Cruise powers back to No 1

Tom Cruise has reclaimed his top spot in Forbes magazine's annual list of the world's 100 most powerful stars - despite being the butt of jokes over his relationship with actress Katie Holmes.

The magazine says Cruise's place at No 1 owes as much to the media onslaught on the couple's engagement as it does to his "awesome" box office clout - lending credence to the adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

The business magazine ranks stars on its Celebrity 100 Power List according to their earning power and celebrity "sizzle" in the year since last June.

Cruise's leap from No 10 last year has proved that he still possesses plenty of both.

His big film last summer, War Of The Worlds, grossed £337 million worldwide, while this year's Mission: Impossible III has already generated £188 million.

"Love him or hate him, Cruise is Hollywood's most bankable actor," says Forbes, estimating his annual earnings at £38 million. The new ranking provides a welcome publicity boost for Cruise, 43, a month after a USA Today/Gallup poll showed that his approval rating with the public had sunk to 35 per cent.

Many of those polled cited his off-screen behaviour during the past year, including his blunt criticism of psychiatry. Cruise also became the target for jokes over his manic, sofa-hopping appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show last May to declare his love for Holmes, 27, who in April gave birth to Cruise's first biological child, a daughter named Suri.

But Forbes said all the headlines, combined with Cruise's box office success, demonstrate he still commands attention.

Forbes' top-rated celebrity last year was Winfrey, who slipped to No 3 this year even as she expanded her multimedia empire with her Tony-nominated Broadway production of The Color Purple and other projects.

The Rolling Stones and U2 were ranked in second and fourth place respectively and golf champion Tiger Woods was at No 5.

Completing the top 10 were Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg, "shock jock" radio DJ Howard Stern, rap star 50 Cent, the cast of TV drama The Sopranos and The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown.

Spielberg, at £190 million, was the highest estimated annual earner, followed by Stern who earned £172 million.