Points, Not Paychecks · 1950s
Top-earning actor
$2,500,000
10% of the gross, The Bridge on the River KwaiDeal
About $28.7 million in 2025 dollars
One of the best deals an actor had ever made: 10% of the gross, which paid more than $2.5 million. He took it at no more than $50,000 a year.
Top-earning actress
≈ $350,000
Repeats her 1956 feeEstimate
About $4 million in 2025 dollars
The figure repeats her record War and Peace fee.
By U.S. theatrical rentals, the studios' share of ticket sales
$15 million
★ Starring William Holden
$11 million
$10.5 million
