Traditional Hollywood studios just aren’t paying A-list actors what they used to — which is another reason why the stars are flocking to Netflix!
The streaming service is offering movie stars some red-hot pay packages to headline its films at a time when other studios are getting stingy with their wallets, according to a Variety article revealing the 2019 salaries of some of the industry’s top talent.
Ryan Reynolds, for example, is earning $27 million to star in Netflix’s Six Underground, a Michael Bay film about a billionaire-financed vigilante squad. Will Smith, meanwhile, will likely earn a cushy $35 million from the streamer to reprise his role in Bright 2 (despite the fact that the first film was widely panned by critics.)
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Those salaries are noticeably larger than what stars have been earning from non-streaming studios.. even if it’s to star in an already existing franchise.
To get SONY’s Bad Boys for Life off the ground, Smith reportedly shaved his asking price to a mere $17 million. By the same token, Tom Cruise is pulling in $12-14 million to reprise his role as Maverick in Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick –– a modest figure in comparison to the $20 million he earned in his mid-’90s heyday.
On the surface, it seems like a deal with Netflix is far more attractive. However, as Variety notes, the streamer’s bigger salary offers are only to make up for the fact that its stars won’t be getting a lucrative back-end deal.
As the publication explains, actors’ contracts usually stipulate that they’ll get a percentage of the film’s profits. But because Netflix receives most of its revenues from subscriptions, and not from theatrical releases, home entertainment sales, or licensing, a similar deal just isn’t in the cards.
So, at the end of the day (or fiscal year), the stars might be better sticking with those stingy studios after all. Especially if those stars are guaranteed to bring in box office returns: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Robert Downey Jr. are still able to command $20 million salaries for their studio films, while Gal Gadot will earn a cool $10 million to reprise her role as the titular super heroine in Wonder Woman 1984.
See which studios are paying which stars big money in 2019 (below)!
Ryan Reynolds: $27 million, Six Underground (Netflix)
Dwayne Johnson: $20 million, Hobbs & Shaw (Universal)
Robert Downey Jr.: $20 million, The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle (Universal)
Will Smith: $17 million, Bad Boys for Life (SONY)
Jason Statham: $13 million, Hobbs & Shaw (Universal)
Tom Cruise: $12-14 million, Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount)
Emily Blunt: $12-13 million, A Quiet Place 2 (Paramount)
Brad Pitt: $10 million, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (SONY)
Leonardo DiCaprio: $10 million, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (SONY)
Gal Gadot: $10 million, Wonder Woman 1984 (Warner Bros.)
Margot Robbie: $9-10 million, Birds of Prey (Warner Bros.)
Idris Elba: $8 million, Hobbs & Shaw (Universal)
Ben Affleck: $8 million, Triple Frontier (Netflix)
Kristen Stewart: $7 million, Charlie’s Angels (SONY)
Martin Lawrence: $6 million, Bad Boys for Life (SONY)
Joaquin Phoenix: $4.5 million, Joker (Warner Bros.)
Jessica Chastain: $2.5 million, IT: Chapter 2 (Warner Bros.)
[Image via FayesVision/WENN]
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