2 6
Age 27

HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON

Age 39

#4

Rank

#1

#2

Peak Rank

#1

6

Years Ranked

9

4

Years in Top 10

9

7.5

Average Rank

3.0

7

Theatrical Releases

15

Beverly Hills Cop $234.8 Million

Biggest Hit

Kramer vs Kramer $106.3 Million

$784.9 Million

Career Domestic
Box Office

$478.0 Million

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CAREER RANKING HISTORY

Eddie Murphy Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep

15 theatrical releases • $478.0 Million Domestic

Year Movie Domestic Box Office Domestic BO
1988 A Cry in the Dark $6.9 Million
1987 Ironweed $7.4 Million
1986 Heartburn $25.3 Million
1985 Plenty $6.1 Million
1985 Out of Africa $87.1 Million
Career Comparison Summary AI-generated historical comparison. Click to expand.

Note: Films released during the selected year influence the following year's rankings.

By the 1988 season, the comparison is less about a single breakout moment and more about the shape of each actor's accumulated Hollywood results. The category score gives Meryl Streep the broader edge, though the result remains a comparison of career outcomes rather than personal popularity.

The biggest-hit category sharpens the box office contrast, especially because Eddie Murphy's leading film creates the stronger single-release benchmark. Overall, the head-to-head score leans leans toward Meryl Streep, but the strongest context comes from the categories where the gap is clearest.