Bruce Willis Sets Record with Largest Paycheck in Hollywood History

Movie enthusiasts worldwide were heartbroken to hear the news of Bruce Willis' deteriorating dementia diagnosis.

For more than four decades, Bruce captivated audiences as a tough yet compassionate action hero, delivering unforgettable one-liners just before dispatching the villains with finesse.

If this truly marks the end of Bruce's illustrious career, it is indeed a somber occasion.

Undoubtedly, Bruce Willis stands among the greatest action stars in the history of cinema, but he also boasts an impressive track record of success.

Thanks to his roles in adrenaline-fueled blockbusters like the “Die Hard” franchise, “Armageddon,” “G.I.

Joe: Retaliation,” “The Expendables,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “The Fifth Element” (a personal favorite, by the way), Bruce's films have raked in approximately $5 billion at the global box office, solidifying his status as one of the highest-grossing actors ever.

Naturally, Bruce's box office triumphs allowed him to command some of the most substantial paychecks in Hollywood, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In that period, he routinely demanded a minimum base salary of $14 million per film.

His earnings included $14 million for his role in “The Last Boy Scout” (1991), $15 million for “Die Hard: With a Vengeance” (1995), $16.5 million for “Last Man Standing” (1996), and $14.8 million for “Armageddon” (1998).

However, there's a surprising twist to this story.

Not only has Bruce Willis consistently been one of the highest-paid actors throughout his career, but he also holds the title for the largest single payday in the history of acting.

For over two decades, Bruce has held this extraordinary record, and remarkably, it wasn't earned from an action-packed blockbuster.

In a stunning turn of events that caught everyone off guard, Bruce Willis clinched Hollywood's highest single payday in 1999—thanks to a little movie called “The Sixth Sense.”

The legend goes that in late 1997, David Vogel, an executive at Disney, stumbled upon a script penned by a relatively unknown screenwriter named M. Night Shyamalan.

The script was for a film titled “The Sixth Sense,” and Vogel was blown away by its brilliance.

He wasted no time in acquiring the film rights, offering an unprecedented $3 million fee to Shyamalan and granting him the opportunity to direct.

Notably, Shyamalan had previously directed a film called “Wide Awake,” starring Rosie O'Donnell, which earned a modest $250,000 at the box office with a budget of $6 million—thus making him both the writer and director.

Upon discovering Vogel's impulsive decision to spend $3 million on a script from an unknown writer without prior approval, Disney executives, particularly former CEO Michael Eisner, were livid.

Vogel was swiftly removed from his position and banished from the film division.

In a frenzy, Disney sold the rights to “The Sixth Sense” to Spyglass, albeit retaining 12.5% of the film's gross as a distribution fee.

M. Night Shyamalan and Spyglass required a star to carry their project, and they set their sights on Bruce Willis.

To secure Bruce's involvement, Spyglass offered two enticing incentives: a base salary of $14 million and a share of the film's profits amounting to 17.5%, including DVD sales and licensing proceeds.

Meanwhile, after being ousted from Disney, David Vogel languished in another division for nearly a year before finally being terminated in June 1999.

“The Sixth Sense” premiered in theaters less than two months later, on August 6, 1999, and it swiftly became a monumental success.

After generating $26.5 million in its opening weekend, the film dominated the box office for the subsequent five weeks.

Ultimately, “The Sixth Sense” grossed $670 million worldwide, with a production budget of $40 million plus an additional $20 million for marketing.

It also became the most-rented movie of 2000.

Unbelievably, even to this day, “The Sixth Sense” remains Bruce Willis' highest-grossing film, surpassing “Armageddon” by approximately $120 million.

When all the figures were tallied, Bruce's gamble on an unknown director paid off handsomely.

In addition to his $14 million fee, he earned an astounding $100 million in backend revenue, resulting in an unprecedented total payday of $114 million.

To put it into perspective, only one other actor in history has surpassed the $100 million mark for a single film—Tom Cruise, who achieved this feat three times: with “Mission Impossible 2” (2000), “War of the Worlds” (2005), and “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022).

However, when adjusted for inflation, Bruce's 1999 earnings of $114 million equate to a staggering $194 million in today's currency.

By comparison, Tom Cruise's $100 million paycheck from “Mission Impossible 2” in 2000 amounts to $164 million after adjusting for inflation.

As a final anecdote, it appears that Disney never made amends with David Vogel.

Following his departure from the company, Vogel attempted to establish a consulting business that failed to gain traction.

Feeling ostracized from the entertainment industry, he sought solace in a Buddhist monastery, dedicating himself to the study of meditation.

Eventually, he relocated to Palm Springs, where he founded a film festival and education company called Digicom.

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