14 DAY TRIAL // Young Hollywood is taking over. Forbes reports that Angelina Jolie has just been dethroned as the highest paid actress in the industry by Kristen Stewart, who, thanks to “The Twilight Saga” is able to command an impressive figure for a single film.
The magazine notes that a newcomer, regardless of how much previous experience he or she has in the industry, can hardly make $800,000 (€629,673) for a first installment of a franchise.
It's only later that they can ask for more money, when they're already indispensable and, as such, the studios would give them the moon in the sky just to tie them down to another installment.
The same applies to Kristen Stewart. She broke on the scene as Bella Swan in “Twilight” but, with the fifth and final film, “Breaking Dawn Part 2,” she virtually consolidated her name as Hollywood's most bankable actress.
Critics might still pick on her and celebrity bloggers mock her for her love of eye rolls and lip-biting, but it's the fans who determine one actor's level of success.
In Kristen's case, the fans have spoken loud and clear.
“At this point, could anyone else play Bella Swan in Twilight? Probably not; if the studio tried to switch in another actress, fans would revolt. So for the last two Twilight films, Stewart has been able to demand an estimated $12.5 million [€9.8 million] per film, plus a share of the profits,” Forbes rights.
That's per film. Plus profits. Critics may thrash her, but Kristen is definitely laughing all the way to the bank.
Forbes notes that her “Twilight” co-stars Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner have the same salary on the vampire saga, but Kristen outranked them this year because she also did “Snow White and the Huntsman,” which also rounded up her profits by a lot.
“Stewart’s earnings between May 2011 and May 2012 totaled $34.5 million [€27.1 million], helping her rank 43rd on our Celebrity 100 list. (The list measures a combination of money and fame.)” the magazine writes.
“At 22, Stewart is the youngest woman on our list by 16 years. The next youngest is Kristen Wiig who is 38. Last year Stewart ranked 5th on our list of the Highest-Paid Actresses tied with Julia Roberts. This year Roberts ranked 6th,” Forbes further says.
The other actresses who also made the big bucks in Hollywood this past year (though not as big as Kristen) are Cameron Diaz, Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep, Kristen Wiig and Jennifer Aniston.
Stewart is officially playing in the big league now.