Marvel is the money-making machine that helped land the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Joss Whedon on the FORBES Celebrity 100 list this year. One superhero who just missed making the cut was Chris Hemsworth, otherwise known as Thor. In the past 12 months, we estimate that Hemsworth earned $37 million. That’s a ton of money, but it wasn’t quite enough for Hemsworth to make the list. We only include 10 actors and Hemsworth was outranked by stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck.
But Hemsworth has a good chance of making the cut next year. The Aussie star earns most of his money playing Thor. The most recent Thor movie, The Dark World, earned $645 million at the global box office. And in this year’s timeframe Hemsworth got a healthy upfront payment to play Thor in the upcoming Avengers sequel Age of Ultron.
Hemsworth could transcend his superhero niche though with some upcoming films. In January, he’ll star in director Michael Mann’s latest, Cyber. The film tells the story of a group of American and Chinese specialists working together to crack a case of high-level computer hacking. Then in March he’ll have the period adventure flick In the Heart of the Sea, which tells the true story of a 19th century whaling ship that was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale, stranding its crew in lifeboats for 90 days. Heart of the Sea is from director Ron Howard, who also worked with Hemsworth on Rush. Their last collaboration stalled at the box office, bringing in only $90 million at the global box office. But working with top-notch directors like Howard and Mann is a great way for Hemsworth to show Hollywood that he’s more than just a pretty face, and it could even earn him an Oscar nomination in the process.
To compile the Celebrity 100 list, we talked to dozens of producers, lawyers, agents and other in-the-know folks to come up with earnings estimates between June 2013 and June 2014. We do not deduct for things like taxes, agent fees or the other costs associated with being a celebrity. We then combine earnings numbers with press and social networking power and an internally generated impact rating to come up with our final list.
The hip-hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis also just missed making the list. We estimate the group earned $32 million in the past 12 months. Musicians earn most of their money from touring. With hit songs like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love” and a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, their next tour should sell out bigger arenas and bring in more money for the increasingly popular group.
With the recent late-night shuffle, Stephen Colbert is well-positioned to make our list next year. The comedian takes over David Letterman’s spot in 2015. If the show is a hit, he should be on the road to sizable pay bumps to go along with his big fame numbers. We estimate Colbert earned $10 million in the last 12 months.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel could also be on his way to a spot on a future Celebrity 100 list. While the other hosts played a game of musical chairs this year, he stayed put and continued to slowly grow his audience. As Kimmel becomes one of the longest-serving hosts on late-night TV, expect his earnings to increase from their current estimated level of $10 million.
Another celebrity to watch is Zack Snyder. With the upcoming Batman v. Superman, the director is poised to become the Joss Whedon of D.C. Comics movies. If the film is a hit, he’ll be in good position to demand much higher paychecks for future D.C. adaptations.
Below are the rest of the Celebrity 100: Up and Comers
Gillian Flynn
$9 million
The former Entertainment Weekly writer is the hit of Hollywood. David Fincher is adapting her best-selling book, "Gone Girl" and a version of her book "Dark Places" is in the works. Expect to see more big things from Flynn in the coming years.
Mindy Kaling
$6 million
For the second year in a row Kaling just misses making the Celebrity 100 but we're keeping her on our up-and-comer list. Her Fox show is holding on and as Kaling's profile grows, maybe her audience will too.
Neymar
$34 million
Neymar’s earnings are set to soar even further as the face of the World Cup in his native Brazil and his move to soccer powerhouse Barcelona last year.
Jim Parsons
$12 million
The Big Bang Theory is one of the most successful shows on television and the cast is due for a pay raise. Parsons also manages to find time to appear in movies like the recent HBO adaptation of The Normal Heart.
Cara Delevingne
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