Adam Sandler tops Forbes' list of most overpaid actors

Comedian Adam Sandler topped Forbes' list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors for a second consecutive year, nudging out Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks for the dubious honour, the magazine said on Tuesday.

Although Sandler's latest film Grown Ups 2 was a hit, pulling in $246 million at the global box office, it didn't go far enough to make up for the 48 year-old's previous flops, Jack and Jill and That's My Boy.

"We estimate that for every $1 Sandler was paid, he returned an average of $3.20," said Forbes, the lowest return on investment of any actor whose record the magazine examined.

Depp, the star of the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean films, came in second, returning an average of $4.10 for each dollar paid, because of recent misses like The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.

Forbes compiled the annual ranking by looking at the estimated paychecks of Hollywood's top stars and the budget and revenue of the last three films each actor starred in before June 2014 to determine a return on investment for each actor.

Animated and limited release films and movies featuring cameo roles were not included in the calculations.

Comedian Ben Stiller, whose film Night at the Museum: Secrets of the Tomb opened in U.S. theatres earlier this month, was No. 3 with a $4.80 return, due to Tower Heist and The Watch, which did not perform well at the box office.

Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds, whose action comedy film R.I.P.D. was one of the biggest misses of 2013, was fourth with $4.90 for each dollar paid, followed by dual Oscar winner Tom Hanks, who pulled in a $5.20 return, rounding out the top five.

"Cloud Atlas was a very expensive flop and Hanks played six different roles in the movie," according to Forbes.