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We still want our Opera Man movie

David Mumpower: How many actors do you consider to be a bigger box office draw than Adam Sandler?

Scott Lumley: I think Will Smith is still the 900 pound gorilla in this category, and we need to show some respect to Morgan Freeman and the clean and sober Robert Downey Jr. Christian Bale also seems to have a lot of muscle lately with a chunk of the Terminator franchise coming down the pipe on the heels of the Dark Knight and the possibility of a third batman movie. A few weeks ago I would have heartily said Jim Carrey as well, but his track record recently is spottier than a leopard with freckles, and Yes Man isn't helping him at all in that regard.

Joel Corcoran: My snarky reply would be "most of them," but that would be untrue. And unfair. I think Scott lists most of the top favorites right now, though I would still put Jim Carrey slightly ahead of Adam Sandler. In addition to the five actors that Scott mentioned, I came up with at least 29 more actors who I think were better box office draws than Adam Sandler (based on box office performance over the past year or two and films coming out in the next year or two): Brad Pitt; George Clooney; John Malkovich; Keanu Reeves; Kevin Spacey; the Cloverfield Monster; Hayden Christiansen; Seth Rogen; James Franco; Zac Efron; Will Ferrell; John C. Reilley; Brendan Fraser; Jack Black; Ben Stiller; Steve Carrell; James McAvoy; Edward Norton; Daniel Craig; Robert Pattinson; Daniel Radcliffe; Tom Cruise; Brad Pitt; Eddie Murphy; Clint Eastwood; Shia LaBeouf; Harrison Ford; Terrence Howard; Tobey Maguire; Cillian Murphy, and Johnny Depp.

Scott Lumley: Well of course you came up with 29 more actors! I am incredibly lazy after all. Shockingly, I didn't realize that success at Adam Sandler's level was such an accessible club.

I'm unsure what exactly it says about some of these actors, however. Hayden Christiansen? The Cloverfield Monster??!?!?!? I'm not sure animated characters count for this question.

Joel Corcoran: It's all a matter of opinion, of course. And I didn't count the Cloverfield Monster as one of the 29 actors - I threw that in there to see if anyone was paying attention. However, on further reflection, the Cloverfield Monster did demonstrate a better range of emotion and more dynamic acting than Sandler, so maybe "he" belongs on the list after all.

Sean Collier: I commented last week on the slate of former comedy heavyweights who've failed to meet expectations, to varying degrees, this year. If I were Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, or Adam Sandler, I'd be looking with contempt upon the likes of Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. While the old hands were enjoying their fame, the rules for comedy changed, and they tended away from over-the-top, '90s-style efforts. Sandler is among a long list of people who needs to fully reinvent himself, and not just with a serious role every two or three years.

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