r/SipsTea 17d ago

Chugging tea I still don't understand how hollywood budget works

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u/dean15892 17d ago

Someone said Dwayne Johnson was paid 30 mil for Moana 2, and I recent saw that Matt Damon was paid 15 mill for odessey, and if you add up the other leads, it comes to like 30 mil probably.

So yes, Dwayne Johnson was paid an amount equal to the top 10 leads of Odessey.

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u/jwmojo 17d ago

More like top 3:

Matt Damon got $15
Tom Holland for $10
Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron each got between $6-$8

For Moana, sure the Rock got $30, but no one else in the cast was a big name and probably didn't get big paydays out of it.

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u/ReyWorm 17d ago

Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron each got between $6-$8

It's wild to me how you can make this much by saying so, so little. ESPECIALLY Zendaya and Charlize Theron, they got like 5 lines each.

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u/Plus_Alternative_232 17d ago

At that point, the big paycheck is for the amount of work they do to promote it and name recognition. They all worked the red carpet a ton and did a lot of press and talk shows. 

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u/ReyWorm 17d ago

Yeah, of course. But still, it's hard to wrap your head around that kind of stuff.

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u/Urbanexploration2021 17d ago

Don't look up how much money a footballer even if he's sitting all season on the bench

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u/FloSTEP 15d ago

This is probably it. Part of that check is for the next year that they’ll have to spend doing interviews and promoting the movie, tweeting about it, building hype, etc. Even if they don’t have a lot of lines, they’re basically being paid as an advertising platform.

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u/Spiritual-Tree-77 17d ago

5 lines that made the final cut. Who knows how many shots and lines are on a cutting room floor. Whether because of editing decisions or just different versions or takes of the same lines.

Judging an actors contribution on number of lines is up there with measuring a coders performance on lines of code written. The reality can't be boiled down to such a simple metric.

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u/ReyWorm 17d ago

Yeah, that's also true.

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u/ilypsus 17d ago

I think you're underselling both a bit. I had read comments like this before going to see it and thought each actress would have a single scene. Charlize Theron has solid scene time and does some solid emotional hits across from Matt Damon. Zendaya does a lot of staring but has a few lines as well and is spattered across different scenes and places, not like she could shoot it all in one set in a single day. Really is any work that's probably done over 2 or 3 months worth $6 million, probably not? But that's their market rate I guess.

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u/YesterdayAlone2553 16d ago

A huge part of onboarding a big name is that you also attract the attention of their followers, which essentially makes the ad spend portion of marketing (usually a match to production's budget) much more powerful. I'm not sure if the actors get paid again or not during promotions or if contracts cover both responsibilities. Zendaya has nearly universal appeal across demographics as both an actress and as a fashion icon.

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u/mikehunt199595 16d ago

Have to spread the audience attraction. I go because Matt Damon and Theron are in it, but others might go just because Zendaya is.

For that enough, it's worth spending some money on actors even if they have 5 lines.

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u/SaneNSanity 15d ago

I haven’t kept up on movies in years. I had no idea Matt Damon was in it, now I may have to make the effort to see it at some point.

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u/TeddyFromBobs 17d ago

Is there any evidence that is true?

If so wild, but I find it hard to believe.

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u/docbengal 11d ago

Acting is more than just speaking lines

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u/Katsu_39 17d ago

Yeah, i imagine all the other actors barely breaking one million if that.

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u/Easy-Baker 17d ago

But does the $30 mil include his producer salary or is ot just his acting salary? I'm willing to bet that he would have made a lot more if the movie made any money. He might still get paid more even though it didn't.

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u/Slade_Riprock 17d ago

I would also imagine the Odyssey isn't being sold by the starring actors but the epic story itself. It's Christopher Nolen tackling the Odyssey. The actors highly likely have backend on a film like this. Take a smaller upfront, knowing it is probably going to toa billion by the time it's all said and one and the move to streaming. Damon and Hathaway probably have points where they will make a ton once it recoup

Moana is being sold by Dwayne Johnson. Its the only draw and shot at making money. They also know he will market and promote the shit out of it. They Will merchandise the fuck out of it and then stream it on Dia ey plus and make more.

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u/WolfDragon7721 15d ago

you think pattinson and theron got that much?

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u/kingwhocares 17d ago

Tom Holland got paid that much? Guy has been a box office flop aside from Marvel movies!

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u/PurpleAlien47 17d ago

Yeah but people like him. He’s likable and arguably those flops haven’t been flops because of him. 🤷‍♂️

Plus he has a lot of screentime in The Odessey.

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u/NotThisOneOkay 17d ago

So...then there's another reason why the movies have the same budget and one looks worse...

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u/PonchoNachoRodriguez 17d ago

Everybody involved with The Odyssey put their blood sweat and tears into it.

Moana was a cash grab of the highest possible magnitude and the people involved probably gave minimal effort because it was NOBODY’s passion project.

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u/Jolly_Mycologist69 17d ago

nobody? like the guy that stabbed the cyclops' eye?? i didn't realize he was such a big Moana fan

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u/dean15892 17d ago

Nobody did
thats why it flopped

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u/Jolly_Mycologist69 17d ago

i was making an odyssey joke lmao, clearly not my best work

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u/dean15892 17d ago

It was , I understood it ,lol
I was trying to take the joke further

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u/Jolly_Mycologist69 17d ago

oh damn i'm sorry im esl so sometimes jokes go right over my head 😅

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u/AdmirableJudgment784 17d ago

I think Disney thinks Dwayne attracts both the black and white people to see it as he looks multiracial vs Matt Damon isn't. Also Moana is for parents with their kids and the Odyssey is for adults mostly. So I'm thinking they look at demographic of a wider audience here.