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Daniel Craig in "Knives Out": Actors from streamed films are among the winners
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Lionsgate / imago images / ZUMA Wire
James Bond actor Daniel Craig apparently earns more than any other movie star. With 100 million US dollars he is at the top of a list that has now been published by the industry journal "Variety". For the two sequels of the crime film "Knives Out", the actor is said to have received twice as much fee as Dwayne Johnson ("Red One"). In third place follows Will Smith with an estimated income of 40 million US dollars through his role as "King Richard".
According to "Variety", actors from films that were shown on streaming channels scored particularly well. Due to the lockdown, the income from cinema revenues was lower on average. Various films were also streamed at the cinema release - box offices were in direct competition with the providers. Netflix therefore compensated movie stars for the assumed income they would have achieved if their films had only been shown in cinemas. As a result, the actors often received higher salaries.
Income at the box office is evidently taking a back seat for many actors: According to the Forbes list, Will Smith was one of the top ten highest-paid actors in the world as early as 2020. Part of his income came from a Snapchat series and Smith's Instagram profile. Dwayne Johnson even landed in first place last year with around 87 million US dollars - according to Forbes, he received 23.5 million dollars for his role in the Netflix film "Red Notice" alone.
Cinemas were temporarily closed during the corona lockdown.
After the reopening, various Hollywood film studios such as Warner Bros. decided to release their films in cinemas and streaming channels in parallel.
Previously, it was an agreement between studios and cinema operators that films would only be shown on the screen in the first few weeks or months.
Most recently, the actress Scarlett Johansson caused a sensation with a lawsuit against Disney: She lost income due to the shortened time window in which the film "Black Widow" was shown exclusively in cinemas.
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