Actor salaries revealed for upcoming high-profile projects

August 19th 2021, 10:40am

Last Updated on August 23, 2021

We may be well beyond the era that a celebrity’s name alone can carry a project to big box office but that doesn’t mean these performers can’t command big bucks for their work. Starpower plus a well-known IP is the biggest sell here, but newly reported actor salaries for upcoming films also show that back-end deals for theatrical and streaming revenue, is another way to boost a celebrity’s revenue.

Variety reported on 17 noteworthy star salaries and they showcased a wide range of avenues that celebrities are taking to pull in outrageously good paydays. When the Knives Out Netflix deal was revealed after the streamer picked up the next two sequels, it came with the news that star Daniel Craig was set to collect $100 million for both films. Craig’s deal is an example of one that can be worked out when theatrical revenue isn’t in play. Also landing a similar deal is Dwayne Johnson, who is pulling in $50 million to produce and star in Amazon’s holiday-themed action movie Red One. Both of these deals include back-end buyouts, which go a long way to compensate actors for the large bonuses that they would’ve received if their films would’ve performed well at the box office in theaters.

Netflix has been making similar deals like this for a while but WarnerMedia got into this game when they had to renegotiate the deal for last year’s Wonder Woman 1984. Once the film was also sent to streaming as well as theatrical, star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins inked new deals to compensate for the new streaming release pattern. Also within WarnerMedia, Denzel Washington reportedly made $40 million when it was all said and done for this year’s The Little Things between his initial paycheck and the new streaming deal. That film could’ve been made for $40 million alone so it represents a huge win for Washington. Will Smith is also earning $40 million for the mid-budget drama King Richard, which is also going theatrical and streaming, although Smith’s salary also includes producer fees.

The $20 million club also still exists in Hollywood. Brad Pitt is making a cool $20 million upfront for Sony’s Bullet Train and the same can be said for Sandra Bullock, who is pulling in the same amount for Paramount’s The Lost City of D, co-starring Channing Tatum. Both names can still get people to go to the movies, particularly older audiences who have been fans of the pair since they got their start. Their upfront paychecks show that their names still carry weight in the industry.

Netflix is putting out big money for high-profile talent as well. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawerence are making a reported $30 million and $25 million respectively, for Adam McKay’s upcoming film, Don’t Look Up. Netflix is no stranger to giving out big money to secure big names. The streamer paid Mark Wahlberg $30 million for Spenser Confidential, which became one of their bigger hits on the platform. Other A-listers getting the big bucks from Netflix are Julia Roberts ($25 million for the thriller Leave the World Behind) and Ryan Gosling ($20 million for the Russo Brothers’ action film The Gray Man).

Some other interesting salary reveals in the “Variety” piece include Robert Pattinson making a mere $3 million for The Batman. What should be noted is that, despite Pattinson being known and having a sizable filmography, he’s not a proven box office draw. The Twilight Saga was huge but he wasn’t the sole reason for its success. Pattinson could possibly have a back-end deal in place for The Batman and, once the film comes out and is successful, he’ll be able to command a much higher payday moving forward.

Tom Cruise was only paid $13 million upfront for Top Gun: Maverick which seems low for someone of his stature but Cruise is one of the few stars that demand first-dollar gross on their back-end participation, which means he gets paid before the studio. The Top Gun sequel is getting an exclusive theatrical release so Cruise could be in for a big payday if the film proves to have a successful theatrical run. Keanu Reeves is in a similar spot for The Matrix 4 as he only pulled in $12-14 million upfront to return as Neo. A back-end buyout still needs to be negotiated for that film since it’s also debuting on HBO Max to stream during the first 30 days of its theatrical run so Reeves will probably see a deal similar to that of Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins for Wonder Woman 1984. Speaking of HBO Max’s back-end buyout deals, WarnerMedia is still negotiating deals for its Dune ensemble and new terms with Legendary to compensate the company as they put up 75% of the financing. October is just around the corner so they might want to get on that.

What are your thoughts on these celebrity salaries? You can check out the full list from “Variety” below!

Daniel Craig
“Knives Out’ sequels$100M*

Dwayne Johnson
“Red One”$50M

*Will Smith
“King Richard”$40M

*Denzel Washington
“The Little Things”$40M

*Leonardo DiCaprio
“Don’t Look Up”$30M

*Mark Wahlberg
“Spenser Confidential”$30M

*Jennifer Lawrence
“Don’t Look Up”$25M

*Julia Roberts
“Leave the World Behind”$25M

*Sandra Bullock
“The Lost City of D”$20M

Ryan Gosling
‘The Grey Man”$20M

*Chris Hemsworth
“Thor: Love and Thunder”$20M