Hard to believe? Yes. But Emilio Estevez, who hasn't appeared in a movie since 2010's The Way, which he directed, is the most profitable actor in modern Hollywood. He has overshadowed Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., and even workaholic Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. So, how is this even possible? That's a good question.

Research has proven without a doubt that between the years 1980 and 2017, Emilio, brother to Charlie Sheen and son to Martin Sheen, has made more profitable movies than his big screen counterparts. Which is kind of amazing. The data comes from analysts at PartyCasino, a unit of the GVC gaming group. They have intensely studied and broken down box office data from the past thirty years. And when the smoke cleared, it was Young Guns and Mighty Ducks star Estevez who stood as the king of Hollywood profitability. Perhaps he'll soon return to leading man status now that Hollywood knows they can make a buck off the guy?

Emilio Estevez made the best return out of any top-billed male actor who has starred in at least 10 movies over the past 30 years. For every $1 spent on the leading man's movies, Emilio brought in a hefty $6.70 profit. Perhaps that doesn't sound like much right now, but when added up, it's almost unthinkable.

The second and third entries on the list are also quite surprising. Jean-Claude Van Damme is the silver medal winner, earning $4.20 for every dollar spent. And Mel Gibson brought in $3.50. Tyler Perry is perhaps the most prolific actor to make the top five, with his sequel Boo! 2 coming out this weekend. He earned $3 in forth place, which tied with Dudley Moore, who has been dead since 2002.

Equally surprising when it comes to who earned the most is who earned the least. Brad Pitt, considered to be one of Hollywood's biggest leading men, returned only 10 measly cents for every $1spent. Johnny Depp brings in 20 cents, Robert De Niro brings in 24 cents, Hugh Jackman bumps it up to 25, and Anthony Hopkins has cleared 26 cents for every dollar spend. That's pretty dismal.

Now, actresses weren't left out of the equation. It's just that from 1980 to 2017, there haven't been too many leading ladies headlining their own movie. Though, surprisingly, perhaps, it is Rose Byrne who proved to be the most profitable actress, bringing in a whopping $9.80 for every budgeted dollar. She far exceeds Estevez's pull. Next on the list of actresses where Regina Hall, who clears $3.50 for every dollar, and Octavia Spence, who pulls in $2.90. A rep for PartyCasino explained why there wasn't more substantial data from women in the entertainment industry.

"Women, unfortunately, are less likely to be the top-billed actor for a movie."

Here is how PartyCasino reached their numbers, according to The New York Post.

"Researchers took each movie's gross from Box Office Mojo, which tracks receipts from theaters in the US and Canada, and subtracted each movie's budget. The difference, dubbed "profit" by analysts, was then divided by each movie's budget to determine its ROI, or return on investment."

When looking at movie genres, mysteries are the most profitable, not superhero movies. They return an amazing $39.89 for each budgeted dollar. Horror movies were next on the list, bringing in $34.13, with thrillers at $17.36 and documentaries at $7.38 bringing up the rear. Believe it or not, action movies, which superhero movies get lumped into, are the least profitable by dollar, generating just $1.89. Crime pictures only turn in $2.01, which isn't much worse than musicals, which earn $2.05. Now that we know all this, perhaps Emilio Estevez will return in a blaze of glory to the big screen, laughing that iconic cackle yet again. It's been far too long. And we miss him.