Giving movie stars huge paydays to appear in films is fairly common practice, but it has dwindled a bit over the years as name recognition alone is no longer enough to guarantee substantial box office returns. The idea of the “movie star” certainly isn’t what it used to be, which has made many actors find other ways to generate revenue for their participation in a film, by coming on board as a producer or negotiating a deal to get a percentage of a project’s box office earnings. This is why a recent report detailing the salaries paid to Brad Pitt and George Clooney for the new Apple film Wolfs is especially surprising. It’s a staggering amount for their participation, and it becomes even more head-scratching following Apple’s pivoting of the film from a theatrical release to a seven-day limited run in theaters before it hits the streaming platform.
