Less money, but still on top
Star salaries drop, but actors are still raking in the moolah. Except, it's a different set now.
Going by this year's figures, star salaries in Hollywood have been on a somewhat downward spiral. Films are doing better than before, no doubt about that, but the earnings per A-List actor doesn't match up to what the earnings per star were last year.In fact, as the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter does well to point out, they're still earning a pretty penny. They report of a survey conducted that shows that six actors (at least!) are raking in $20million a movie.On top of the pile is Leonardo DiCaprio, along with Robert Downey Jr, Sandra Bullock, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. What they're most prudent to point out, is that it's the same figure, Hollywood's A-Listers earned in the 1990s.What this says about the state of affairs is simply this -- more actors are stars today (and these, hearteningly, include women!), but salaries (by scale) have dipped. Actors depend on the film doing well, and not on the A-List actors being hired.Instead, consistency seems to be the name of the ballgame here. At $25mn, Leo is king of the hill... still, Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie's stock in the Hollywood market seems to show no signs of dipping, despite the two doing fewer films. Ditto with Denzel, Matt and Mark Wahlberg. Downey is on this list purely because of his popularity that stems from the successes of The Avengers and the Iron Man films.Also, if you notice, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Adam Sandler are not on this list. The fresh crop of actors who took home big salaries last year because of the success of their franchises, have also dropped by the wayside.Dwayne Johnson, like Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller before him, has become a safe bet for most producers and gets paid around $15mn a movie, still lower than what he has earned previously. With him going solo in the anticipated San Andreas, expect that figure to soar.Jennifer Lawrence and Melissa McCarthy are other stars who made consistently good choices in their career and earn better than most of their counterparts.NOTABLE A-LIST ABSENCESTom CruiseWill SmithBrad PittGeorge ClooneyAdam SandlerBen StillerJamie FoxxJohnny DeppCURIOUS NEW A-LISTERSBradley CooperChanning TatumSeth RogenJennifer LawrenceMelissa McCarthySTANDING STEADYLeonardo DiCaprioRobert Downey JrMark WahlbergDenzel Washington