These Were Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Actors And Actresses in 2016, According To ‘Forbes’

Hollywood’s most overpaid actors list for 2016 has been released by Forbes and there are more than a few shockers at the top.

First off, here’s how it’s done. Forbes “looked at the last three films each actor starred in before June 2016, save animated films, movies where the actor appeared in an insignificant role, or movies that were released on fewer than 2,000 screens.”

Then they compared how much money the movies made versus how much the actor was paid and created their list.

Here’s what they came up with…

Thanks to recent ticket booth disappointments, [Johnny] Depp is this year’s most overpaid actor: His last three movies returned just $2.80 at the box office for every $1 he was paid on them. While the damning accusations did not impact his earnings during our scoring period, they look set to damage his box office prospects for months to come. It’s the latest bad career news for Depp, who has suffered some high-profile misses including last year’s Mortdecai and 2014’s Transcendence.

Will Smith, who ranks second, has had a similarly poor run at the box office: He returned a dismal $5 at the ticket booth for every $1 he earned from his recent films. With Concussion, an Oscar nod evaded him and the movie barely met its $34 million production costs; Focus was a little better. Smith’s outsized paydays, coupled with box office disappointments, translate to poor returns.

Some actors, such as third-ranked Channing Tatum, make the cut even though they have scored hits. Magic Mike XXL was a veritable success, notching $122 million on a $14.8 million budget, but Tatum still returns just $6 at the box office for every $1 paid. That’s because his three movie average is dragged down by 2015 flop Jupiter Ascending, which earned just $8 million more than its $176 million production budget.

He barely fares better than Will Ferrell, whose middling returns rate out to $6.50 at the ticket booth for every $1 he earns. That’s even worse than his $6.80 ROI last year. The dip is due to the long-awaited Zoolander 2, which earned a dismal 23% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and managed just $56 million at the ticket booth–on a $50 million budget.

Rounding out the top five is George Clooney. Once untouchable, his box office returns have waned to $6.70 for every $1 paid. He is still beloved by those who see his films: Hail, Caesar! was enjoyed by critics but fared modestly at the box office; Money Monster performed a little better. But Clooney’s average takes a big hit from 2015’s Tomorrowland, which barely grossed more than its eye-watering $190 million budget.

The rest of the top 10 is as follows…

6. Adam Sandler – $7.60 for every $1 paid.
7. Mark Wahlberg – $9.20 for every $1 paid.
8. Leonardo DiCaprio – $9.90 for ever $1 paid.
9. Julia Roberts – $10.80 for every $1 paid.
10. Bradley Cooper – $12.10 for every $1 paid.

Leo and Clooney?! Say it ain’t so.

Also of note, this is the second year in a row that Depp has topped the list, which is actually amazing considering that Adam Sandler is still making movies.

Check out the entire story over at Forbes.

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Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. He is also one of the few White Sox fans out there and thinks Michael Jordan is, hands down, the GOAT.