I’m a little confused by Forbes’ new list of Hollywood’s most overpaid movie stars. I can see why Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez might make the list; both reportedly earn $12-15 million for lead roles in studio pics despite their long cold streaks at the box office. (Kidman’s continues with the underwhelming performance of The Golden Compass, which opened too late to figure into Forbes’ calculations.) But Will Smith? Is there any movie star whose worldwide box office makes him more bankable than Will Smith? (And does anyone doubt that I Am Legend, pictured, will only continue to cement his sure-thing status?) According to Forbes, Smith’s films gross $10 for every dollar of his salary. In any other field, Forbes would be celebrating businesspeople who generate that kind of return, but in movies, that makes him overpriced? Who, by that standard, is not overpriced? (Well, Angelina Jolie, whose movies Forbes says gross $15 for each dollar of her salary, a figure that seems to ignore every movie she’s made in which she’s not wielding a knife or a gun.)
Which movie stars do you think are overpriced, PopWatchers? And which performers are underpaid?
UPDATE: Commenter Kerry, below, caught my typo, which is now fixed.
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Cameron Diaz, no question. I, for one, am tired of her one-note I’m-so-cute schtick, and the woman still continues to pull in $20 million-per-film salaries. What’s the appeal?
Also, Renee Zellweger. $15 million per movie? For the same fish-faced overacting? She doesn’t even open. Unless she’s in an ensemble, her movies are not commercially successful. Why pay her for what she doesn’t deliver?
People who DO earn their salaries: Will Smith. Matt Damon.
Hey Gary – you’ve got a wee typo in there. Will Smith makes $10 for every dollar he earns, not $10 million. Heck, if he made $10 million to one, he’d be in every movie ever made.
I tend to joke that Nicole Kidman got her obnoxiously over-priced pay from the divorce settlement with Tom Cruise. He was the MOST bankable movie star in the world at the time, she WANTED HALF, so she got it (and apparently CONTINUES to get it…). Well time has moved forward. Tom can no longer open a movie due to his Oprah Olympics try-out, and Kidman has another husband. Times should reflect the new world order!! And who knows? Maybe order will be restored and things will go back to the way they were & Tom will be a star again, and Kidman will still look ice cold in every role she plays…oh wait…
I think a lot of stars are overpaid. I won’t name them. I’ll just say they should take some of those bloated salsries and give some love to those writers they claim to support.
Well-earned:
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I agree – Will Smith and Matt Damon.
Tom Hanks.
Under-paid:
Kaye Winslet. Alan Rickman. Clive Owen. Mark Ruffalo. ( I actually have no idea what any of them make but feel they each deserve more
Star salaries seem absurd, until you notice what the movies actually earn – what the studios report, anyway. Then even the $25million types seem under-paid.
Stars don’t get paid $20 million a picture for their acting, but their ability to sell the movie. The bigger the star, the more free media (ie talk shows). I don’t think you can underestimate the impact of the loss of late-night talkshows to sell movies. Ultimately, producers have to decide where to spend their money. Too many movies with big stars would be forgotten (Click, Pursuit of Happyness) without a well-known star attached.
Will is not overpaid. He’s the top drawing actor in Hollywood right now. Overpaid: Rene Zellwegger for sure, although I like her, she hasn’t done anything memorable since Chicago.
I don’t think Jlo makes $12-15Mil a pic anymore. She’s moving on to producing movies vs. starring in movies — smart move.
Currently Tom Cruise is probably overpaid, but I wouldn’t count him out entirely.
But isn’t it about what you negotiate? Nichole Kidman must have a helluva rep because she’s non-stop working….
I think the salaries cited in the Forbes piece aren’t written in stone , but the MSRP. If you’re going to pay someone that multi-millions to be in a movie, people assume you have your crap together on the other aspects of production.
Matt Damon’s earn $29 or $30 for every dollar he’s paid – as was reported by EW. Really Gary tsk tsk.
I agree that to say Will Smith is overpaid is ludicrous.
With Tom Cruise’s box office bankability now off the rails, Smith is the closest there is to a sure thing. I mean, when “The Pursuit of Happyness” I came out, I figured THAT might be a movie that would have a more modest gross and, if it made $70 mil it’d be successful. Well it went on to make well over $100 mil in the US…that right there cemented his status as someone that can draw big numbers in virtually anything.
Sad…most women can’t open a film to big numbers because the American public doesn’t support them. (Didn’t EW have an article about this? How women will go with their husbands/boyfriends to see movies aimed at males like 300, but women will not bring their husbands/boyfriends to a “chick flick”). Reese Witherspoon is about the only woman who can open with big numbers. Other women might do FANTASTIC work, but unless there is a male lead to front the film, the american public won’t go see it. Such a shame!!!
While I don’t think Will Smith is overpaid, I don’t see his new movie doing breaking any records this weekend. It’s the wrong time of the year to be releasing a zombie film. I don’t know anyone excited to see it. Maybe in January, but during the holiday season? Don’t think so…
I’m sorry, but as far as I am concerned, getting paid the equivalent of a small country’s death for a movie is outrageous at best. When you think that everyone making 54K and up is in the 1% of highest earners in the world, kind of makes you wonder where exactly our priorities lie. EW had a cover last year that asked the question Does Tom Cruise deserve to make to make a 100 million dollars a year? My answer is, does anyone?
Sorry, that should have read “I’m sorry, but as far as I am concerned, getting paid the equivalent of a small country’s DEBT for a movie is outrageous at best.
. . S A N D R A B U L L O C K . .
She’s done good things, good (very good) actor – but – haven’t seen a compelling piece from her in years. She needs a couple of outstanding roles in the next few years to her her keep.
I disagree with Forbes putting Will Smith on that list. I know that if Will Smith is in a film, its going to be good and I will go see it. I have seen every Smith movie in theaters since Men in Black II came out. For a guaranteed good time, he deserves that large of a chunk of the profits.
I agree with JenJen though, we need more women leading the box office. Julia Roberts was the closest thing we’ve had to that – with Reese following in her footsteps. But only two women?! The talent is there, the support is lacking.
I think it’s silly to blame the failure of The Golden Compass on Nicole. She’s only in the movie a few minutes. She probably is overpaid, but I’d rather someone like her, who regularly makes interesting, risky, unusual films (To Die For, The Others, Birth, Moulin Rouge, Fur, Margot at the Wedding) get a big paycheck than someone like Jessica Alba, who although pretty, isn’t much of a risk-taker (or much of an actress). Nicole has had her share of bombs, but who hasn’t? Ok. Maybe Will Smith. He is pretty much bullet proof. (except for Bagger Vance)
Heh, I know I’ve already commented on this post, but I just remembered a strong opinion of mine
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I don’t think that stars being paid upwards of $20 million is at all unjustified. I think, occasionally, they deserve it.
Let me explain: a Picasso would go for what? $40 million? I believe a Van Gogh once went for over $50 million. My point is, there is an occasional acting job that I think is worthy to be considered art–and, as art, I think it should be able to command the price tag.
Now, I’m not saying that every Jessica Simpson and Paul Walker should get that kind of salary. I’m talking Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth”, Jack Nicholson in “Cuckoo’s Nest”. It’s art. They get to be paid as if they themselves were art.
Sorry, I know it’s a weird rant and not quite on topic…I just happened to remember that I feel this way
I would like to add I do actually like seeing a man finally being seen as overpaid. It seems the debate over Kidman?jolie/Alba has gone on for so long, when some Hollywood actors have just as many bombs. Except for Will Smith.
None of them is underpaid or they wouldn’t do it. They are all overpaid. They are not curing cancer. Anyway, I am so sick of all the yapping that goes on in the theaters that I rarely go to the movies anymore. And I am not alone. Soon the industry will pay less and the actors can take it or get a real job.
You are a knucklehead. You just remebered a strong opinion. By the way. A Van Gogh never went for 50 million when he was alive. And art is worth more because it is rare. Come on, many other people could play most of these roles. That’s why a lot of people are up for a part!
Considering that all these actors on the list could retire today and still live very comfortably for the rest of their lives, I don’t think they need to STILL be making $15 to $20 million a movie. They could take a pay cut and put that money to good use somewhere else. What does a person do with all that money? I couldn’t even imagine.
And Will Smith did have a dud in “Wild, Wild West”.
I agree. Maybe they could take a lesson from Brad Pitt who realizes the absurdity of the position that his looks have out him in(though I think he looks like a dirty drug addict).
Tara and Jill sound jealous…and ridiculous. They’re all overpaid? We’re talking about people who’s movies gross hundreds of millions of dollars! They should take a pay cut? Oh yeah, because it’s the movie studio who deserves to keep all of the money. Right.
Come on! They earn millions of dollars because we give it to them. They create a product that most of us will pay for to get. That’s how it works. Are you going to get mad at everyone who’s rich and hasn’t cured cancer? Do you honestly think that people will work for free simply because you personally don’t value what they do?
You know good and well that if you did anything that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in profit you’d want a fair share of it.
When you consider the amount of money the corporations backing or making the films take in, and that they’re willing to cut actors into part of the action, I think the rest of us should see a little more money, too. Why put it in the hands of so few? Knock a few million to hundreds of millions off the P&L and pass it around the corporate subsidiaries. That way everyone can be overpaid, or at least paid more than we are now. I think I’m worth it.
RP–I most certainly am not jealous. Is this seriously what you had to comment about? I really despise bloggers who have to accuse jealousy just because they don’t agree with a comment. I never said I was mad or that I didn’t like any of these actors or their movies. You sound like you should be on the TMZ website. And I do not give my money to them; I don’t see their movies in the theaters.
I think the most overpriced movie star is Cameron Diaz. She makes $20 million a picture, and her acting is terrible. Besides “There’s Something About Mary”, I can’t think of any other movie she has done to deserve that kind of money. Charlie’s Angels – I don’t think so!
Jealous? haha. Right, it is jerks like you who would pay $10 to see a movie when you could rent it 2 months later for $1 or read a book. And why shouldn’t the studios make the money. They have all the risks and pay for all the flops the overpaid actors are in. You are very simplistic and ignorant. Work for free? How about working for a month for a million? Do you think you could handle it? Hey, I didn’t ask the question, I answered it with MY opinion. And you are a …….
You are really ignorant. No one said they should work for free (though that wouldn’t be a bad idea, let them have a % of the profits if there are any). And I do not support most of these actors. I rarely go to the movies. I have better things to do with my money.
ALL OF THEM MAKE TOO MUCH! So shut the f up about telling me who i should vote for or what issues i should address in my life. Seriously, George Clooney or Ben Affleck…how do you know anything about issues in my life? You rich hollywood piece of SH**. Sorry, in a bad mood but actors get on my damn nerves.