37) DENZEL WASHINGTON

RANK LAST YEAR: 37.

TITLE: Brutus Maximus.

CAREER DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: $1.3 billion.

2005 BOX OFFICE: $0.

STATUS REPORT: Proved he was a box office Caesar—and not just a Broadway Brutus—when Spike Lee’s Inside Man raked in $29 million its opening weekend.

NEXT: November’s Déja Vu, directed by Tony Scott and shot in New Orleans, followed by American Gangster, for Tony’s bro Sir Ridley.

YES, IT’S TRUE: Universal wrote down his fee for the canceled Antoine Fuqua version of American Gangster—and unless he works for free, will be paid again for Scott’s remounted version.