Certain movie stars have the ability to draw a crowd to the theater no matter what, there’s nothing special behind it, people just tend to generally like certain actors or actresses more than others. Studios are willing to pay them big money if they can guarantee that there will be a larger turnout in the theaters because of one name headlining the feature. In the past couple of years, the amount of highly paid actors has actually changed quite a bit compared to the past’s standard 3 household names that seemed to be in something every year. Here are the ten actors that make the most money per movie.
10. Liam Neeson – $32 Million
Liam Neeson use to pop up in films here and there where he would put on an amazing, or at least cool performance, like in Schindler’s List, Star-Wars as Qui-Gon Jinn, or in Batman Begins as lead villain Ra’s al Ghul. Then Taken happened, and the 62 year old actor suddenly became a household action star overnight. Since Taken, Neeson has landed two sequels for that franchise while also starring in other movies such as The Grey and even the more recent, A Million Ways to Die in the West. The actor himself is even shocked at how his fame has skyrocketed recently, but it’s started earning him $32 million per film due to his ability to fill the seats.
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9. Denzel Washington – $33 Million
Although Denzel Washington’s career has definitely gotten quieter more recently, the man still seems to always sneak into the Academy Award nominations every so often. We’ve loved him in plenty, my favorite being the classic Remember the Titans (which is probably the first film I saw him in), but the guy is just a solid actor. His latest hit, Flight, pulled in a total of $162 million which earned the actor $31 million for the project.
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8. Tom Cruise – $35 Million
Despite how crazy Tom Cruise might actually be in real life (maybe that even helps people go see him), he is always landing lead roles in large movies. His movie, Jack Reacher, ended up making a surprising total of $217 million and has found himself in what seems to be an even bigger success with his most recent Edge of Tomorrow (which was really good). He’s doing something right, because it’s earning him $35 million per film.
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7. Adam Sandler – $37 Million
This is probably the most disappointing actor to make this list. Adam Sandler, while once being a comedy great, has continued to hop on board of whatever flick he can get nowadays because studios only want his name for advertising. Jack & Jill, both Grown Ups films, and the most recent, Blended have all been awful films, and Sandler himself has even admitted that movies are now just a paid vacation to him, especially because he’s making $37 million each time.
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6. Leonardo DiCaprio – $39 Million
Well, at least Sandler is beaten out by one of the greatest actors around who actually deserves the pay for performance; Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio seems to find himself in the running for an Oscar nearly every year (but never wins) because he is just so good and draws a crowd. The Great Gatsby made over $250 million last year while the Oscar nominated, The Wolf of Wall Street, made over $300 million. If you can afford to get Leo in one of your movies, you best do it, because the guy will earn you a lot as well as himself $39 million.
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5. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson – $46 Million
The career that Dwayne Johnson has carved out is pretty fantastic, especially considering he got his big start from yelling out “Do you smell what The Rock is cookin'” while highly arching his eyebrows. I really like Dwayne Johnson actually, and have enjoyed watching him get roles in the Fast & Furious, G.I Joe: Retaliation, and my favorite, his small role in The Other Guys. The guy is just a movie star with a great personality and humble attitude, so people have easily warmed up to him; however, I’m definitely surprised to see Johnson land so high up on this list and that he earns $46 million per film. Good for him.
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4. Mark Wahlberg – $52 Million
Similar to Johnson, it’s amazing that the pants dropping bad boy from Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch has carved out a successful acting career. The guy has just started earning a ton of roles like in Ted, two Oscar nominated films and will appear this summer hoping to revive Michael Bay’s Transformers series. Similarly to Johnson, I actually enjoy watching Marky Mark in action films, I think he can be funny and extreme, but more importantly, I think he just fully accepts himself, which has allowed him to average $52 million per film.
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3. Hugh Jackman – $55 Million
Sneaking in just ahead of Wahlberg is Hugh Jackman. Jackman’s claim to fame was obviously landing the role of Wolverine in the X-Men series which has brought him back for all of the films and kept him in the spotlight. However, Jackman is a diverse actor who actually got his start with musicals, which he reminded everyone about with last years Oscar nominated performance in the famous, Les Miserables, which earned a huge $438 million total and only took $61 million to make.
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2. Channing Tatum – $60 Million
This has to be the biggest shocker for me. While I definitely do like Channing Tatum, especially with his recent comedy appearances in 21 Jump Street and a cameo in This is the End. It turns out the guy just understand how business works, and uses that plus his ability to pull people into theaters to his advantage. His hit, Magic Mike apparently only cost $7 million to make, but ended up grossing $113 million for a mega return, so he’s doing something right and it’s earning him a huge $60 million per film.
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1. Robert Downey Jr. – $75 Million
This guy essentially owes his life to Jon Favreau for landing him the life changing role as Tony Stark in Iron Man. Since making a big comeback, the 49 year old actor has absolutely stolen the show in each of the three Iron Man movies and Marvel’s The Avengers. He has been the face of Marvel and skyrocketed his fame to new heights. As he continues to be one of the hottest and most charismatic stars around right now, it’s earning him $75 million each time.
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