JumpCutz

Pretty interesting...


LOS ANGELES -- This summer's "Land of the Lost" was one of those epic Hollywood disasters that makes outsiders question why anyone is in the movie business. The concept seemed like a good idea: pair funnyman Will Ferrell with a cult kids show from the '70s and hilarity is bound to ensue.

Or not. The film ended up costing an estimated $100 million and earned only $65 million at the worldwide box office. Universal studio heads Marc Shmuger and David Linde were subsequently fired. (For more on the movie's origins, see: "A Sleestak Comeback.")

"Land of the Lost"'s dismal box office helped land star Will Ferrell at the top of our annual list of Hollywood's Most Overpaid Stars. Ferrell is no longer the sure bet he seemed after hits like "Elf" ($220 million worldwide box office) and "Talladega Nights" ($162 million box office). Ferrell's 2008 film "Semi-Pro" earned only $43 million. "Step Brothers" did better with $128 million, but it wasn't enough to help Ferrell -- mainly because the star commands a high salary in comedies where he plays his trademark man-child role.

For every dollar Ferrell was paid, his films earned an average $3.29. Compare that to Shia LaBeouf, who topped our list of Best Actors for the Buck in August. For every dollar LaBeouf was paid, his films earned an average $160.

Second-worst? Ewan McGregor. The Scottish actor, best known for his work in films like "Trainspotting" and "Star Wars" (where he played a young Obi-Wan Kenobi), doesn't earn as much as some of the higher-profile actors on our list. But his recent movies have performed poorly, making him a terrible investment for producers. For every dollar McGregor was paid, his films earned an average $3.75.

To create our list, we looked at the 100 biggest stars in Hollywood. To qualify, each actor had to have starred over the last five years in at least three movies that opened in more than 500 theaters. (In McGregor's case, we didn't include the 2008 Woody Allen movie "Cassandra's Dream," because it played in only 107 theaters.)

We didn't include animated films, because the actors aren't really the draw -- and they tend to take pay cuts for voice work.

We calculated each star's estimated earnings on each film, including up-front pay and any earnings from the film's box office receipts, DVD and TV sales. We then looked at each movie's estimated budget (not including marketing costs, which are susceptible to accounting chicanery) and box office, DVD and television earnings to figure out an operating income for each film.

We added up each star's compensation on his or her last three films and the operating income on those films and divided total operating income by the star's total compensation to come up with each return-on-investment number.

Besides Will Ferrell, other big names on our list include Eddie Murphy and Tom Cruise. Murphy (who ranks fourth) has commanded one of the highest quotes in Hollywood for his work in family comedies, thanks to the performance of movies like "The Nutty Professor," which grossed $274 million at the worldwide box office.

But lately his return on investment has fallen off a cliff. Last year's "Meet Dave" was a box office disaster, earning only $50 million worldwide. This year's "Imagine That" did even worse, bringing in $18 million. Murphy escaped being named the most overpaid star thanks to 2007's "Norbit," which earned $160 million. For every dollar Murphy was paid, his films earned an average $4.43.

Cruise ranks sixth with a return on investment of $7.18. The star has worked out unusual deals on past films where he takes nothing up front in return for a large chunk of first-dollar gross -- that means on stinkers like "Lions For Lambs," Cruise earned even if the studio (in this case, his studio, United Artists) didn't recoup its money. These are just the kinds of deals studios are trying to avoid.



http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/forb...aid-stars.html

inri222

The entire list

Will Ferrell
Ewan McGregor
Billy Bob Thornton
Eddie Murphy
Ice Cube
Tom Cruise
Drew Barrymore
Leonardo DiCaprio
Samuel L. Jackson
Jim Carrey

islandclaws

Jeezus, clicking through that list was a pain in the ass between all the pop-ups and ads and linked stories.

andy434343

Shia didn't earn that money, thats the main problem with this list. He was in Transformers, transformers 2, and Indiana Jones, which all made a ton of money, and would have made just as much without him since he was a secondary character in all three, and I mean that for transformers as well since the machines play a larger role in a movie about machines, even though he plays the largest human role. He is also younger so he can't demand the paydays the more experienced actors who have been around the block can ask for.

Ash Ketchum

Johnny Depp is getting $30 million for PIRATES 4. If that's not overpaid, I don't know what is.

Hokeyboy

How much money do you think a PoTC film would make WITHOUT Johnny Depp?

I guarantee you its at LEAST $500 million less, worldwide.

That $30 million is a hell of a good investment.

Hokeyboy

I'm surprised Nicole Kidman isn't on that list. She's been in bomb after bomb after bomb for YEARS now...

islandclaws

She topped the list either last year or the one before.

I don't even remember the last film she was in... Did she put anything out in '09? I seem to recall only one (Australia) from '08. And that bombed, too.

Patman

Nicole Kidman will be in "Nine", released later this year, but other than that, "Australia" was her last film in the theaters last year.

Hokeyboy

As much as I'm drooling in anticipation of "Nine", I don't see it as the type of film that will do significant box office... thus continuing Kidman's streak. Still, can't wait to see it.

GoldenJCJ

Steven Spielberg really should be getting Shia's credit. The only reason LaBeouf has done as well as he has is because he's been riding Spielberg's coat tails most of his feature film career.

Hokeyboy

To be fair, Disturbia and Eagle Eye weren't big-name franchise movies, and were pretty decent sized hits.

Lateralus

Yeah but 2 Transformer and a Indiana Jones movie really made Shia pretty top heavy, people sure aren't spending 300 mil per movie to see Shia LaBeouf.

Solid Snake

It's by the guy that did Chicago....and it looks great. I think it'll do fine. I hope it's fantastic btw..that trailer with Hudson singing is just so much fun to watch.

AnonomusBob15

I'd say Tom is worth the salary. Didn't Valkyrie make 100mill? How much would it have made without him? Probably less than half that.

Depp, Smith, Cruise

i'd say if DiCaprio gets 20mill a movie, that's a stretch. I don't think his draw is that big, though his given some fine performances in some great films.

islandclaws

Leo should put half that $20m towards getting a decent dialogue coach so he doesn't sound like a douche everytime he attempts an accent.

Double_Oh_7

If Ashton Kutcher makes $1 he's overpaid.

RyoHazuki

The Beard exec. produced on Eagle Eye.

Tom Cruise is a dumb choice for the list. Besides Lion for Lambs, he's had pretty much success after success. He's a huge draw around the world.

PopcornTreeCt

This

Every movie Tom Cruise is in, is automatically a Tom Cruise movie. Not so much for Shia Lebeouf. Shia taking credit for Transformers 1 and 2 is like Derek Fisher taking credit for the Lakers championships.

Giantrobo

As much as you jaded dvdtalkers hate Shia, the guy is very likable. There's just something about him. Believe me, he was nowhere near the worst thing in movies he's been in that you guys love to piss on like Indy 4 and TF 1 & 2.

spainlinx0

Nobody is saying he is the worst thing in them. He just isn't the reason for their box office success.

wm lopez

No George Clooney on the list?

tanman

The top most annoying website:

Forbes.com

Seriously I've never seen such a broken website. Who's idea was it to have top ten lists as a web slideshow that automatically loads the next page for you? Just list the damn thing. And there were more popunders and ads then porn sites. Whoever designed that thing must have never browsed the internet.

Howie2000

X


It's similiar to the 1990's when Jeff Goldbloom was in Jurassic Park and Independence Day over a 2 year period.

Howie2000

Kidman is a 3rd- 4th-5th Billed supporting actress in this .While I don't see this being a flop if it was I would hardly see her as being the reason.