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25 of the highest-paid movie roles of all time, including $100 million for a single film

Updated

2021-08-19T15:17:18Z

Actors don't get paid like they used to, but some can still negotiate huge deals.
Actors like Will Smith, Ryan Reynolds, and Daniel Craig have struck big with Netflix movies.
Robert Downey Jr. was the highest-paid actor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by far.
See more stories on Insider's business page.

It's rare for actors to rake in huge salaries today, at least compared to the days when audiences were drawn to a movie primarily based on its leading star.

Years ago, if a certain actor's name were attached to a movie, it was almost a guaranteed success. Stars like Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Jim Carrey were paid big bucks in the 1990s because they attracted a crowd.

For instance, Carrey was paid $20 million — a rarity today — for "The Cable Guy" in 1996, because it was expected that he could deliver a $20 million opening weekend at least.

Now, audiences are more attracted to a franchise than a star. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, for instance, dominated the box office for the last decade (to be fair, Robert Downey Jr, who played Iron Man, made bank off of those movies).

But some big name actors have the recognition and leverage to still strike gigantic deals, especially with Netflix.

The streaming giant recently landed two sequels to the hit movie "Knives Out" in a deal worth $469 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Star Daniel Craig (along with director Rian Johnson and his producing partner Ram Bergman) could make "upward of $100 million" for the sequels, THR reported.

Some movie stars in streaming movies snag such big paydays because they're granted a streaming back-end buyout, which aims to make up for box-office losses. For instance, Dwayne Johnson is being paid $50 million for the Amazon action holiday movie movie "Red One," which includes a back-end buyout, according to Variety.

Insider ranked the highest-paid movie roles of all time that earned the actors more than $25 million. Some actors — like Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tom Hanks — appear multiple times.

Below are 25 of the highest paid movie roles of all time, ranked:

25. Emma Stone as Mia in "La La Land"

$26 million

Source: Forbes

Stone topped Forbes' list of the world's highest paid actresses in 2017 with $26 million, most of that coming from her Oscar-winning role in the 2016 film "La La Land."

24. Ryan Reynolds in "Six Underground"

$27 million

Source: Variety

Reynolds made $27 million for the Michael Bay-directed Netflix action movie, about six billionaires who turn into vigilantes.

23. Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"

$29 million

Source: Slate

Schwarzenegger promised that he'd be back for a third Terminator movie under some pretty specific circumstances, including a $29.25 million "pay or play" fee, which he would receive even if the movie wasn't made.

22. Leonardo DiCaprio as Randall Mindy in "Don't Look Up"

$30 million

Source: Variety

DiCaprio is receiving $30 million for his role in Netflix and director Adam McKay's upcoming star-studded movie "Don't Look Up," which includes a streaming back-end buyout.

21. Mark Wahlberg as Spenser in "Spenser Confidential"

$30 million

Source: Variety

Wahlberg received $30 million for Netflix's action comedy "Spenser Confidential," which is Netflix's third biggest movie of all time with 85 million households watching in its first month (the streamer counts a view if an account watches at least two minutes of a movie).

19. Will Smith as Daryl Ward in the "Bright" sequel

$35 million

Source: Variety

A sequel to the 2017 hit Netflix movie "Bright" is in the works and star Will Smith is expected to earn $35 million for it, according to Variety.

18. Will Smith as Richard Williams in "King Richard"

$40 million

Source: Variety

Smith is getting $40 million for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. It includes a back-end buyout because the movie will be hitting theaters and streaming on HBO Max simultaneously later this year.

17. Denzel Washington as Joe Deacon in "The Little Things"

$40 million

Source: Variety

Washington snagged $40 million for "The Little Things" after receiving a back-end buyout when the movie streamed on HBO Max the same day it hit theaters.

16. Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan"

$40 million

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Hanks has struck "act now, get paid later" deals on multiple films, in which he would receive a portion of the box office earnings. That got him at least $40 million for "Saving Private Ryan," but it's not his most lucrative deal.

15. Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth Halsey in "Bad Teacher"

$42 million

Source: Yahoo Finance

Diaz was paid a mere $1 million to get "Bad Teacher" produced, but received a portion of box-office earnings, which secured her over $40 million for the movie. It's known as one of the most "legendary" deals in Hollywood history.

14. Dwayne Johnson in "Red One"

$50 million

Source: Variety

Johnson is getting paid $50 million for the upcoming holiday action movie "Red One," which Amazon Studios recently won in a bidding war. The compensation includes a back-end buyout for the streaming movie.

13. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in "Knives Out" sequels

$100 million ($50 million per movie)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Netflix landed two "Knives Out" sequels in a deal worth $469 million, and star Daniel Craig could earn "upward of $100 million" for the sequels, according to THR.

The first "Knives Out," released by the studio Lionsgate, was a box-office hit with more than $300 million worldwide off of a $40 million budget.

12. Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb in "Inception"

$50 million

Source: Forbes

DiCaprio earned at least$50 million for Christopher Nolan's 2010 film "Inception" just from box-office earnings, but his deal also included home video and television sales. According to Forbes, he took a pay cut because the movie was so "risky," but he and Nolan agreed to split first dollar gross points.

11. Jack Nicholson as The Joker in "Batman"

$50 million

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Though Nicholson was paid $6 million up front for his role as the villainous Joker in the 1989 "Batman" film, he reportedly secured a lucrative deal that included box-office earnings and merchandise sales from its sequels — that he didn't even appear in.

10. Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"

$55 million

Source: Forbes

Forbes reported in 2010 that "On Stranger Tides" — the fourth "Pirates" movie released in 2011 — was one of the most expensive movies ever made, with production costs of over $410 million. A large portion of those costs were due to paying staff and actors. Depp alone made $55 million for the movie.

In 2011, Depp admitted that he was "overpaid" for the "Pirates" movies, for which he has reportedly made over $300 million combined.

8. Adam Sandler in his Netflix movies

$250 million for four movies ($62.5 million per movie)

Source: Forbes

Sandler struck a deal with Netflix in 2014 for four exclusive movies worth an estimated $250 million, or $62.5 million per movie, according to Forbes. Netflix renewed the deal in 2017 for four more movies, and again last year.

7. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

$65 million

Source: Forbes

To get Ford back for a fourth "Indiana Jones" movie, Paramount agreed to a deal that split a large portion of the film's earnings between him, director Steven Spielberg, and producer George Lucas.

6. Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland"

$68 million

Source: The Telegraph

According to the Telegraph, Depp earned 50 million pounds for "Alice in Wonderland," which was about $68 million in the US.

4. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in "Avengers: Infinity War"

$75 million

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Downey was the highest-paid actor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having negotiated a deal in which he received backend profits that resulted in $75 million for 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War." He even made $50 million for the first "Avengers" movie in 2012, according to GQ.

3. Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol"

$75 million

Source: Forbes

Cruise earned $75 million from the fourth "Mission: Impossible" movie, "Ghost Protocol," which allowed him to top Forbes' most powerful actors list in 2012.

2. Keanu Reeves as Neo in "The Matrix" trilogy

$250 million ($83.3 million per movie)

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Between all three "Matrix" films, Keanu Reeves' combined pay was $250 million.

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