How much is the worth of Robert Pattinson as a person? Is he more expensive than a Rolex or a Patek Philippe? How about his movies? What is the movie star’s true value? Let’s examine the economics of this pop culture phenomenon to get a sense of what is actually happening.
The Economics of a Social Media Star
Pattinson’s Instagram account has over 500.000 followers, while his YouTube channel has almost 200.000 subscribers. These are solid figures. However, it’s interesting to note that he only has a small fraction of these followers compared to some of his famous Hollywood competitors. For example, A-list actor Channing Tatum has over 44.000.000 followers on Instagram and over 27.000.000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. This is despite the fact that Tatum has only 6.7 million followers compared to Pattinson’s 500.000+. This suggests that, while Instagram and YouTube are great for keeping fans up-to-date on the latest news and content, they aren’t always the best tool for determining an actor’s true worth.
The Worth of a Hollywood Movie Star
One of the best indicators of the value (or lack thereof) of a celebrity is the value of their work. In the case of Robert Pattinson, this is a relatively difficult question to answer since we do not as of yet have any data comparing his filmography to that of other, similar actors. However, we can get a good sense of the value of his work by examining the budgets and earnings of his films. In 2012, Pattinson made his directorial debut with the film Water for Elephants. The film was based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Adams. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson (who won Oscars for writing The King’s Speech and Skyfall) and Michael Floyd. What is interesting about this film is that it was made for only $7.2 million. This is a fantastic achievement for a debut movie by any standards and even more so since the vast majority of the film’s revenue came from overseas, particularly China and Russia. From a revenue standpoint, Water for Elephants was a huge success. It turned a modest $7.2 million profit into a $29.8 million profit. This is quite the feat since profit margins for Hollywood films are usually low (especially for a debut film).
Pattinson’s next feature, Welcome To London, was released in 2018. This was the actor’s second time directing a movie and, like Water for Elephants, the budget was kept low. The film was once again based on a bestselling novel. This time the story focused on Jack London’s 1906 novel, The Iron Heel. The screenplay was written by Richard Laxton and Peter Craig. The film also starred Hollywood heavyweight Hugh Laurie and Oscar winner Frances McDormand. This time around, Welcome To London costed almost $20 million to make and turned a minimal loss into a modest profit of $12.8 million.
Does He Have a Worth?
While the earnings of both of Pattinson’s films are quite good, it must be said that they are not exactly indicative of his overall worth as an individual. After all, what is the point of being rich if you aren’t comfortable enough in your own home? One could argue that the director has yet to establish himself as a truly leading man and that is quite possibly true. However, he has definitely carved out a niche for himself and one that seems to be quite profitable. So, while we await the results of Richard Adams’ unfinished business, let’s examine the finances of this young Englishman.