Month: November 2011

A good list always make for a good magazine feature, and Forbes‘s new roundup of Hollywood’s “Most Overpaid Actors” is no exception. So, who tops the list? Turns out, one of Charlie’s angels isn’t so angelic when it comes to studios making big returns on their investment in her. For every $1 Drew Barrymore gets paid, her films return an average $0.40, according to the magazine. Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell follow in her footsteps, proving comedy doesn’t always pay off. If it weren’t for the box office success of The Other Guys, Ferrell would have continued his streak as Hollywood’s most overpaid star.

Arguably the most surprising actor on the list is Denzel Washington, who I always thought of as a Hollywood favorite and a big-time player when it comes to filling seats at the movie theater. Evidently, Denzel’s average pricetag of $12 million per movie isn’t enough by itself for the right box-office formula. I’m also surprised Adam Sandler didn’t come in at no. 1. His films have been on a downward slope for years, in terms of both laughs and cash flow (the days of Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison are long gone), and most actors who peaked in the 1990s don’t get work as often as he does. All in all though, the list makes sense for Forbes and makes for an entertaining read.