Sandra Bullock Will Pocket at Least $70 Million for 'Gravity'

Vanity Fair

Josh Duboff

Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock

The many actresses at one point rumored for the lead in Gravity-Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, and Marion Cotillard among them-are no doubt going to be asking for an extra glass of white wine at lunch today.

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The Hollywood Reporter notes, in a report out today, that Sandra Bullock will, after the dust has settled, take home at least $70 million for her work on Gravity, representing a career high sum. Bullock made $20 million right off the bat for signing on to the film. (Considering what we know about the arduous filming process-and factoring in our ardent Bullock adoration-that seems totally reasonable to us!) She also received 15 percent of "first-dollar gross"; in other words, after her advance was paid, she was given 15 percent of what the studio made from box-office receipts.

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And Gravity-which has already surpassed $700 million globally-has not done so bad for itself, to put it mildly. (Typically, a studio gets about 45 percent of the box office gross.) On top of that, Bullock will also receive a percentage from "home video, TV and ancillary revenue" (estimated to be an additional $20 million or so). The Hollywood Reporter notes that Bullock's "first-dollar gross" deal for Gravity is "highly unusual," and could have been the result of timing-as Bullock had come off her Oscar win in 2009, and, after Jolie dropped out, the studio knew they needed a big name to carry the film.

Meanwhile, there is sadly no word on the nature of George Clooney's Gravity deal, though we can only assume everything he earned was immediately put to use for "prank development," anyway.

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