Forbes is amazed that comedian Eddie Murphy is still getting paid to act. The magazine has declared that the career of the former "SNL" and "Coming to America" star "has just collapsed," earning him the title of Hollywood's most overpaid actor.
Each year, Forbes calculates Hollywood stars' "ROI" of sorts, averaging the salaries of the top 100 most powerful celebrities over their total box office earnings. Murphy's box office return was $2.30 to every $1 the actor was paid for his last three films. Though Forbes notes that Murphy hasn't had a non-animated hit in five years, this could, of course, also just be bad luck with picking movies.
Murphy's record doesn't look so bad, though, when considering that last year's list topper, Drew Barrymore, didn't even turn a profit. Barrymore gained 40 cents per dollar earned last year. This year, she didn't rank -- but the reason why says it all: To be considered by Forbes, an actor has to be the clear star of the movie and have had three "big" releases in the last three years. As far as Forbes is considered, Barrymore hasn't had enough recent hits.
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