Key Takeaways
- Julia Stiles still earns royalties from her classic movies, which continue to be streamed on various platforms.
- Although some of her movies were not box-office hits, Stiles had a few films that generated buzz and earned over $50 million.
- Stiles took breaks from Hollywood to focus on her family but made a successful comeback with projects like the series Riviera and the film Hustlers.
In the late '90s and into the turn of the millennium, romantic comedies were the turf of actress Julia Stiles. She had hits based on teen and young adult romances that even earned themselves a cult following and a good parody (think Not Another Teen Movie). People can't think of the best movies of that period without remembering Julia Stiles and her iconic character Kat Stratford from 10 Things I Hate About You. Hollywood seemed to be the oyster of Julia Stiles, and she was slowly transitioning to other genres, taking on other serious roles.
However, Julia Stiles didn't become Hollywood's 'It Girl.' After her successful turn into the millennium with Save the Last Dance in 2001, not all of her movies garnered much attention. Julia Stiles' box office hits seemed to fizzle, and her star power in Hollywood was lost. But being out of the limelight did not stop Julia Stiles from still making bank with her movies — decades after their release — and her $12 million net worth seems to suggest she has no money problems despite a box office hit hiatus.
Julia Stiles Still Earns Royalties From Her Best Movies
Julia Stiles' claim to fame was 10 Things I Hate About You
Julia Stiles had an early start in Hollywood in the early '90s, but towards the turn of the century, she headlined some classical movies like 10 Things I Hate About You alongside movie legend Heath Ledger, Save the Last Dance, and The Prince & Me.
These classic romantic comedies put her on the map as a queen of young-adult romance, even though they were not all box-office hits. Nonetheless, the movies have, over the decades, become the best of Julia Stiles' works. They also have a cult following, having aged as some of the best romantic comedies.
So how is Julia Stiles still able to make bank if some of these classic movies did not become box office hits? Royalties. However, Julia Stiles has not disclosed how much she got paid for these movies and the royalties she gets.
Nonetheless, the popularity of her movies — years after release — and the fact that they have found homes on streaming platforms makes it easy to still earn from them.
For instance, 10 Things I Hate About You gets the most streaming syndication. According to TV Guide, 10 Things I Hate About You can be streamed on Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. The movie can also be bought/rented on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and VUDU.
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Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger shared an iconic on-screen romance in 10 Things I Hate About You, but the actress was dating a different co-star.
The same goes for appearing in one of the biggest action franchises, The Jason Bourne series. Julia Stiles played Nicky Parsons, an agent who gets entangled with Jason Bourne throughout the films. The Bourne films have generated over $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office and are streaming on different platforms, including Prime Video, DirecTV, SYFY, and Max (HBO Max).
The Prince & Me also gets comfortable on Netflix and Prime Video, and Save the Last Dance is available on Paramount+.
These movies still receive profit through syndication deals, sales, and streaming on platforms. Surely, Julia Stiles would still receive royalties from them, although how much she earns is not public.
The Best Movies Of Julia Stiles Are Also Box Office Hits
Julia had relatively few hits, but they generated plenty of buzz
Julia Stiles is still making bank through her movies because some of them are box-office hits and are still being streamed. Out of 15 movies between her heat season of 1998 and 2004, Stiles only had five movies that garnered a lot of buzz and were above $50 million.
Movies | International Box Office (From Box Office Mojo) |
|---|---|
10 Things I Hate About You (1998) | $53,478,166 |
Save the Last Dance (2001) | $131,706,809 |
The Bourne Identity (2002) | $214,034,224 |
Mona Lisa Smile (2003) | $141,337,989 |
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) | $290,835,269 |
Despite The Prince & Me being another classic romantic comedy that garnered lots of buzz, it was not able to get over the $50 million mark. Although Stiles' 2006 supernatural horror film remake The Omen made over $120 million and could be considered a box office success, it did not fare well with reviews.
Julia Stiles not being able to get a bigger break than her already popular films was because she didn't really know what she wanted for her career. Julia Stiles has always had career regrets due to this.
Talking to NME, Julia Stiles revealed her career regret. "In university, and when I finished, I wasn’t as clear about what I wanted to do. I just took roles because I thought it was interesting to have that life experience: ‘Oh, I’ll go to this part of the world, or I’ll work with these people, or this is kind of an interesting story.'"
Not knowing what she wanted for her career made things harder for the former 'teen it girl' to grab better projects. The latter half of her career consisted of her taking roles in smaller projects and supporting roles in mainstream works.
Julia Stiles Still Works After 'Quitting' Hollywood
At the height of her career, Julia Stiles decided to do something different: go to college. The actress enrolled at Columbia University and graduated with a major in English Literature in 2005. Her love for Shakespeare led her down that path.
Coming back, Stiles featured as a lead in movies that did less than well or got small roles in successful movies. These roles did not solidify Stiles' comeback. And over time, she became less favored in Hollywood.
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Stiles decided again to go on another break. And it wasn't because she wasn't gaining the success she wanted.
Julia Stiles only wanted to focus on her family and raising her child, so she went silent in Hollywood for a while. However, after Julia Stiles revealed she was taking a backseat in acting, the actress still appears in some dramas and movies.
Some would think Julia Stiles' net worth would take a beating after taking a break from Hollywood twice, but the actress had projects that would propel her back to the limelight.
Julia Stiles' Comeback Project Lasted Three Seasons
After a run on the series Riviera, Stiles knew what direction she wanted
The Sky Atlantic drama Riviera would be a great comeback choice for Julia Stiles. The drama was a success in the United Kingdom and is Sky's most successful original series. It ran for three seasons, giving Stiles the needed push back into the limelight.
Taking a leap of faith, Julia Stiles fought for her role in Hustlers, starring alongside Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, and Keke Palmer, because she knew she was meant for it. Stiles, after reading the script, knew she had to be a part of the film.
"I was kind of bouncing around from project to project without a rudder. And then when Hustlers came along, it was so important for me to seize that opportunity and say, I really want to fight for this," Stiles revealed.
Julia Stiles continued to take on more roles. Currently, she stars in the Canadian comedy-drama The Lake. Stiles gets to show another side of her, and her comedic chops are very much praised in the black comedy drama.
The Save the Last Dance actress has been through ups and downs in her career, but she forges ahead by doing things she wants to and taking chances with roles that she feels suit her best.
