The 'Tower Heist' actor claims the title because for every $1 he is paid for his last three movies, the money only returns an average of $2.30 on box office.
- Dec 5, 2012
AceShowbiz - Who's Hollywood's most overpaid actor in 2012? Forbes officially releases its top ten list of overpaid actors with Eddie Murphy topping the chart. The "Dr. Dolittle" star places first on the list for starring in some not-so-successful films in these past few years including "Meet Dave", "Imagine That", "Tower Heist" and "A Thousand Words". The last mentioned film even joined the list of worst-reviewed films ever earlier this year.
The financial-oriented magazine compiles the list based on how much money an actor grossed for their last three film projects. The result is then compared to the ticket sales of those movies. A film has to gross at least twice as much as production budget in ticket sales to turn a profit. With that calculation, for every dollar Murphy was paid for his recent projects, the money only returned an average of $2.30 on box office.
Trailing behind Murphy is Katherine Heigl, whose recent flicks, including "New Year's Eve" and "One for the Money", only pocketed an average of $3.40 for every dollar she earned. Reese Witherspoon lands on the third spot with an average $3.90 for every dollar she's paid from such movies as "How Do You Know" and "This Means War".
Surprisingly, Sandra Bullock makes it to the list by landing on the fourth place with a $5 return for every $1 she's paid. Bullock starred in one of the biggest films in 2009, "The Blind Side". However, her two other films in the last three years suffered major flops on box office. They were "All About Steve" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".
Meanwhile, Jack Black rounds up the top five for returning only $5.20 for every $1 he grossed. His 2011 comedy, "The Big Year", barely registered on box office though it starred such actors as Steve Martin and Owen Wilson. The movie only bagged $7 million in total.
Forbes' Top 10 Most Overpaid Actors:
- Eddie Murphy (movies grossed $2.30 for every $1 paid)
- Katherine Heigl ($3.40 for every $1 paid)
- Reese Witherspoon ($3.90 for every $1 paid)
- Sandra Bullock ($5 for every $1 paid)
- Jack Black ($5.20 for every $1 paid)
- Nicolas Cage ($6 for every $1 paid)
- Adam Sandler ($6.30 for every $1 paid)
- Denzel Washington ($6.30 for every $1 paid)
- Ben Stiller ($6.50 for every $1 paid)
- Sarah Jessica Parker ($7 for every $1 paid)
