TOPLINE The abrupt ending to the Oscars, which saw the late Chadwick Boseman—the favorite to win the Best Actor prize—&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">lose out</a>&nbsp;to Anthony Hopkins, has drawn confused and angry reactions from viewers on social media in what is the latest instance of an Academy Awards ceremony failing to pull off a satisfying ending.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50966" width="436" height="654" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="(max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px" /><figcaption>LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., a general view of the trophies during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Troy Harvey/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul><li>The decision by the Oscars producers to switch the traditional order of the awards—choosing to end with the Best Actress and Best Actor prize instead of the Best Picture—had raised hopes for a memorable posthumous win for Boseman to close out the show.</li></ul>



<ul><li>However, Boseman’s performance in&nbsp;Ma Rainey&#8217;s Black Bottom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">lost out</a>&nbsp;to Hopkins’ role in&nbsp;The Father.</li></ul>



<ul><li>As Hopkins was not in attendance to accept the award, the ceremony ended abruptly after his name was announced, prompting confusion among viewers on Twitter who compared it to other botched finales, like ones from&nbsp;The Sopranos&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1386520116016320513" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Game Of Thrones</a>.</li></ul>



<ul><li>It’s unclear if Steven Soderbergh, who produced this year’s awards, made the decision to switch the order of things expecting an emotional win for Boseman—who had won the top prize at this year’s Golden Globes and SAG Awards.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Viewers on Twitter were&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mikeryan/status/1386519697412214787" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annoyed</a>&nbsp;that the ceremony failed to deliver after it seemed like things were building up to a memorable win for Boseman, and many also&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/davidehrlich/status/1386520238095749129" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slammed</a>&nbsp;the snafu for taking away from Hopkins’ big moment as well.</li></ul>



<ul><li>If things had played out in the traditional order, the show would have ended with Chloé Zhao’s&nbsp;Nomadland&nbsp;winning Best Picture, which many&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/leestorrow/status/1386520909222195208" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">argued</a>&nbsp;would have been a more historic and celebratory moment.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



Chloé Zhao won the Oscar for Best Director&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chlo-zhao-becomes-first-woman-of-color-to-win-best-director-oscar/?sh=3231e9605a40">becoming</a>&nbsp;only the second woman to win the category in 93 years, and the first woman of color to do so.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Sunday’s botched ending to the ceremony has drawn comparisons to the 89th Academy Awards, where presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty incorrectly announced that&nbsp;La La Land&nbsp;had won the Best Picture awards. The mistake was fixed several minutes later—after&nbsp;La La Land’s cast and crew had come up to the stage, and a few of them had already delivered their speeches. The film&nbsp;Moonlight&nbsp;was then announced as the actual winner. Apart from the controversial final award, Sunday’s ceremony was swept by Chloe Zhao’s&nbsp;Nomadland, which won the Best Picture prize, along with Zhao winning Best Director and Frances McDormand winning Best Actress for her role in the film.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



Things weren’t entirely gloomy on social media, as Glenn Close won instant accolades for immediately recognizing the dance single “Da Butt” and doing a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/laceygilleran/status/1386512616256901123" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">little jig</a>&nbsp;to it during the ceremony. In a skit during the ceremony, comedian Lil Rel Howery walked around asking a few actors to identify Oscar-nominated songs. When Howery walked up to Close, DJ Questlove played 1988’s “Da Butt” by the Washington D.C. go-go band Experience Unlimited. The song had been featured in one of Spike Lee’s early films,&nbsp;School Daze, a musical set at a fictional historically Black university. Close seemed to recognize the song instantly, and followed it up by&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/laceygilleran/status/1386512616256901123" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">twerking</a>&nbsp;to the song. The&nbsp;Los Angeles Times&nbsp;has since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-04-25/oscars-2021-glenn-close-da-butt-dance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed</a>&nbsp;that the moment was scripted for laughs. But it seems to have done its trick and has garnered near-universal approval on social media.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">Chadwick Boseman Loses Best Actor Oscar To Anthony Hopkins</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chlo-zhao-becomes-first-woman-of-color-to-win-best-director-oscar/?sh=3231e9605a40">Chloé Zhao Becomes First Woman Of Color To Win Best Director Oscar</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/04/26/netflix-once-again-loses-out-in-best-picture-sweepstakes/?sh=78a2982842eb">Netflix Once Again Loses Out In Best Picture Sweepstakes</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/04/25/oscars-2021-the-live-winners-list/?sh=128f9bcb9e23">Oscars 2021: The Full Winners List</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



By <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/">Siladitya Ray</a>, Forbes Staff

91st Annual Academy Awards – Arrivals

Oscars 2021: Switched Ending And Surprise Chadwick Boseman Loss Prompts Confusion And Anger

The five top-earning Oscar nominated actors earned a combined $41 million over the past 12 months—less than half the $87.5 million the Rock made last year as the world’s highest-paid actor.



Make art or make money — that’s been the conundrum for A-list actors going back to the days of the first talkies. And unlike the tumult that has rocked the movie business in the past year, that is one Hollywood tradition that has remained entrenched and unmovable.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The five top-earning Oscar nominated actors this year made a combined $41 million over the past 12 months—less than half of the $87.5 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/08/11/the-highest-paid-actors-of-2020-dwayne-johnson-ryan-reynolds/?sh=2daa50ec112b">the highest-paid actor</a>&nbsp;Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) earned last year. Only one of them, Viola Davis, made last year’s lists of top-earning actors or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/10/02/the-highest-paid-actresses-2020-small-screen-stars-like-sofia-vergara-ellen-pompeo-and-elisabeth-moss-shine/">actresses</a>, and it was thanks to her television role on&nbsp;How To Get Away With Murder, not her nominated starturn in&nbsp;Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.



“In a world where accomplished performers have decent choices, the material and the talented director often mean more than the money,” says Ken Ziffren, a partner at leading entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham. “To get nominated, even though they may not win, by SAG or for the Oscars, can also materially improve economics in the future.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The top-earning Oscar contender, Sacha Baron Cohen, illustrates the dichotomy between the popular and the films deemed award-worthy. He is nominated for two Academy Awards on Sunday night: One for his role as political activist Abbie Hoffman in the drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, andthe other for writing the adapted screenplay for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, a sequel to the hit 2006 comedy, Borat, which Amazon acquired for $80 million. 



The statuettes he’s up for may look the same, but the money he made doing the two films couldn’t be more different: He earned about $20 million for&nbsp;Borat —&nbsp;twenty times the $1 million he received for&nbsp;Trial.&nbsp;The yawning pay discrepancy illustrates the choice that industry players have had to make for decades: do a big-budget blockbuster for fat cash or a prestige film for acclaim and, less cynically, the love of the craft. In rare cases, as with&nbsp;Borat, the two can overlap, but more often than not, the performers vying for an Oscar aren’t taking those roles for the money.



That said, an Oscar win is often the right mix of publicity and validation to help increase future earnings potential. Take Angelina Jolie, who was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/10/02/the-highest-paid-actresses-2020-small-screen-stars-like-sofia-vergara-ellen-pompeo-and-elisabeth-moss-shine/">the world’s second highest-paid actress</a>&nbsp;last year with $35.5 million in earnings. Prior to her Academy Award-winning performance in&nbsp;Girl, Interrupted, Jolie had mainly acted in independent films that failed to garner a wide audience—or big paychecks. Her supporting actress win in 1999 changed her fortunes: She landed the titular character in the 2001 video-game inspired adventure film&nbsp;Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.&nbsp;By 2004, she was commanding $10 million per role, plus backend, for big budget flicks, and that number has only gone up since.&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates she received $20 million for her recent starturn in&nbsp;Maleficent 2.&nbsp;More recently, 20016 Oscar winner Brie Larson moved on from smaller budget fare to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain Marvel. Her first starturn as the superhero, 2019’s&nbsp;Captain Marvel, was the first female-led superhero film to gross over $1 billion at the box office.&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates she made more than $10 million in total for the film.&nbsp;



Here’s a look at this year’s Oscar paydays:



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-5-daniel-kaluuya-3-million">#5 | Daniel Kaluuya: $3 million</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50907" width="622" height="349" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px" /><figcaption> (Photo by GALECA.org/via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



After earning his first Oscar nomination in 2018 for starring in Get Out, Kaluuya is the favorite to win the award for best supporting actor this year for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah. While he and co-star LaKeith Stanfield earned the same amount of money for their work on the project, Kaluuya collected an extra check for an XBox ad based on his Get Out role.



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-4-glenn-close-4-5-million">#4 | Glenn Close: $4.5 million</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50908" width="690" height="388" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px" /><figcaption>. (Photo by 27th Annual SAG Awards/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)</figcaption></figure></div>



While Hillbilly Elegy may have failed to be a critical favorite as Netflix hoped, one of the film’s stars, Glenn Close, still got her Oscar nomination. Fees for the eight-time Oscar nominee and her co-star Amy Adams likely commanded about 10% of the film’s $45 million budget. Indie flick Four Good Days also contributed to her payday.



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-3-chadwick-boseman-5-million">#3 | Chadwick Boseman: $5 million</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47417" width="741" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)</figcaption></figure></div>



The late star, who died in August 2020 from colon cancer at age 43, worked until his final days and was nominated for his portrayal of Levee, an ambitious horn player in Ma Rainney’s Black Bottom, which was released posthumously. A certified commercial star after his role as T’Challa in Black Panther, this is his first Academy Award nomination. Boseman also collected a check for a supporting role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. 



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-2-viola-davis-7-million">#2 | Viola Davis: $7 million</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50909" width="661" height="371" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px" /><figcaption>. (Photo by AAFCA 2021 via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Davis can command top dollar for buzzy television roles—like that of Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder—and her L’Oreal campaign but takes smaller checks for passion projects. That said, after winning an Oscar in 2017 for her last role in another August Wilson adaptation, Fences, she was likely able to negotiate a raise for her nominated role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Forbes estimates her paycheck for that film to be $3 million. 



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-1-sacha-baron-cohen-22-million">#1 | Sacha Baron Cohen: $22 Million</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50910" width="717" height="403" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" /><figcaption> (Photo by The Hollywood Reporter LLC via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Amazon reportedly shelled out more than $70 million for the mockumentary Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and as the star, producer and writer, Baron Cohen got an impressive cut of the profits. For Aaron Sorkin’s highbrow drama about the trial of a group of Vietnam War protesters accused of inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, meanwhile, “everyone worked for a fraction of what they are usually paid,” one top entertainment agent said.



METHODOLOGY: The earnings above are pretax and fees, and reflect all projects that have been released in the past 12 months. Earnings estimates are based on data from MRC Data, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders



By Madeline Berg, Forbes Staff



By Dawn Chmielewski, Forbes Staff

Untitled-1

The Highest-Paid Oscar Nominees 2021

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer, his family <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/chadwickboseman/status/1299530165463199747?s=20" target="_blank">said</a>.



KEY FACTS



Boseman was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2016 and battled the disease for four years as it progressed to Stage IV.



He died in his home with his wife and children by his side, a statement from his family says.



Boseman had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/5f4352111fdead278da3651b44d311b8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Associated Press</a>.



Boseman starred as Marvel’s first Black superhero in the 2018 blockbuster&nbsp;Black Panther.



He died on Jackie Robinson Day, which is celebrated annually by the MLB, years after portraying the baseball legend opposite Harrison Ford in the 2013 film 42.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://t.co/aZ2JzDf5ai">pic.twitter.com/aZ2JzDf5ai</a>&mdash; Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) <a href="https://twitter.com/chadwickboseman/status/1299530165463199747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



CRUCIAL QUOTE



“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during countless surgeries and chemotherapy,” the statement reads.



-Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Tag: Chadwick Boseman

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Oscars 2021: Switched Ending And Surprise Chadwick Boseman Loss Prompts Confusion And Anger

The Highest-Paid Oscar Nominees 2021

‘Black Panther’ Star Chadwick Boseman Dies At 43