Time Network News foreign media "Variety" exposed the salaries of the latest batch of Hollywood stars, and the different distribution methods produced by the rise of streaming media have brought more generous salaries to stars.
Since 1996, when Kim Carey earned $20 million for his black comedy Ace Commissioner, this figure has been the industry standard for Hollywood's top artists, representing the market price for starring in theater movies. Sandra Bullock (Lost City), Brad Pitt (Bullet Train), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor 4) are all paid, but this standard is not absolutely stable. Chris Pine earned nearly $11.5 million for Paramount's Dungeons and Dragons, and Robert Pattinson for The New Batman.
Today, such a pay standard dwarfs the pay figures offered by streaming companies. Daniel Craig, for example, earned more than $100 million for two sequels to Netflix's "Sharp Blade Out of the Sheath." Dwayne Johnson's new Amazon film "Red" will receive $30 million, plus a dividend of up to $50 million. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence's new Netflix film Don't Look Up will be paid $30 million and $25 million, respectively. Ryan Gosling's new Netflix film "Greys" earned about $20 million.
This year, Warner's use of theatrical synchronous streaming media distribution has caused a lot of controversy, and the film remuneration has had to provide more compensation for the stars. Denzel Washington was paid $40 million each for "Clues" and Will Smith for "King Richard." Keanu Reeves' The Matrix 4 was paid $12-14 million and also enjoyed box office dividends. In addition, Amazon also paid an additional $15 million for Michael B. Jordan after buying "Cold-Blooded" from Paramount for online distribution.
Tom Cruise is the only movie star who can get the film's initial salary and post-production dividends. As one of the few traditional movie stars to participate in box office sharing, his contract guarantees that he can take another tens of millions of dollars from the film's box office earnings. He starred in Paramount's "Top Gun 2," which paid $13 million, and if the film was a box office success, his income would have been even higher.