Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley Top Summer Movie Star Ranking Poll  5/2/06

Top Summer Movie Stars Ranked by 'Fandango Hot List' Moviegoer Poll

Top summer movie stars ranked by “Fandango Hot List” Moviegoer Poll -- Pirates’ Depp & Knightley voted as Top “Bankables”; X-3 Star Ashmore & Poseidon’s Rossum voted as Top "Breakouts”; Da Vinci voted as “Most Anticipated” Movie.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 2, 2006 -– Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley may be the king and queen of this summer’s movies, according to thousands of moviegoers polled by Fandango. The nation's largest online, phone and mobile movie ticketing service, has announced its first "Fandango Hot List", a nationwide moviegoer poll which ranks established stars ("The Bankables") and up-and-coming stars ("The Breakouts") most likely to draw fans to movie theaters this summer. In a separate online moviegoer poll conducted this weekend, The Da Vinci Code was picked as the “most anticipated” film of the summer, with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and X-Men: The Last Stand following close behind.

Seizing the top spot as the #1 Male Summer Bankable is Pirates' Captain Jack Sparrow himself, Johnny Depp, followed by stalwarts, Da Vinci's Tom Hanks (#2), Pirates' co-star Orlando Bloom (#3), X-Men's Hugh Jackman (#4), and The Break-Up's Vince Vaughn (#5).

Commandeering the #1 spot for Top Female Summer Bankable is Oscar-nominated actress Keira Knightley, also for her star turn in Pirates. Rounding out the Top 5 for Female Bankables are hotly-anticipated performers X-Men: The Last Stand's Storm, Halle Berry (#2), The Break-Up's Jennifer Aniston (#3), the romantic drama The Lake House's Sandra Bullock (#4), and X-Men's Dr. Jean Grey, Famke Janssen (#5).

Among the up-and-coming stars, X-Men's Iceman, Shawn Ashmore, freezes out the competition for the top spot as #1 Male Summer Breakout. Rounding out the Top Five are Superman Returns’ Brandon Routh (#2), X-Men's Pyro, Aaron Stanford (#3) and Adrian Grenier, best known as the star of HBO's ‘Entourage’, for his performance in The Devil Wears Prada (#4). Tied for the #5 slot are "Da Ali G Show"'s Sacha Baron Cohen, for his role in the Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and hip-hop star Bow Wow for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

The #1 Female Summer Breakout goes to Emmy Rossum, best-known for her roles in Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow and Phantom of the Opera, sinking the competition with her role in Poseidon. Rounding out the Top 5 Female Breakouts are Michelle Monaghan, who drew raves in last year's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, for Mission: Impossible III (#2), ingenue Bryce Dallas Howard for M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water (#3), TV's ‘Veronica Mars’, Kristen Bell, for the thriller Pulse (#4) and R&B singer Christina Milian, also for her role in Pulse (#5). The "Fandango Hot List" respondents were asked the question, "Which stars are you most looking forward to seeing in a movie this summer?" The online survey took place in April, with thousands of Fandango moviegoers participating.

"The 'Fandango Hot List' shows the pull of star power and a desire for diversity at the movie theaters this summer, and obviously audiences are excited about both," says Fandango Film Commentator Kim Morgan. "Seeking big names like Tom Hanks, Jennifer Aniston, five of the stars of X-3, as well as more breakout and eclectic talent like Sacha Baron Cohen, the 'Fandango Hot List' reveals the varied types of movies and actors the ticket-buying audience wants to watch. And I am especially happy to see one of my favorites, Vince Vaughn, crack the top five male bankables."

For a quick list of the top ten winners in each category, please see below:

THE SUMMER BANKABLES / Established Stars:

Males:

1.     Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
2.     Tom Hanks (The Da Vinci Code)
3.     Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
4.     Hugh Jackman (X-Men: The Last Stand)
5.     Vince Vaughn (The Break-Up)
6.     Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible III)
7.     Nicolas Cage (World Trade Center)
8.     Adam Sandler (Click)
9.     Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane)
10.   Jack Black (Nacho Libre)

Females:

1.     Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
2.     Halle Berry (X-Men: The Last Stand)
3.     Jennifer Aniston (The Break-Up)
4.     Sandra Bullock (The Lake House)
5.     Famke Janssen (X-Men: The Last Stand)
6.     Kate Hudson (You, Me and Dupree)
7.     Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code)
8.     Uma Thurman (My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
9.     Kate Beckinsale (Click)
10.   Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada)

THE SUMMER BREAKOUTS / Up-and-Coming Stars:

Males:

1.     Shawn Ashmore (X-Men: The Last Stand)
2.     Brandon Routh (Superman Returns)
3.     Aaron Stanford (X-Men: The Last Stand)
4.     Adrian Grenier (The Devil Wears Prada)
5.     (tie) Sacha Baron Cohen (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) and Bow Wow (The          Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift)
7.     Michael Pena (World Trade Center)
8.     Ian Somerhalder (Pulse)
9.     Lucas Black (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift)
10.   Kenan Thompson (Snakes on a Plane)

Females:

1.     Emmy Rossum (Poseidon)
2.     Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible III)
3.     Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water)
4.     Kristen Bell (Pulse)
5.     Christina Milian (Pulse)
6.     Ashanti (John Tucker Must Die)
7.     Jacinda Barrett (Poseidon)
8.     Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die)
9.     Naomie Harris (Miami Vice)
10.   Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre)

About Fandango
Fandango, the nation’s largest movie ticketing service, sells tickets to more than 13,600 screens and 1,150 theaters (nearly 70 percent of theaters in the U.S. enabled for remote ticketing) and to four out of the five largest U.S. theater circuits (according to National Association of Theater Owners, June 2005). One of the Web’s top movie destinations (according to Nielsen//NetRatings), Fandango allows moviegoers to read reviews, view trailers, quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and buy tickets up to 45 days in advance. Fandango is available at www.fandango.com, 1-800-FANDANGO and via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com.

Fandango theater partners include the nation’s leading exhibitors: Carmike Cinemas, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Edwards Theatres, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas and United Artists Theatres, as well as American Cinematheque, Brenden Theatres, CineArts Theatres, Cineplex Odeon Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Colorado Cinemas, Crown Theatres, Flagship Theatres, Kerasotes Theatres, Magic Johnson, Majestic Crest Theatre, R/C Theatres, Signature Theatres, Star Theatres, Wallace Theaters and Wehrenberg Theatres.