Entertainment

The Rock's Making A Ton Of Money For Other People

by Alanna Bennett

We talk a lot about which Hollywood bigshots are paid the most for their blockbusters, and we often assume those observations have a direct relationship with who's making Hollywood the most money. Apparently not, because Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made Hollywood the most money in 2013 — but he's not the highest-paid.

For those of you wondering how much money Johnson brought in for the studios this year, that would be $1.3 billion. Yes, billion. AKA that obscene amount of money that is nearly impossible to even picture for the rest of us.

So who's the highest-paid? That'd be, of course, Robert Downey Jr., who made $75 million this year (excuse us while we hyperventilate over that number), in large part because of his truly astoundingly profitable deal with with Marvel, which states that he is to receive 5 to 7 percent of the box office gross for any film in which he's plays Iron Man. Given that Avengers made all the money ever, and Iron Man 3 didn't do too shabby either, the majority of that huge sum comes from that.

Downey Jr. did come in second on that list Johnson's topping, bringing in $1.2 billion. It's interesting, though, that Johnson isn't second on that highest-paid actors list: Channing Tatum takes up that list's second place, followed by Hugh Jackman and Mark Wahlberg (lol); Johnson is number five.

And true, it's a little ridiculous to quibble over who's making a couple million more than the million dollars this other dude's making; but it is interesting to see the differences in how these people are compensated for their work. For example, Downey's payment is in large part because he's of the type to straight-up demand the top compensation in Hollywood; Johnson may be content with his metaphorical gazillions already, even if his action movies are bringing in a higher net gross than Downey's.