New York ? A magazine’s list of the “50 Greatest Movie Stars” is getting more jeers than cheers from film lovers flabbergasted that Tom Cruise outranks John Wayne and Marlon Brando.

Premiere magazine’s editors spent two years painstakingly crafting the royal roster that puts Cruise at No. 3, behind only Marilyn Monroe and list-topper Cary Grant.

Another head-scratcher was Julia Roberts, who cracked the top 10 at No. 7, while four-time Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn came in No. 14.

“Julia Roberts shouldn’t even make the list yet,” said Mark Groblewski, 51, a construction director from Long Island. “You have to put in a lot of work to get there.”

Jessica Faurie, 25, of Manhattan said Cruise didn’t rank on her personal list of top-shelf film stars.

“There are many actors who are better than him,” said the medical secretary.

But Premiere senior editor Glenn Kenny said Cruise earned his spot on the list, one notch above John Wayne, because he’s “the biggest contemporary movie star in the last 20 years.” Cruise is so big with the magazine’s editors that they put his picture on the cover of the April issue.

Roberts, who won an Academy Award in 2000 for her portrayal of crusading environmentalist Erin Brockovich, earned her high spot on the list for being Hollywood’s highest-paid go-to actress.

“Another reason why she’s so appealing is because she often identifies — onscreen, anyway — with the working class,” Premiere reports.

Part of the reasoning for picking actors like Roberts, Cruise, Will Smith (No. 44), Nicole Kidman (48), Russell Crowe (49) and Brad Pitt (50) was their “staying power.”

“We weren’t going to do this list based on a whole nostalgic trip,” said Kenny. “To just do a list where you’re going to ignore contemporary movie stars makes no sense.”

Twenty-six of the 50 greatest are dead, including Ingrid Bergman (5), Greta Garbo (8), James Stewart (9) and Henry Fonda (10).

Besides Cruise and Roberts, Paul Newman (6) is the only other living actor to make the top 10.

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro finished 37th and 38th, while Denzel Washington was 39th.

“I think that if you get too hung up on rankings, you’re going to miss the enjoyment of the list,” said Kenny.

Beverly Dawkins, 56, a receptionist from Queens, thought the list was spot-on.

“I love movies, especially old movies,” Dawkins said. “I think it’s an excellent list. You have all my favorites — but not in the right order.”