Hollywood salaries: Dwayne Johnson charges US$1M for social media fee

Hollywood stars aren’t paid as much as they were used to, but those who still command big bucks also command lucrative extras in their fees. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for example, has reportedly asked US$1 million (AU$1.35 million) for social media fee, which is included in his US$22 million (AU$28.67 million) fee for the upcoming 2020 film “Red Notice.”

As Variety reports, stars today don’t have the same bargaining power as the stars of the ‘90s and early 2000s. Julie Roberts, Will Smith, Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey not only could command US$20 million (AU$27 million) salary for every film they star in, they could also enjoy profit from the film’s box office earnings.

These days, however, not many actors are paid that much and upfront. According to the publication, the stars’ fame is not as bright as costumes and special effects anymore. The size of a film’s opening weekend now depends more on the special effects that the film has than the stars themselves.

Some stars are also cutting their salary for films that are not expected to be a commercial success. Leonardo DiCaprio was worth US$20 million for “Inception,” but in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” he reportedly halved his salary.

Some stars are also being asked to “bet on themselves.” They would only receive a few thousand dollars per week to help keep the production costs low. In exchange for their financial sacrifice, they would receive a portion of the film’s box office earnings. This was allegedly what happened to Ethan Hawke, who received US$2 million bonus when “The Purge” hit almost US$90 million (AU$121 million) worldwide in 2013.

The A-listers of today are still nowhere near poverty line, though. A few of box office magnets can still command US$20 million and more for a big movie. Robert Downey Jr’s performance as Iron Man/Tony Stark was so profitable that even a few minutes of cameo appearances at last year’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” got him US$10 million (AU$13 million) already.

As for Johnson, who has over 100 million Instagram followers, 12.9 million Twitter followers and 58 million Facebook followers, he charged US$1 million fee for promoting the upcoming “Red Notice” on social media. He is one of the few A-list stars who could command over US$20 million for a movie.

Slightly above his paygrade is Daniel Craig, who was paid US$25 million (AU$33.72 million) for his next James Bond film, “Bond 25.” Johnson’s former rival Vin Diesel, on the other hand, was paid US$20 million for “The Fate of the Furious.”

Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway, according to the star salary sampling by Variety, were paid US$15 million each for their respective films, “Red Sparrow” for Lawrence and “Barbie” (2020) for Hathaway. Sandra Bullock, who was paid US$10 million for 2015’s “Minions”; Emily Blunt, who got US$8 million to US$10 million for next year’s “Jungle Cruise”; and Bryce Dallas Howard, who will get US$8 million (AU$10.79 million) for “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” round up the women in the sample list.