Johnny Depp, in a time not all that long ago, was easily one of the most promising, praised and in-demand actors in all of Hollywood. Now, while still in fairly high-demand, his promise and prominence have definitely taken a steep dive. For the second year in a row, he has been named Hollywood’smost overpaid actor.
Forbes recently published their list of overpaid actors for 2016 and just like in 2015,Johnny Deppcame out on top. With movies likeAlice Through the Looking Glassflopping at the box office, the actor managed to only bring in $2.80 for $1 he was paid for starring in the movie. That is an incredibly bad return and says a lot about just how far he has fallen. Even his more recent outings that were well received, likeBlack Mass, didn’t bring in very much at the box office, but he was still paid a hefty sum for his services.
Things haven’t been particularly good forJohnny Deppsince 2010/2011, when he had a string of hits, mixed with a few misses. In that timeframe, he starred in the firstAlice In Wonderland, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide as well asPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tideswhich was also a tremendous hit (though it did have a massive production budget as well). Though it was easy tosmell troubleon the horizon with movies likeThe Rum DiaryandThe Tourist.
Nobody else on the list was even close toJohnny Depp, butWill Smithdid take second place, bringing in $5 for every $1 he was paid. That is still a bad margin, but people are probably still making money at the end of the day.Channing Tatumcame in at third place on the list, which may seem surprising since he appears to be at the height of his powers and is easily one of the most in-demand actors at the moment and he has a ton of high-profile projects lined up over the next few years. Not only that, but both theJump StreetandMagic Mikefranchises have been very successful in terms of box office and they both center onChanning Tatum.
The rest of the list is loaded with mostly surprising names, such asWill Ferrellat number four andGeorge Clooneyat number 5. EvenLeonardo DiCapriomade the list at number 8, which is undoubtedly surprising. He pulls in $9.90 for every $1 he is paid, which actually doesn’t sound that bad when you look at it on paper. Maybe that ultimately means that the vast majority of actors and actresses working in the business aren’t overpaid. Speaking of actresses, the only actress that made the list wasJulia Roberts, who came in at number nine with $10.80 for every $1 she is paid. Movies likeThe Secret in Their Eyesbombing at the box office didn’t help her out on that one.
Johnny Deppmay be on the right track in the coming years. He is going to be starring inFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2and given how well the first movie is doing, it seems like a sure fire hit. He is also reprising his role as Captain Jack Sparrow once again next year inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which should also bring in big money.Will Smithalso seems to be in a better position these days, given thatSuicide Squadbrought in $745 million worldwide. You can check out the full list of Forbes' top 10 most overpaid actors for yourself below.
Johnny Depp - $2.80 for each $1 paid
Will Smith - $5 for each $1 paid
Channing Tatum - $6 for each $1 paid
Will Ferrell - $6.50 for each $1 paid
George Clooney - $6.70 for each $1 paid
Adam Sandler - $7.60 for each $1 paid
Mark Wahlberg - $9.20 for each $1 paid
Leonardo DiCaprio - $9.90 for each $1 paid
Julia Roberts - $10.80 for each $1 paid
Bradley Cooper - $12.10 for each $1 paid
