ROTTEN TOMATOES: Harrison Ford More Than Doubles Angelina Jolie's 2008 Earnings Comments

Harrison Ford More Than Doubles Angelina Jolie's 2008 Earnings

by | July 02, 2009

Summary

Is Hollywood sexist? That's up for debate -- but those who say it is have some new ammo, thanks to the news that last year's top-earning actor, Harrison Ford, earned more than two and a half times the top-earning actress, Angelina Jolie. Back to Article

(1-20 of 21 posts) | Reply

Kevin E. writes:
on Jul 02 2009 10:02 AM

Not that I think all his films are great including Crystal Skull but he has been in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Fugitive, and a couple of the Jack Ryan films. So it isn't that surprising that he would get paid a lot more than Angelina Jolie. It seems actors get more money for being in big blockbusters than actual skill.

(Reply to this)

JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 02 2009 10:16 AM

He was in quite a few other great films. Angelina is criminally overrated. She picks a lot of terrible roles and she stayed in the public eye longer for her personal life than her acting.

(Reply to this)

planetawesome writes:
on Jul 02 2009 10:31 AM

Oh, it makes me so mad that these multimillionaires get so much less than these other multimillionaires! HE can buy a small country, but SHE has to settle for her own private island! It's so unfair!

Now, for a real example of gross injustice in this country, see Jennifer Aniston.

(Reply to this)

ashley a. writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:01 AM

I can see why Harrison Ford makes so much I guess.
It's just sad that the women make so less though.
And even looking at the list of women..
Obviously more skill does not equal more money.

(Reply to this)

JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:19 AM

It is ashamed but there are far better actresses than Jolie.

(Reply to this)

JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:21 AM

a shame I mean.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:54 AM

Was that Harrison Ford salary? or does it take into account that he got a portion of the take? If the latter you can't really complain since it was the audience paying him.

(Reply to this)

K C. writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:59 AM

Not really a valid comparison if you think about it. Ford only got the huge pay day because it was INDIANA JONES!. It was basically guranteed profits for the studio. Thats the only reason why Ford, Spieldberg, and Lucas all got huge back end deals. I doubt Ford is even a $20 mil actor these days.

Of coure the pay difference does exist. Just not the way the article implies.

(Reply to this)

De4ective Detectiv3 writes:
on Jul 02 2009 12:10 PM

Somebody call a WAHmbulance.

The fact the Ford made that much is kind of a fluke. It has more to do w/ the fact that he was given a producer's credit for Indie or something.

But honestly, I think its tragic that out of all the great actresses, Angelina Jolie is the highest paid, that's the true story here. It is no coincidence that she is also one of the worst actors on that list.

And just look at the movies she was in, Kung Fu Panda, Changeling, and Wanted. Indiana Jones grossed almost more than all of those movies combined. What are the film studios supposed to do, pay her for income she didn't generate?

And if you didn't see Wanted, consider yourself lucky. I will admit that that movie had a certain quality to it, but it had nothing to do w/ Jolie. It was like she was sleepwalking through that movie, playing a different version of the same character she does in every action movie.

(Reply to this)

Greg_Arious writes:
on Jul 02 2009 12:47 PM

I know I'm gonna get internet stones thrown at me for this but out of the top 15 women on that list we only have one minority (half Halle and half Cameron Diaz)lol. That kinda sucks. But the mens list a bit more diverse.

(Reply to this)

ColinTheCimmerian writes:
on Jul 02 2009 01:29 PM

Yeah I'm not sure the difference in pay really construes any sort of discrimination, I think it's just reflective of how valuable the given actor or actress is in terms of a movie's profitability. Harrison Ford was ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL for Indinana Jones, and his presense alone could be counted on for a massive box office take, so it makes sense to pay him an exorbitant amount. Usually when actors (or actresses) get huge salaries, it's because their movies can be counted on to make huge amounts of money. Will Smith gets a huge salary because his movies movies are pretty much guaranteed to make 100 million plus. Tom Cruise in his prime, same deal. Schwarzenegger was the same back in the late 80's and early 90's; getting top dollar because just having his name attached to something made it a hit.

Actresses rarely have the same drawing power. When Angelina Jolie or Halle Berry or Drew Barrymore make a movie, it's as likely to be a hit as a miss. If you pay them 20 or 25 million and the movie only makes 40 or 50, it's really not a great investment. I recall reading an article a while back about how Nicole Kidman was one of the worst investments a producer could make, because she went through a stretch there where she was making at least 10 million per movie, maybe 15, but the grosses were consistently so low that her salary never ended up being justified. Looking at her movies of the last 5 years, it makes perfect sense. Australia (49 mil), The Golden Compass (70 mil), The Invasion (15 mil), Happy Feet (198 mil), Bewitched (63 mil), The Interpreter (72 mil), The Stepford Wives (59 mil). Out of these only Happy Feet made over 100 million, the rest didn't even make their production budgets back (some didn't even come close). And in Happy Feet, Kidman only provided a voice. Kidman is probably an extreme example, but the point is, for whatever reason, the most popular actresses don't have the same box office drawing power that the most popular actors have, so it makes sense that they get paid less.

Now that said, it could very well be that there is some degree of sexual discrimination in terms of salary in Hollywood, but if its there, I think it would be better brought to light by looking at what the non-stars make. If a male nobody gets paid twice as much as a female nobody, THEN there's a problem, because there's no justification for the difference. But comparing A-lister to A-lister provides a skewed viewpoint.

(Reply to this)

Not L. writes:
on Jul 02 2009 02:18 PM

Sexist my a$$..

Male actors are typically bigger box office draws than females, simple as that and is what affects the pay scale the most

There's a boat load of actors that can pull in higher ticket sales than Angelina and don't get paid as much as her (yet)

Tired of hearing this sexist BS..

(Reply to this)

crystalwhiteeyes writes:
on Jul 02 2009 02:30 PM

I agree, this isn't sexist at all. Angelina is a average actress who had one good film (Girl Interrupted), aside from that every film she's done has been a dud. I'd like to see Wanted, but I haven't yet. She's mostly known for being on magazine covers, adopting thousands of kids every year, and getting into Brad's pants while miss Aniston is off doing her thing. I don't know, but I've never liked Angelina anyway. Most blockbuster films are usually action movies, and sad to say but hardly any woman fits the bill. It almost always takes a male actor to lead the action while the female actress is usually placed as the compliment to the story, or action in the film.

(Reply to this)

Brainstew writes:
on Jul 02 2009 02:34 PM

This article brought a tear to my eye knowing that the top paid actresses will only be able to buy one island and not two like the top paid male actresses.

Seriously, this is absolute rubbish. Instead of questioning if the actresses aren't getting paid enough we should be questioning if the actors are getting paid too much.

(Reply to this)

tomwaitsjr writes:
on Jul 02 2009 11:55 PM

I'm AMAZED Aniston is 2nd with $25 million. Who sees a movie because she's in it? I tend to stay away!

(But she does have the cutest butt)

(Reply to this)

JAKEofMIDWORLD writes:
on Jul 03 2009 04:20 AM

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees how overexposed, overused, and over paid Angelina is. Also, to KC, Ford was Indiana Jones but he was also Han Solo. That's two of the most iconic movie characters ever. What has Jolie done? Tomb Raider was as close as she came to an icon and it sucked. Harrison Ford has been in some truly great films I would say that it has more to do with that than even the almighty Jones character.

(Reply to this)

southfrisco writes:
on Jul 03 2009 04:42 PM

It is quite easy to see why Angelina is at the top of the list and it has nothing to do with talent. Producers feel safer hiring her because she has the POTENTIAL to bring in both male and female audiences with her looks alone and her personal life (she is in the news all the time) for the free marketing that it generates. The only ones on the actress list that make sense to me talent wise is Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet. Obviously being an actress these days is about 95-99% looks and 1-5% talent. Watch as Megan Fox jumps up on this list in the near future.

(Reply to this)

jodiodie writes:
on Jul 04 2009 05:41 PM

The point really isnt that ford made more THIS YEAR then Jolie... the point is that all the top men combined made more then all the top women combined.....that is the issue at hand stop talking about Jolie vs. Ford I mean really... around this country men get paid more on average then women in the same position...I wanted Hollywood to be different...too bad...

(Reply to this)

jodiodie writes:
on Jul 04 2009 05:48 PM

In reply to this comment (#2520577)
yes "not L." they do but the question is why? wtf. why do they bring in more? Streep, Winslet, Blanchett, Kidman and many many more are brilliant at their craft and in no way are they less then the men of Hollywood. SO why on a consistent bases do men continue to pull in more then women? Yes it's not just hollywood but its also the fact that more people flock to blockbusters with men as the main lead...and more films are created and produced with a male in line as the main lead....so that = better roles for men out there and better blockbuster opportunity for them. it's simple.

(Reply to this)

Bigbrother writes:
on Jul 04 2009 08:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#2521233)
If it makes you feel better, the ladies are still the driving force in the porn industry. Who's looking out for Ron Jeremy's family? Think about that and try to sleep at night :)

(Reply to this)

Related Links

Harrison Ford

Related Articles

Most Discussed

Latest News

Latest Interviews

Latest Features

Sponsored Links