Auteuil breaks bank in 2007 with €3.2m

by Fabien Lemercier

26/02/2008 - The annual list of the highest-earning French actors – published yesterday by the daily newspaper Le Figaro – puts Daniel Auteuil in first place for 2007 with a total of €3.2m, including €945,000 for Conversations with my Gardener [trailer] and €1.26m for L'invité [trailer] (“The Guest”).

In second position is Mathilde Seigner with €2.8m for four films. The actress now belongs to a select group of very popular French actresses, having appeared in features such as Camping [trailer], Dance With Him [trailer] and Détrompez-vous [trailer] (“Don’t Delude Yourself”).

Thierry Lhermitte closes the top three with €2.6m, having garnered substantial earnings with films such as L'invité (€1.1m) whilst at the same time managing profitable production activities within the company Ice3.

Next in line are Christian Clavier (€2.3m) and Gérard Jugnot (€1.8m), who both starred in L'auberge rouge [trailer] (“The Red Inn”). They are closely followed by rising stars Jean Dujardin (€1.7m, including €800,000 for Counter Investigation [trailer] and €900,000 for 99 francs) and Guillaume Canet (€1.6m including €1m for Hunting and Gathering [trailer]).

They are followed by Nathalie Baye (€1.2m, including €455,000 for The Price to Pay [trailer] and €345,000 for Michou d'Auber) and the two most prominent young French actresses: Marion Cotillard (€1.15m for La Vie en Rose [trailer] including a €495,000 fee and the rest in profit share) and Audrey Tautou (€1m for Hunting and Gathering).

Gérard Depardieu – who failed to make it into the top 10 for the first time – earned €1m in 2007. Benoît Magimel earned €895,000, Jean-Pierre Darroussin €788,000, Catherine Frot €760,000 and Karin Viard €750,000.

Catherine Deneuve appears in 16th position with €657,000, followed by Clovis Cornillac, Patrick Bruel, Albert Dupontel, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gérard Lanvin, Alice Taglioni and Valérie Lemercier (€540,000).

(Translated from French)