Sony boss is top Hollywood woman

Spiderman took $800m worldwide

Sony Pictures co-chairman, Amy Pascal, has been named as the most powerful woman in the entertainment world, thanks to Spider-Man.

Also head of Columbia Pictures, she oversaw films such as Daddy Day Care and Bad Boys 2 over the last year.

It is the $800m-grossing Spider-Man though that sees her top Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power 100 list for the first time.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is the top writer in the list at 55.

Top 10 women in entertainment 1. Amy Pascal, Sony 2. Stacey Snider, Universal 3. Nancy Tellem, CBS 4. Sherry Lansing, Paramount 5. Gail Berman, Fox 6. Oprah Winfrey, Harpo 7. Nina Jacobson, Buena Vista 8. Susan Lyne, ABC 9. Dana Walden, Fox 10. Judy McGrath, MTV

Amy Pascal takes over from Sherry Lansing, chairman of Paramount, at the head of a top 10 consisting entirely of movie and television studio bosses.

"Not only has the studio hit the $5bn (£2.8bn) mark globally for the second straight year, but the filmmaking risks Amy Pascal takes often translate into box office success, which is a great barometer for power in Hollywood," said Christy Grosz, the issue's editor.

Pascal has overseen many Hollywood blockbusters

In compiling the list, the magazine looked at each woman's position within the company, to whom she reported, how many employees reported to her and whether she ran her own company.

The top positions on the list were taken by those women with the power to "greenlight" projects who had a particularly successful year.

The downturn in the music industry saw music executives slip out of the top reaches of the table, the highest ranked executive being Michele Anthony of Sony Music, down to 14 from fifth last year.

Actress Julia Roberts was ranked 13, due to her production company, Red Om Films, as much as her box-office clout.