Decades Before Robert Downey Jr.’s $75 Million Avengers Salary, Elizabeth Taylor Paved the Way For Actors to Earn Millions With a $7 Million Salary For Cleopatra
The highest-paid actors in Hollywood — Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Keanu Reeves, and others — could easily command millions of dollars in upfront salary. For Avengers: Endgame, Downey Jr. earned a $20 million upfront salary and a $75 million total income. The precedent for these humongous salaries was Elizabeth Taylor’s upfront salary of $1 million for Cleopatra.
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame | Marvel Studios
The British-American actress worked in the industry for nearly seven decades. She was cast in Cleopatra after she completed her contract at MGM Studios. 20th Century Fox, who produced the film, recognized her incredible talent and offered her a massive guaranteed salary along with a percentage of the gross profits.
Elizabeth Taylor Became The First Movie Star To Be Paid $1 Million Salary
Elizabeth Taylor in a still from Cleopatra | 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox set aside a sum of $2 million for the production of their project Cleopatra. They roped in the rising star at the time, Elizabeth Taylor, to play the titular role in the film. They knew that Taylor came at a huge price and were ready to spend half their budget on their lead star. Taylor was offered $1 million to star in the film, becoming the first movie star to be paid an upfront million-dollar salary (via The Picture Show Man).
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While legends like Marlon Brando, William Holden, and Claude Rains earned the million-dollar mark for their films before Taylor, none of their upfront salaries were seven figures. Interestingly, Fox did not stop at the $1 million offer to the actress. She also made a deal to receive 10% of the gross profits and other add-ons if the project ran over.
According to Alexander Walker’s book Elizabeth, she also earned money for shooting the film in Todd-AO format since she had inherited rights for the format from founder Mike Todd. The film’s production began in 1960, but production delays, scandals, and health risks dragged the filming for two years until 1962.
According to Variety, the film’s budget was estimated at $44 million, out of which $31 million was the direct negative cost. However, Sam Kashner’s book Furious Love mentioned that the final cost reached $62 million due to the abandonment of the shoot in England. But Taylor earned a considerable amount in add-ons.
According to The Picture Show Man, Taylor’s final earnings from the movie were a whopping $7 million. For comparison, the amount equaled nearly $69 million today (via Far Out). The actress once told about her million-dollar salary for Cleopatra (via Rotten Tomatoes):
If someone is dumb enough to offer me a million dollars to make a picture, I’m certainly not dumb enough to turn it down.
Robert Downey Jr.’s $75 million Avengers salary or Tom Cruise’s $100 million Mission: Impossible salary was made possible only because of Taylor’s Cleopatra salary. In 2003, Keanu Reeves was able to command a $30 million upfront salary for The Matrix films. He received a final income of $156 million (via HarperCollins).
Other Significant Paychecks That Paved The Way For Robert Downey Jr. And Others
Marlon Brando in a still from Mutiny on the Bounty | MGM
In 1916, Mary Pickford became the first star in Hollywood to earn a million dollars (via Moneyweek). During those times, the actors had annual salaries instead of a paycheck per movie. According to Guinness World Records, the first star to break the $1 million threshold for a single movie was Marlon Brando.
His provisions for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty were a $50000 salary, 10% of the film’s grosses, and a $5000/day overtime amount. His total income from the movie was $1.25 million. After Elizabeth Taylor’s $1 million mark, the next big achievement in films was the $5 million mark. According to Celebrity Net Worth, it was Bruce Willis who achieved the feat with a $5 million salary for Die Hard.
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Jim Carrey was the first to be offered $20 million to star as The Riddler in Batman Forever. He was offered the same amount for his movie The Cable Guy. Following Carrey, many actors joined the $20 million club.
The post Decades Before Robert Downey Jr.’s $75 Million Avengers Salary, Elizabeth Taylor Paved the Way For Actors to Earn Millions With a $7 Million Salary For Cleopatra appeared first on FandomWire.
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