21 Actors Who Made BANK On A Single Film
Great actors can find success in almost any role with dedication, a genuine love for their character, and a... Ah, who am I kidding? Some actors are such stars that they BREAK THE BANK just on their name alone!
New Line Cinema
Here's a list of actors that cashed out for a single flick:
1.Will Smith made at least $100M for Men in Black III
Smith was the "new hotness" throughout the MIB franchise, but the studio had to pay up to complete the trilogy. The neuralyzer-wielding Agent J returned seeing triple (figures that is) and pocketed at least $100M thanks to getting a share of box-office earnings.
Men in Black III earned $624M worldwide.
2.Cameron Diaz made a reported $42M for Bad Teacher
You wouldn't think comedies would be profitable, but like horror films, they are usually pretty cheap to make. Diaz starred in Bad Teacher, which only cost $20M to make, and she had a salary of $1M.
Here's the catch! Diaz went on to renegotiate her contract to include a large chunk of the film's box-office earnings before it hit theaters. The film went on to make about $216M, so Diaz finished off with a payday of $42M, higher than it cost to make the movie itself. That's a big-time power move.
3.Sandra Bullock made a reported $70M for Gravity
Imagine getting paid $70M for a role AND getting nominated for an Academy Award. Bullock didn't have to when she starred as Dr. Ryan Stone in Gravity.
Gravity pulled $723.3M globally, which helped Bullock's deal of receiving 15% of box-office revenue, making her one of the highest-earning female leads ever. Well-earned for such a demanding role that left her character floating in space.
4.Leonardo DiCaprio made a reported $50M for Inception
Pinch him. He must be dreaming. You know, because, like, Inception?
Anywho, DiCaprio teamed up with Director Chris Nolan to star as Dom Cobb, committing dream heists in this trippy 2010 film. According to Forbes, he made even more than $50M due to DVD and TV sales after taking a pay cut initially since the film was considered a box-office "risk."
Spoiler: The film went on to make $836.8M.
5.Harrison Ford made a reported $65M for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Breaking the trilogy mold, the fourth Indiana Jones needed Ford back in the role, which ended up landing a rather hefty $65M payday for the seasoned actor.
Like a super team in the NBA, Paramount decided to split a hefty portion of film earnings between three people: Ford, producer George Lucas, and director Steven Spielberg. The old-timers still had it, hitting big at the box office with $790.7M.
6.Adam Sandler made a reported $62.5M for The Ridiculous Six
Talk about ridiculous figures for Mr. Sandler.
In 2014, Netflix made a four-movie deal with Sandler, and according to Forbes, each would help him pocket $62.5M a film. The final total is projected to be $250M. That's a quarter of a billion dollars...and my jaw is still dragging on my floor.
7.Tom Hanks reportedly made an estimated $60M for Forrest Gump
You never know what you're gonna get, but Hanks got an instant classic film with a great payday. Opting for a performance-based pay was a good bet because Hanks pulled in more than $60M after the movie crushed it at the box office with a reported $678M worldwide. Not bad for a $55M-budget movie.
He also made $40M for Saving Private Ryan. *Insert savings account joke here*
8.Scarlett Johansson made a reported $17.5M for Ghost in the Shell
The adaption of the popular '90s Japanese cyberpunk anime Ghost in the Shell did not perform too well domestically, but still raked in $169.8M worldwide. When the box-office smoke cleared, Johansson brought in $17.5M for playing Major Mira Killian, one of her highest paychecks for any role.
It'd be cool, one day, to see a future version with the original Japanese main character Motoko Kusanagi.
9.Johnny Depp made a reported $68M for Alice in Wonderland
Depp has starred in numerous high-grossing films, so it may shock people that one of his most lucrative roles came in the form of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. To land the biggest movie star at the time, the Tim Burton film landed Depp for $68M (50 million pounds).
I remember as a kid thinking it was odd to have a side character on all the posters, but now, I can think of 68 million reasons why. Plus, the film itself made more than $1B.
10.Robert Downey Jr. made a reported $75M for Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War
Downey Jr. grabbed the torch and ran so the MCU could exist. It's only right that the finale of Marvel's Avengers franchise (Part 1) meant a big payday for RDJ. $75M flew into RDJ's bank account for starring as part of Infinity War's loaded cast.
Just think, if Thanos snapped his fingers for all the money in the world, RDJ would still have $37.5M from this film alone. Think of all of the shawarma you could still buy!
11.Tom Cruise made a reported $100M for War of the Worlds
I'd pay six figures to see Tom Cruise bring his iconic "choppy" run against an invading alien race. That's exactly what Paramount did in 2005 to bring a retelling of H.G. Wells' classic War of the Worlds to life. Cruise opted to take 20% of the film's profit instead of taking too much upfront, and wow, did betting on this film pay off. War of the Worlds abducted a handsome $603.9M from audiences, leaving Cruise with a whopping $100M.
Cruise also made an astounding $75M for Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.
12.Jack Nicholson made a reported $60M for Batman (1989)
Paid only $6 million upfront, Nicholson took on Tim Burton's vision for the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime's popularity took off and so did the movie, raking in $411.6M at the box office.
Like many others on the list, Nicholson's deal involved a direct cut from box-office earnings and a piece of that tasty merchandising pie. That helped Nicholson multiply his earnings by 10, leaving him with $60M.
Hopefully, he didn't waste it all on the people of Gotham and his balloons. "Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money."
13.Melissa McCarthy made a reported $14M for Ghostbusters
There's no doubting that the Ghostbusters franchise name is profitable. With a $154M budget, they needed star power, and there was no bigger comedian in the mid-2010s than McCarthy that fit the role. They made her the highest-paying actor in the film with $14M.
Apparently, she ain't afraid of no dollars.
14.Matt Damon made a reported $25M for The Martian
Turning Andy Weir's masterpiece novel into a movie, 20th Century Fox decided Matt Damon was their guy. Damon found $25M in his space pockets and great recognition for his portrayal of botanist Mark Watney.
The Martian wasn't just received well; it made $630.6M at the box office. I wonder how the US dollars/exchange rate works on Mars?
15.Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a reported $25M for San Andreas
The People's Eyebrow has turned into the People's Profit. I can't explain why, but the Rock equals money. He pulled in $25M just for his disaster summer flick San Andreas.
He is now projected to make $50M for starring in the upcoming Netflix film Red One. I'm still waiting for his grand return as the Scorpion King, but they need to find the cash to pay this man.
16.Jennifer Lawrence made a reported $20M for Passengers
Lawrence was the top-billed cast member of Passengers with $20M.
No offense to Chris Pratt or Lawrence, but I don't think I'd want to be stuck on a spaceship with anyone...not even for $20M.
17.Denzel Washington made a reported $40M for The Little Things
If I had an Actors Fantasy League, following salary cap rules, I'm giving a good share of my money to Denzel.
He's lights out every time and has a proven track record of stardom. He had a high payday for The Book of Eli back in 2010, and in 2021, he got a great paycheck total of $40M to star in the crime drama Little Things.
He continues to be, year-to-year, one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood.
18.Angelina Jolie reportedly made anywhere from $20M to $35.5M for Marvel's Eternals
If you can land Jolie, you pay every dime. Marvel believed the same thing and reportedly paid Jolie an impressive amount to play Thena that helped her earn a total of $35.5M in 2021. Her average fee for past films has been in the $20M range, so if you want Jolie, you better pay up.
Eternals made $402M, which, in the pandemic era of film, isn't too shabby at all. A $200M budget, though. Ouch. Still, Jolie is always worth the cash in my unprofessional opinion.
19.Mark Wahlberg made a reported $17M for Transformers: Age of Extinction
Big dollars in disguise. I have to work on my robot voice, but Marky Mark didn't have to worry about a thing stepping into this role for the fourth installment of live-action Transformers movies. He took home $17M for the 2014 blockbuster flick.
All of this is amazing when you think about it, because Wahlberg wasn't really the face of the Transformers franchise, but they banked on him to revive it.
"Seventeen million. What's wrong with that?" (Apologies for my bad Mark Wahlberg impression.)
20.Emily Blunt reportedly made an estimated $13M for A Quiet Place Part II
I gotta rep my love for horror, and Blunt made some serious cash signing on for the sequel of the successful A Quiet Place. According to Variety, Blunt earned around $13M to reprise her role as Evelyn in A Quiet Place Part II.
I didn't hear too much about this, though. I guess you could say that when it comes to salaries, they were all pretty quiet.
21.Bruce Willis made a reported $114M for The Sixth Sense
*whispers* "I see nine figures."
You read that right. ONE-HUNDRED-AND-FOURTEEN-MILLION! Willis was given $14M upfront for M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. Like many others, Willis banked on the movie's success, receiving a big portion of the film's gross. The final earnings for Willis scored up a total estimated around $114M, according to George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success by Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson.
It's one of the highest-reported paid acting roles for a single movie ever.
