Advertisement

How Stars Like Chris Evans Make Half a Million Dollars Signing Autographs

2a7a9180-b6ad-11e3-b10c-d71c0de2adb9_capjumbo
2a7a9180-b6ad-11e3-b10c-d71c0de2adb9_capjumbo

Chris Evans as Captain America (Marvel)

Ever wonder how much money celebrities make by signing autographs at Comic-Con and other fan events? The answer may surprise you. The Hollywood Reporter has delved into the secret economy of the fan convention circuit, where popular actors can walk away with six-figure payments from one or two days’ work. Among the story’s examples: Chris Evans, who can reportedly pocket at least $500,000 from a weekend taking photos with fans. That’s more than the actor was paid for Captain America: First Avenger (which earned him just $300,000), though his salary has increased with subsequent films. Still, even for big movie stars, easy convention money — much of it in cash — is clearly hard to resist.

Related: Harley Quinn Cosplayer Looks Exactly Like Margot Robbie

According to the THR story, celebrities who sign at fan conventions receive luxury travel and accommodations to get there, plus a “price guarantee” that is often an up-front payment. (THR names The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus as one celeb who can easily get a $200,000 price guarantee.) The convention takes a cut of about $5 per autograph and $10 per photo, the photographer takes a similar cut, and then the celebrities (and their booking agent) get the rest, THR reports, adding that at top conventions, stars routinely net $50,000 to $100,000 on top of their guarantee, and can make more by doing additional signings.

The money adds up fast when you’re someone like, say, Carrie Fisher, who will be charging $80 per autograph (cash only) and $90 per photo op at next week’s New York Comic-Con. And Fisher’s price is a bargain compared to some other stars. In 2013, Sigourney Weaver charged $185 for autographs and $200 for photo ops, while Sylvester Stallone demanded a jaw-dropping $394 for autographs and $445 for photos (plus $30 for a boxing glove, presumably so fans could use it as a prop for Sly’s favorite photo pose). Marvel film actors are among the most in-demand, partly because their convention appearances are rare; they reportedly made over half a million dollars each at one Atlanta convention.

Related: Celebrities Doing Cosplay

And you don’t have to be an A-lister, or even a movie star, to make a year’s salary in a single weekend. Jewel Staite, best known for her appearances on cult favorite TV shows Firefly and Stargate: Atlantis, told THR that she opted to do conventions over acting work while she was pregnant (and “pretty much not hireable”) last year. And she described turning down acting gigs at other times because a convention paid more. “It would be silly of me to say yes to the job that pays $10,000 for a week of work and bow out of a big convention where I could potentially walk away with $40,000 in two days,” she explained. (At a 2014 Indianapolis convention, Staite charged $40 each for autographs and photos, and $80 for dual photo ops with her Firefly co-star Alan Tudyk.)

It’s nice work if you can get it — although not everyone who works at fan conventions gets to share the wealth. As Salt Lake City Comic-Con founder Dan Farr admitted to THR, “Talent makes more in a weekend than I make annually.”

Watch the trailer for cosplay documentary ‘My Other Me’: