Together, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie formed a blazing Hollywood supernova, but now that
the ultimate celebrity couple has split up, we're about to find out which half of the
Duo Formerly Known As Brangelina shines the brightest alone.
Brad Pitt versus Angelina Jolie: who's the bigger star?
Round One: Awards
"And the winner is..."
Jolie's trophy case boasts three Golden Globe statues for her work in 1997's George Wallace,
1998's Gia, and 2000's Girl, Interrupted.
The latter also earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and a SAG Award.
Brad Pitt's no awards season slouch, of course.
He's got his own Oscar and a BAFTA for his part as a producer of the 2013 Best Picture
winner 12 Years a Slave, a Golden Globe for his supporting role in 1995's Twelve Monkeys,
and an Emmy for his work as an executive producer on the 2014 HBO drama The Normal Heart.
Advantage: Neither.
Both need to build secondary support beams on their respective prize shelves just to
hold all their shiny bits.
So maybe the real winners here are their contractors.
Round Two: Extracurriculars
It's Angelina's humanitarian accomplishments outside of acting that really set her apart
from Brad.
In 2001, long before their relationship even began, she was named to a Goodwill Ambassador
position by the United Nations, after visiting with Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
She remained in that role until 2012, when she was promoted to Special Envoy for the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Also in 2001, she began conservation efforts in Cambodia, which would eventually give her
secondary citizenship.
It's also where she adopted her son Maddox.
Other humanitarian awards include an Order of St. Michael and St. George from Queen Elizabeth
and a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
To be fair, Pitt did participate in many of Jolie's overseas efforts over the years, and
his name is right there in the title of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation they started together
in 2006.
Notably, Brad launched the Make It Right Foundation in 2007, and after Hurricane Katrina left
New Orleans' Ninth Ward in ruins, he courted investors to rebuild the neighborhood with
sustainable materials.
Advantage: Jolie's been seen with her boots on foreign soil as often as she has with her
heels on glitzy red carpets.
While Pitt's participation doesn't count for nothing, Jolie definitely has the weightier
name within the international philanthropy community.
Round Three: Paychecks
It’s basic math: Pitt makes an estimated $31.5 million annually, while Jolie is said
to bring in roughly half of that, according to Forbes.
Even their first shared starring vehicle, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, had a significant rumored
pay discrepancy, with Pitt allegedly pulling $20 million and Jolie collecting just $10
million for equal screen time.
Though Jolie's had some significant paydays of her own, ranging up to $20 million for
2010's Salt, Pitt was rumored to make as much as $30 million for 2001's Ocean's Eleven.
His biggest financial boon, though, comes by way of his Plan B Entertainment production
company, which has produced films like like World War Z and The Big Short.
Add a cool $60 million dollar Netflix deal to that and the victory is clear.
Advantage: When Pitt gets a spot in front of the cameras and a seat at the production
table, it's money in the bank.
Round Four: Ticket sales
Jolie's most successful film to date is Disney's Maleficent, which earned a whopping $758.5
million worldwide.
Pitt's biggest earner was World War Z, which took in $540 million across the globe.
It’s Pitt's only picture to cross the $500 million threshold, but Jolie's got the three
Kung Fu Panda movies to add to her column.
In total, Pitt's movies have made almost $7 billion worldwide, while Jolie's pics are
closing in on a respectable $6 billion.
Interestingly enough, Jolie's reported opening box office average is just a hair higher,
at around $68 million, while Pitt's is around $67 million.
Another minor difference is the fact that, of their top 10 most successful movies, Jolie
has three that featured her as the singular central lead—Maleficent, Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider, and Salt—while Pitt's got two—The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and World
War Z.
Advantage: Jolie, but it's a squeaker.
Jolie tends to take on projects people are willing to trek out to theaters to see—and
she does it with just a touch more consistency than Pitt.
"What an awkward situation."
Round Five: PR skills
Jolie is whip-smart about the fame game, and there's plenty of proof.
Consider the time when she penned her own harrowing op-eds in the New York Times about
getting a double mastectomy and then a hysterectomy, after managing to avoid the paparazzi long
enough to actually have these treatments done.
And then there’s the way she started capitalizing on the tabloid value of her private life—like
photos of her newborn children or wedding dress—to turn that into easy money made
for charity.
Pitt, meanwhile, tends to keep a lower profile with the media instead of using it to his
advantage.
Advantage: Jolie.
By a mile.
Round Six: Sex appeal
Both Jolie and Pitt earned a significant amount of their initial fame based on their devastatingly
good looks.
Check out Pitt in Fight Club or his extra-toned chest in Troy.
How about Jolie’s bath scene in Wanted?
It’s a scientific fact.
They’re considered some of the world's most attractive humans.
Advantage: They're both hot, and they both know it, but Pitt gets the advantage as a
two-time "Sexiest Man Alive."
Round Seven: The endorsements
Jolie nabbed a massive $10 million ad deal to prop Louis Vuitton, which is why she seems
to always have one of the fashion house's bags in hand.
Pitt, meanwhile, scored $7 million to make a laughably awful commercial for Chanel No.
5 and added another $3 million to his stacks for a Cadillac ad that only ran in China.
Advantage: Pitt might be the more frequent flyer in the ad lane…
(Pringles commercial song playing)
...but when Jolie does it, she goes BIG.
The tally
It's really close.
Jolie's got some serious mainstream muster, thanks to her fascinating image overhaul.
She’s no longer "that weird girl who made out with her brother", but instead that rare
celebrity who actually uses her fame for good.
People can't seem to look away, and not just because of her unique beauty; she's smart,
strategic, and makes it worth the watch.
That said, Pitt's been Mr. Popularity for ages.
It's not just that he's always been chummy with some of Hollywood's chillest A-listers,
or even the fact that he’s name checked in a pop-country song.
"Ok, so you're Brad Pitt...that don't impress me much."
Jolie might be able to run a room by talking about important issues, but people will gravitate
toward Pitt to hear him read the phone book.
Pitt was already fully established before he and Jolie started all the Brangelunacy
11 years ago, and that's what gives him the win here.
He got here first.
It's as simple as that.
Victory Brad.
So, Angelina...
"That's what losing sounds like."
Thanks for watching!
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