Each year, Forbes comes out with their Most Overpaid and Best Value actors list, and each year I’m a bit mystified by the math. For whatever reason, box office figures are compiled for the last three movies an actor appeared in before June 1, 2017 ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) and are measured against “estimated” salaries to determine the return on investment, but limited release movies don’t count.
So, it’s why Emma Watson winds up as the second most valuable star in Hollywood right, thanks to the Disney behemoth “Beauty & The Beast,” even though her box office disaster “The Circle,” which came shortly thereafter, and you already forgot about, doesn’t factor into the calculations (nor her pre-‘Beauty’ limited release misfires “Regression” and “Colonia“). Meanwhile, “Arrival” buoyed both Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams, though next year, the former won’t get any credit for “Wind River,” which has quietly powered to $33 million without playing in more than 700 screens at one time.
On the overpaid side, Channing Tatum gets tossed in the mix and dinged for “Logan Lucky,” even though it was released after June 1, and also for “Hail, Caesar!” (released in early 2016!) even though his role was a cameo. Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg tops the list, even though he had a pretty strong second half of the year, with “Transformers: The Last Knight” and “Daddy’s Home 2.”
Again, Forbes calculations seem to play fast and loose with their own rules, and mostly engineered to get some clicky names on both lists.
Hollywood’s Best Actors For The Buck 2017
1. Jeremy Renner – $93.80 for every $1 paid
2. Emma Watson – $70.70 for every $1 paid
3. Scarlett Johansson – $66.50 for every $1 paid
4. Amy Adams – $46.10 for every $1 paid
5. Chris Pratt – $34.40 for every $1 paid
Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Actors 2017
1. Mark Wahlberg – $4.40 for every $1 paid
2. Christian Bale – $6.70 for every $1 paid
3. Channing Tatum – $7.60 for every $1 paid
4. Denzel Washington – $10.40 for every $1 paid
5. Brad Pitt – $11.50 for every $1 paid