Adam Sandler has the dubious distinction of being named Hollywood’s most overpaid actor, thanks to stinkers like “Jack and Jill” and “That’s My Boy.”
Sandler was followed on the Forbes magazine list by fellow box-office bombers Katherine Heigl, Reese Witherspoon, Nicolas Cage and Kevin James.
The rest of the top 10 of bottom returns was rounded out by Denzel Washington, Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Matt Damon and Ryan Reynolds.
Sandler bumped out fellow “Saturday Night Live” alum Eddie Murphy, who was atop the biggest-losers list in 2012.
To form its rankings, the magazine looked at each actor’s past three flicks, their pay, the movies’ overall budgets and each work’s box-office returns. The data stretches back as far as three years, ending June 1.
For example, studio bigwigs green-lit Sandler’s “That’s My Boy” for a $70- million production budget, but rang up just $57 million in worldwide receipts, Forbes said. “Jack and Jill,” with Sandler playing his twin sister, fared a little better, with a $150 million gross from an $80 million budget.
But that was still a net loser for Sony Pictures, according to Forbes — because the studio pockets only about half the box-office receipts and has to front massive advertising costs.
Sandler’s publicist declined to comment on the humiliating analysis.
The 47-year-old Sandler and all actors on the magazine’s bad-buy list are victims of their own success, Forbes said, with studios willing to give them big bucks based on previous hits.
“Of course, when a Sandler movie hits, his pay can be justified,” the magazine said. “The problem for Hollywood is that telling a hit from a miss before the movie is made is almost impossible. But with someone like Sandler, you have to pay up, hoping that the movie will do big business at the box office.”