of movies: 25
Average gross: $128.2 million
1. Lupita Nyong'o
Total gross: $2.7 billion. Highest-grossing movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($937m).
Number of movies: 7
Average gross: $396.4 million
Just for fun, let's re-order that list according to whose entire oeuvre has brought in the most money in total:
10. Lupita Nyong'o. Total gross: $2.7 billion.
9. Forest Whitaker. Total gross: $2.8 billion.
8. Zoe Saldana. Total gross: $3.2 billion.
7. Will Smith. Total gross: $3.2 billion.
6. Dwayne Johnson. Total gross: $3.3 billion.
5. Don Cheadle. Total gross: $3.43 billion.
4. Idris Elba. Total gross: $3.6 billion.
3. Eddie Murphy. Total gross: $3.8 billion.
2. Morgan Freeman Total gross: $4.5 billion.
1. Samuel L. Jackson. Total gross: $5.2 billion.
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