Looking at how much the average Hollywood actor makes daily, we may have an idea of how much Funke Akindele would have made by featuring in AVENGERS, INFINITY WAR. Of course, that seems like a mirage now as her photo and name seems to have been replaced by Genevieve Nnaji’s.
READ this report from 2014:
How bad is the decline in actor salaries over the past decade? Despite the huge sums still being raked in by such superstars as Robert Downey Jr. (his $75 million comes from his 7 percent, first-dollar slice of Iron Man 3, as well as his $12 million HTC endorsement deal) and Sandra Bullock (a 15 percent, first-dollar deal on Gravity and about $10 million more for her summer hit The Heat), most actors are feeling a definite squeeze, especially those in the middle.
“If you’re [a big star], you’re getting well paid,” says one top agent, “but the middle level has been cut out.” Sometimes with a hacksaw. Leonardo DiCaprio made $25 million (including bonuses) for The Wolf of Wall Street, while co-star Jonah Hill got paid $60,000 (this right here!!!). Granted, that’s an extreme example — Hill offered to do the part for scale (and got an Oscar nomination for his trouble).
But studio cost-cutting has meant that mid-level stars are being nickel-and-dimed in ways that would have been unheard of in the gilded ’90s (i.e., Marvel Studios’ reportedly offering Mickey Rourke a mere $250,000 to star opposite Downey in Iron Man 2). Before breaking out the violins, though, remember that even mid-level stars are far better off than most other actors. According to the most recent SAG statistics, the average member earns $52,000 a year, while the vast majority take home less than $1,000 a year from acting jobs.
How Much Does The Average Actor Make? Less Than You Think?
Like the salaries of most working people, the sums that actors rake in each year — for the most part — aren’t public knowledge. Forbes has made a yearly habit out of posting lists of the biggest earners in Hollywood, but what about the rest of the folks?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s not nearly as much as what the likes of Robert Downey Jr. (RDJ) and Channing Tatum make.
In their new report on employment and wages, the bureau revealed the average salary for a bunch of different jobs within entertainment, including actors, producers and directors. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the total doesn’t come anywhere near RDJ’s $75 million, but it might be lower than you expect.
Of the 155,740 actors, directors and producers included in the survey by the Department of Labor report, the average person made $89,000 in 2013, at the rate of $42.80 an hour.
The median is a good deal lower at $30.48. For actors specifically, the median moves down to $22.15.
(And for those of you looking to enter any of those professions, that figure takes 63,230 actors and 92,510 directors and producers into account.)
The really telling number here is that median, since there are an equal number of actors that make higher and lower. And it’s also worth noting that people like RDJ and Tatum are the people driving the average up toward the higher end and making acting seem more lucrative for the average thespian than it really is.
So the next time you watch a movie and wonder how much everyone on the screen is making — at least the ones with lines — now you have a better idea.
Considering inflation and negotiation, Funke Akindele may have been looking at say $40,000 – $80,000 (N14 – N28m).
Here’s another one: Animals or Animal Actors are paid around $400 per day in Hollywood. This really got me thinking some of us (who may be looking at the money) wouldn’t mind posing as an animal just to get that money.
Source: Hollywoodreport/MTV
