Facing declining cinema audiences, Hollywood is trying to persuade its top actors to set an example by cutting back a lucrative arrangement known as “first dollar”, under which the director, producer and stars receive a share of a film’s box office take regardless of whether the studio has covered its filming costs.
Hanks had been expected to share 40% of the takings of The Da Vinci Code — to be released in May — with Ron Howard, the director, and Brian Grazer, the producer, in addition to their own fees. Instead, they will reportedly settle for 25%. Studios hope this will become the industry standard, claiming that this will leave them with more money to spend on the films.
“It all depends on how much the actor wants to make the film,” said one studio source. “Tom knows that Harrison Ford could have played that role wonderfully and maybe even cheaper.”
“First dollar” deals date back to the early 1950s when James Stewart first negotiated a share of the box office receipts for Harvey, a fable about a seemingly delusional man and a giant invisible rabbit. “That rodent will eat Hollywood,” said a Universal studio executive at the time, and he was right: the practice has since been commonplace.
No actors will publicly admit that they have lowered their price but industry reports suggest that Hanks is not alone. Cameron Diaz, who is second only to Julia Roberts in the female stars’ pay scale but still earns on average half a top male star’s salary, is said to have agreed to forgo her “first dollar” deal to star in a romantic comedy called Holiday.
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Sony, the studio, said it had no choice after a number of recent box office disappointments and promised to make it up to Diaz in the future. “Let’s not get too weepy here,” said a Sony executive. “Cameron Diaz is thinking of the future and she is still getting north of $10m (£5.7m) for the two months’ work.”
According to industry reports, Disney also cut down on star salaries before filming two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp is believed to have sacrificed his “first dollar” to allow the studio to afford Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist, upon whom he modelled his piratical performance.
In the end, Richards did not appear in the first sequel, Dead Man’s Chest, because of touring commitments and is unlikely to be in the second — but nobody expects Depp to be given a pay rise.