PayScale.com, PayScale
Feb 13, 2008
With the Oscars around the corner, we will be hearing about movie actor salaries, which always seem to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Few of the best picture nominees are big box office winners. Fortunately for us, George Clooney has decided to go more for "backend" (cut of profits) rather than fixed fees for his movies. If not, his standard fee of more than $15 million would have doubled the cost of "Michael Clayton", and likely scuttled the project.
Forbes.com reported on movie actor salaries, and calculated which stars actually deliver at the box office. Surprisingly, the best investment in movie actor salaries is Matt Damon. For every dollar The Bourne Ultimatum star is paid, Matt Damon's movies gross $29. Not bad, for a career that started with the minor role of Steamer, the goofy younger brother in "Mystic Pizza".
Back in 2004, The Bourne Supremacy grossed $290 million worldwide, plus another $165 million in video rentals and sales. Damon's total take for that film was $26 million, so that was a good investment for Universal Studios, as was the sequel, The Bourne Ultimatum.
What about female movie actor salaries? Jennifer Aniston's last three starring films have earned $17 to every dollar she was paid; The Break-Up grossed an estimated $270 million.
How does your salary compare, if not to the stars, to other working stiffs like you? Find out with our salary calculator.