Forbes' list of the most overpaid Hollywood actors

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CBC.ca Arts - Crowe, Kidman top Forbes list of most overpaid actors
Crowe, Kidman top Forbes list of most overpaid actors
Last Updated: Friday, December 14, 2007 | 2:47 PM ET
CBC News

Forbes's ranking of actors who aren't worth the money they're paid was calculated by estimating the ratio between the amount the actor earned for a film, and the income generated by the picture from worldwide box office and DVD sales.

Crowe, at the top of the list, dominated the fight in Gladiator, but his recent films have not been box office successes.

Cinderella Man was released twice without gaining an audience, and Master and Commander and A Good Year also failed to draw viewers, meaning the studios earned just $5 for each dollar paid to the Australian star.

Crowe has a chance to redeem himself this year with American Gangster, which is doing well at the box office.

Not so for Kidman, whose Golden Compass appears set to be a bust, just like her past two projects, Bewitched and Margot at the Wedding.
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Also on the list are three of Hollywood's most bankable funnymen, Canadian-born Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell.

Carrey, once a reliable money-maker with The Mask and The Cable Guy, has flopped recently with Fun with Dick and Jane and The Number 23.

Ferrell did well with Talladega Nights, but followed up with the less successful Stranger Than Fiction and Bewitched.

Sandler has failed to make the switch to box office success in more serious films such as Spanglish and Reign Over Me.

Jennifer Lopez is notable for her role in Gigli, the only film in the calculation that didn't make back its budget at the box office. She also starred in flops such as Monster-in-Law and Shall We Dance.

The full list of overpaid actors:

* Crowe
* Kidman
* Carrey
* Ferrell
* Lopez
* Sandler
* Cameron Diaz
* Denzel Washington
* Will Smith
* Tom Cruise

[Kirsten89]

They're all overpaid! No one deserves over a million just to dress up and read lines.

[msdeb]

yup. all actors are overpaid. so are athletes.

[jocelyn]

athletes are overpaid, but at least some of them have skills.

[sputnik]

^^^
so do a lot of actors though.

[DitaPage*]

Originally Posted by Kirsten89

They're all overpaid! No one deserves over a million just to dress up and read lines.

EXACTLY.

[Dixie Normos]

Originally Posted by Kirsten89

They're all overpaid! No one deserves over a million just to dress up and read lines.

Or run around playing childrens games (aka sports).

[Kirsten89]

Originally Posted by Dixie Normos

Or run around playing childrens games (aka sports).

Or posing for pictures/walking on a stage or singing. They're doing their hobbies, getting paid way to much and they continue to complain. Ungrateful pieces of shit.

[DontMindMe]

DMM's list of the most overpaid Hollywood actors: All of 'em.

[Chalet]

If they generate the money, they get a high salary. What I see happening is that they still think that Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt are still box office draws. They even think Angelina is a draw. All there movies have tanked and become more popular after they are on HBO and DVD. Surprisingly, Tom Cruise can still have a movie make 300 million worldwide.

I remember when Harrison Ford was one of the highest paid actors who really sold tickets. I wonder how much he got for the latest Indiana Jones coming out? If he got 25 million and the movie makes 300 million, will he be considered overpaid?

Johnny Depp is worth every penny.

[Rosamund]

Originally Posted by Chalet

Johnny Depp is worth every penny.

Agreed!

[Chilly Willy]

Why, Tom Cruise kicks ass!

[kingcap72]

All actors are overpaid. But from a strictly business end if they're movies are bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars for the studios, then they deserve to get a hefty chunk of cash for their services.

[Buffy Burnett]

They all deserve their pay because they have to put up with people gossiping about them all the time (and much, much worse)--they need bank to put up with the insulation/loss of liberty that comes with being famous.

[bambi007]

Originally Posted by sputnik

^^^
so do a lot of actors though.

Not the ones getting paid millions.