Top 10 Best Actors For The Buck: Natalie Portman Tops List [PHOTOS]

There is a long list of big-budget films that earned big at the box office but that doesn't necessarily mean the films' makers made huge profit. Sometimes, a small movie makes more profit than a big banner film, whose earnings are generally a result of commercial popularity.

[PHOTOS OF BEST ACTORS FOR THE BUCK]

Based on the reurns for every dollar paid to actors, Forbes magazine has compiled the list of Best Actors For The Buck. Actress Natalie Portman has topped the list, followed by Kristen Stewart, Shia LaBeouf, Shia LaBeouf and others.

"To compile our list, we used data on actors' earnings gathered for our Celebrity 100 list. Box office grosses and budget estimates are from Box Office Mojo. We looked at the last three films each actor starred in over the last three years that opened in more than 2,000 theaters, calculating the return on investment for the studios who pay his (or her) salary. We didn't count movies where the actor was in a supporting or large ensemble role and we didn't count animated movies. The actors who score well on this list tend to have small paydays and star in highly profitable movies," according to Forbes.

Here is the List of Top 10 Best Actors For The Buck:

1)      Natalie Portman: It is estimated that for every dollar Portman is paid, the returns is $42.70. Her film, "Black Swan" was made on an estimated budget of $13 million but earned $330 million.

2)      Kristen Stewart: The returns of the Twilight star for every dollar paid is $40.60, earning her a second spot in the list. "Breaking Dawn Part 2", the last installment of Twilight series, has earned $779 million at the box office till date, and her other film "Snow White and the Huntsman" collected $396 million.

3)      Shia LaBeouf: The star of "Transformers" series ranked third in the list of Best Actors For The Buck. His returns for every dollar paid is $35.80.

4)      Robert Pattinson: The Twilight star has returns of $31.70 for every dollar paid. His ranking took a beating because of the performance of his other film, "Water for Elephants."

5)      Daniel Radcliffe: The Harry Potter star has a good return of $30.50 for every dollar paid. "Harry Potter" franchise collected $7.7 billion at the box office.

6)      Taylor Lautner: The Twilight star's 2011 release "Abduction" failed at the box office though the "Twilight" series earned big. His returns for every dollar paid is $29.50.

7)      Bradley Cooper: The star of "The Hangover" makes it to the list of Best Actors For The Buck. He has returns of $25 for every dollar paid.

8)      Dwayne Johnson: The Rock has good returns of $22.70 for every dollar paid. His films, "Fast Five" and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" did well at the box office.

9)      Amy Adams: The actress has returns of $22.60 for every dollar paid. Her film, "The Muppet", which was made on a budget of $45 million, earned $158 million.

10)   Kevin James: He makes it to the list of Best Actors For The Buck with return of $22.40 for every dollar paid.

[PHOTOS OF BEST ACTORS FOR THE BUCK]