For quite a few years, the top salary movie stars usually received was $20M per film, starting with Jim Carrey in “The Cable Guy,” but things have changed. Tom Cruise may only be getting around $12M to $14M, but the percentage he gets from ticket sales means that he’s looking to get around $100M from “Top Gun: Maverick” alone, easily making him the top-earning male star in Hollywood, with second place going to Will Smith at $35M for starring in “Emancipation.”
To find the highest-paid female star, it’s a big drop. Margot Robbie is earning $12.5M to star in “Barbie,” the same as her co-star Ryan Gosling, with Millie Bobby Brown just behind her with a $10M payday to star in “Enola Holmes 2.” Why is Cruise so far ahead of the pack? According to one studio executive, “Most actors aren’t worth what you pay them, but Cruise and maybe Dwayne Johnson justify their salaries.”
Source-Variety
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