Will Smith And Cameron Diaz Top List Of Money-Makers

People:

It's been a very good year for Will Smith. Not only is his Hancock a runaway box-office hit, but he also banked an impressive $80 million - making him Hollywood's top money earner last year, according to a new ranking from Forbes.

Cameron Diaz is no victim of the current economic pinch, either. Making $50 million last year, the Shrek and What Happens in Vegas star was Tinsel Town's top-earning female, reports the business publication.

Among others in the financial stratosphere: No. 2-ranked Johnny Depp, with a $72 million paycheck, and, tied for third place, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers, with $55 million each - even though Myers's recent The Love Guru tanked.

Leonardo DiCaprio, with $55 million, rounded out the top five.

And while Atonement leading lady Keira Knightley earned $32 million, and Jennifer Aniston pulled in $27 million, Forbes notes that, once the gold dust settles, men make twice as much as women in Hollywood.

Read the whole story: People

Comments

[iambusto]

and yet everyone complains when exxon ceo takes a 400 million exit package. could it be that a lot of these stars are liberals !!

at least Exxon ceo created a lot of wealth for shareholders for years (as opposed to those lousy ceos who also make millions!!­).....what did Julia Roberts/Will Smith ever do for me.....

[frankobeans]

so ladies what did you learn from this article? yes, the skinnier you are the more money you will make, so go on barfing up lunch and dinner you can just buy back the calories when you're rich!

[RobertAndropolis]

I apologize in advance for being bitterly jealous, but I am sorry: Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are not worth $55mil/year.

[andvoodoo2]

Scientology is very happy with Will's earnings.

[1028jenn]

I'm glad they make a lot of money. MOST of these celebs are generous, caring people who donate a lot of money to needy causes. More power to them !

[themajor755]

It would seem that the current pay up front system is beneficial to the studios as they reap profits from domestic, worlwide, video distribution. It's telling that only certain actors, i.e. Nicholson ( maybe Cruise & Smith) have the juice to negotiate a percentage as he did in the Batman movie in which he played the Joker.

[DennyCrane]

Why do studios pay these actors so much up front? Why not offer the actor a percentage of the gross instead? That way, the actor shares the risk. But now, you can have an actor get paid some obscene salary, the movie tanks, and the actor gets the last laugh. Just look at some of the people on that list. Mike Myers' recent movie bombed. Has Jennifer Aniston ever had a hit movie?

[SouthAustin]

Because a known commodity is still less risky then an unknown entity. And the known actors help generate "buzz" when the movie is being promoted. At the end of the day these studios still make profits, so it;s the studios that are obscenely rich, not the actors, because the studios can afford to pay actors large sums, have a few films bomb, and still make profits.

[andvoodoo2]

Say the actor agrees to a percentage of the gross and the film never gets released. Films get made all the time that never get released. Also, the actor has no control over how or where the film gets marketed. There are too many "what ifs" for most actors to take the percentage of the gross. Only when an actor has a lot of control over a project (like co-producing) is it a smart move. Unless an actor really feels passionate about a project or doesn't need the money, it's usually not an option.

[DennyCrane]

First off, I never said the actor's compensation should be only percentage points. He should get a base salary and anything additional should be based on how the movie does. That way, if the movie never gets released or it's marketed poorly, the actor doesn't come away with nothing for his work. I'm just saying that some of these movies cost $100 million to make and one component, the star, can get a quarter of that. That's just insane to me that any actor thinks his participation will bring in that much money. I know people go to movies based on who's in them, but if the movie sucks, most of us won't go to see it, even if our favorite actor is in it.