Johnny Depp Tops Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Actors List in 2015

Johnny Depp has topped Forbes magazine’s list of Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Actors of 2015.

The list, based on the last three movies in which those included starred before June, revealed Johnny Depp returned only $1.20 for every $1 he was paid.

Johnny Depp’s comedy Mortdecai only made back $47.4 million of its $60 million production budget.

The actor’s 2014 sci-fi thriller Transcendence, meanwhile, only just made back its costs.

Denzel Washington is ranked second on the list, returning $6.50 on every dollar.

Will Ferrell, who topped the list in 2009 and 2010, is third this time after only bringing in $6.80 for every $1 spent on him on Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and The Campaign.

That was just ahead of Liam Neeson, whose fourth place is down to the success of Taken 3 cancelling out Run All Night.

According to Forbes magazine, the latter thriller cost $50 million and made $71.6 million back.

Adam Sandler, named the most overpaid actor in each of the past two years, was considered ineligible in 2015 after signing a four-film deal with streaming service Netflix.

Chris Evans was Forbes‘ best value actor of 2015. The Captain America actor’s movies returned an average $181.80 for every $1 he was paid.

Each of an actor’s three major movies up to June 2015 are counted in the list.

The only films which are not used for the basis of the survey are animated releases, ones where the actor only appeared in a minor role, or those which were released on fewer than 2,000 screens.

Forbes then take the estimated production budget away from the global box office returns for each film to work out each one’s operating income.

That figure is then added to the estimated total fee for each star across their three films to discover the final figure for return on investment.

Four actresses fill the next four places in the best value list.

Mila Kunis comes second with an $87.30 return on every dollar, while Scarlett Johansson, whose last three major movies grossed a combined $2.58 billion, is third.

Gwyneth Paltrow, whose appearance in Iron Man 3 more than made up for her contribution to Mortdecai, is ranked fourth.

Last year’s winner, Emma Stone, comes fifth, with the disappointing performance of Aloha balanced out by 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Most overpaid actors 2015 (per $):

1. Johnny Depp – $1.20
2. Denzel Washington – $6.50
3. Will Ferrell – $6.80
4. Liam Neeson – $7.80
5. Will Smith – $8.60
6. Christian Bale – $9.20
7. Channing Tatum – $10.80
8. Brad Pitt – $12
9. Ben Affleck – $12.30
10. Tom Cruise – $13.60

Best value actors 2015 (per $):

1. Chris Evans – $181.80
2. Mila Kunis – $87.30
3. Scarlett Johansson – $84.90
4. Gwyneth Paltrow – $82.90
5. Emma Stone – $54
6. Chris Hemsworth – $42.10
7. Vin Diesel – $40.30
8. Jennifer Lawrence – $39.10
9. Mark Wahlberg – $37.90
10. Dwayne Johnson – $28.10