Poor Eddie Murphy desperately needs a comeback. Remember back in the day when he was so funny on “Saturday Night Live” and in movies like “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills Cop”? His voice work has helped make movies like “Shrek” and “Mulan” tolerable for adults, and even his family-friendly movies, like “Norbit” and “Dr. Dolittle,” were good for some chuckles.
But lately, Murphy’s career has just collapsed. “Imagine That,” “A Thousand Words” and “Meet Dave” were colossal flops. Last year’s “Tower Heist,” which was supposed to be something of a return to form for the comedian, failed to wow at the box office, earning $153 million on an estimated budget of $75 million. (In order to even come close to turning a profit, a movie has to earn twice its production budget in ticket sales, plus the millions spent on marketing.) Murphy then backed out of hosting the Oscars, which didn’t help his reputation.
His string of flops lands Murphy at the top of our Most Overpaid Actors list for 2012. It’s estimated that for every $1 Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of $2.30 at the box office.
