He was once the king of stand-up and big screen comedy, but over the years Eddie Murphy’s stock has plummeted in Hollywood after a series of box office bombs like The Adventures of Pluto Nash, A Thousand Words, and Norbit. And now Forbes has put Murphy at the top of its list of the most overpaid actors in Hollywood.
If you disagree with the site, then just check out the statistic that writer Dorothy Pomerantz gave in regards to Murphy’s marketability: “We estimate that for every $1 Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of $2.30 at the box office.” Ouch. Once you factor in production costs and the salaries of the other stars there isn't much room for profit.
With the Shrek series seemingly over and done with, Murphy now has nothing set in stone to fall back on. But he shouldn’t feel alone because rounding out this list is Katherine Heigl, Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, Jack Black, Nicolas Cage, Adam Sandler, Denzel Washington, Ben Stiller, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Some of these entries shocked even us, but if there is anything Forbes knows, it’s money. What do you think of this list? Let us know.
RELATED: 10 Ways That Eddie Murphy Can Stay Cool
[via Forbes]
