Daniel Craig doesn't deserve a raise for The Girl Who Played With Fire because Daniel Craig is not a box office draw...

This one is pretty simple.  Daniel Craig allegedly (Hollywood Reporter) wants a raise for his appearance in Sony's planned The Girl Who Played With Fire.  Sony is refusing and may even be trying to wrangle a pay cut.  Sony is allegedly digging its heels out of the desire to cut costs, as the first film grossed $232 million worldwide yet still barely broken even due to its frankly absurd $90 million budget.  Had the film cost a more reasonable $60-$70 million, it would have been quite profitable for Sony.  But it didn't so it wasn't.  If we must see the two other chapters in the original series, then they damn-well shouldn't cost nearly $100 million apiece. You could argue that Rooney Mara is an essential component of any sequel and should be hired even at a token higher cost this time around.  But everyone else involved is expendable.  Daniel Craig, whose character was as bland a male lead as you can ask for, is not a box office draw, period. If Sony sees fit to write out his journalist protagonist, I imagine it won't affect the film's financial fortunes one iota.  Daniel Craig is one of countless actors who do just fine in a marquee role or a popular franchise but flounder elsewhere.  If Daniel Craig wants a raise from Sony, he is welcome to ask for one for the next James Bond film.   But outside of the 007 series, Daniel Craig isn't a box office draw, period.
Cowboys & Aliens opened to $36 million on its concept and cast.  You want to credit Craig for part of that opening?  Fine, but know that despite grossing $174 million worldwide it's a massive money loser because it cost $160 million.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo opened with a whopping $11 million despite the alleged star power of Mr. Craig.  And the $50 million Dream House earned $21 million in America after a massive $8 million debut.  Other than the 007 films, the animated Adventures of Tin Tin ($77 million), The Golden Compass (which killed New Line despite grossing $77 million here and $300 million overseas), Tomb Raider (in which an unknown Craig co-starred back in 2001), and the aforementioned films above, everything else in Craig's filmography is below $50 million in domestic grosses.  Robert Downey Jr. is worth whatever he wants for Iron Man, but he knows better than to ask for the big bucks for movies like The Soloist.  Johnny Depp is worth whatever money he can get from Disney if they really want another Pirates of the Caribbean: Voyage of the Bored, but he's not going to get his $30-50 million payday for something like The Rum Diary.  Moreover I'd argue that the presence of Daniel Craig in a feature film that isn't a 007 adventure isn't any more of a draw than the presence of 'coulda-been James Bond' Clive Owen.

Daniel Craig is a fine actor, but he's not a box office draw in films like The Girl Who Played With Fire.  In terms of actual box office boosts, Daniel Craig is worth no more than any other cast member who isn't Rooney Mara.

Scott Mendelson