How Did Adam Sandler Make $14 Million More Than Margot Robbie In 2023?
Adam Sandler attends the premiere of Netflix's "Spaceman" at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 26, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Margot Robbie attends the 35th Annual Producers Guild Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom on February 25, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Barbie took over the world last year, earning $1,445,638,421 at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo (beating out Super Mario Brothers‘ $1,361,972,248 by a healthy margin). So it comes as quite a shock that the film’s star, Margot Robbie, has made a significant amount less than someone whose movies didn’t even make it to theaters. Per Forbes‘ annual Highest-Paid Actors list of 2023, Adam Sandler beat out Robbie as Hollywood’s top-earning star.
According to the list, the Sandman made $73 million net — even without any theatrical releases last year. Instead, Sandler went the streaming route and produced and starred in three films for Netflix: Murder Mystery 2, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, and Leo.
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Sandler also performed in 44 stand-up shows across the US. The three Netflix movies were produced under Sandler’s movie deal with the streaming giant, and that is most likely how he snatched up the top spot. In 2014, Sandler signed a four-picture deal with Netflix for $250 million, according to Business Insider. That deal was renewed in 2017 and again in 2020, resulting in ten movies made in ten years for Netflix.
In the first six months of 2023, Sandler’s Murder Mystery sequel was the fifth most-watched movie on the platform, according to the company’s “What We Watched” report. Per the report, his Netflix movies were streamed for a total of 337.5 million hours in those same six months. Forbes reported that Netflix often uses premium fees to buy out actors, striking deals that don’t include a cut of the profits for the first two years after the work is out.
Taking second place, Robbie made $59 million last year despite being the lead actor and producer of the box-office juggernaut Barbie, which was the highest-grossing film of 2023 — both domestically and worldwide. Sandler’s newest Netflix film, Spaceman, was released earlier this month.
Meanwhile, we won’t be seeing Robbie on the big screen or at home any time soon. As we previously reported, the Australian actress feels like everyone is “probably sick of the sight of me” following Barbie and the film’s promotional blitz. Robbie set up her own production company, LuckyChap, in 2014. It has already been over a year since she has acted on set, but as a producer, she won’t get a break.
Where To Watch The 2024 Oscar-Nominated Films
The 2024 Oscar-nominated films are all great this year. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer snagged a whopping 13 nominations. Yorgos Lanthimos’ feminist fantasy film, Poor Things, was close behind with 11 nominations.Martin Scorsese’s historical crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon received ten nominations, while Greta Gerwig’s box-office smash Barbie, earned eight nominations. This year, 321 feature films were eligible for the Oscars, and 265 of those qualified for the Best Picture category. For the first time in history, three of the ten movies nominated for Best Picture were directed by a female, the most in Oscars history (Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, and Celine Song’s Past Lives).
Although many of the Academy’s favorite films only recently arrived in theaters, many of them are already available to stream, rent, or purchase online. So far, The Zone of Interest, Poor Things, American Fiction, Past Lives are only available to buy for $19.99 at press time. Anatomy of a Fall is available to rent for $5.99 or $6.99 on AppleTV+ and Prime Video, and YouTube and Google Play, respectively.
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As we previously reported, the 96th Academy Awards will air live from the Dolby Theater on ABC, abc.com, or the ABC app. on Sunday, March 10 starting at a new earlier time at 7 pm ET, scheduled to end at 10:30 pm ET. A 30-minute pre-show will lead into the live show at 6:30. Jimmy Kimmel returns as host for the fourth time. Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicolas Cage, and Al Pacino are among the first group of presenters for the awards ceremony. Also presenting are last year’s winners: Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Oscar winners Mahershala Ali, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, and Sam Rockwell are also set to take the stage.
Keep scrolling to see how to stream all the Oscar-nominated feature films in the major categories:
Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.
