Since its debut in 1994, Friends has become a monument in the television industry, and the success of this brand is something that many filmmakers aspire to. Friends not only brings success in terms of brand, but is also a “golden goose” for the producer as well as the artists participating in the film. With just the salary for playing Friends, the 6 stars of the film have amassed assets of tens – or even hundreds of millions of dollars. This number continues to increase steadily even though Friends has long ended, further proving the intense attraction of this film to the audience is “ageless”.
To this day, the Friends cast remains among the highest-paid TV actors of all time.
When Friends first premiered, each actor was paid $22,500 per episode, according to MarketPlace . The salary was increased to $40,000 per episode in season 2. However, by season 3, the main actors of the show, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, had negotiated this figure to $85,000 – $100,000 per episode.
Seasons 7 and 8 were the times when the salaries of this “group of friends” skyrocketed, increasing to about 750,000 USD/episode.
By the ninth season, the Friends cast’s salary even broke the record at that time, when each person would receive 1 million USD for each 30-minute episode released.
Shocked by the huge salaries of the Friends cast, which are still pouring in like a waterfall! – Photo 3.
According to USA Today , Warner Bros. earns about $1 billion a year from the copyright sales of Friends alone. The cast of the show has signed a deal to receive 2% of the revenue, meaning each person will “pocket” about $20 million a year without having to do anything.
The Friends: The Reunion special also seems to be bringing in a huge amount for the actors. ScreenRant reported that HBO Max is ready to pay at least $2.5 million for each member of the six main cast members to return.
