Xiao Zhan’s Income Has Not Caught Up to His Popularity

As one of China’s most popular stars, Xiao Zhan (肖战) has a massive fanbase and many commercially successful projects. Xiao Zhan has consistently topped male celebrity popularity rankings and beat out hot favorites such as Wang Yibo (王一博) and TFBoys‘ Jackson Yee (易烊千玺). Despite Xian Zhan’s star power, the 29-year-old actor’s income is shockingly much lower than other top stars.

Currently, Xiao Zhan is appearing in stage play A Dream Like A Dream <如夢之夢> in Wuhan. Since the stage play is in high demand, more than 130,000 fans per second rushed online to buy a ticket and scalpers raised the price from 1,880 Chinese yuan to 30,000 Chinese yuan. Many fans are eager to watch him perform live, and the venue was also flooded with over 100 bouquets of flowers for the star.

Considering Xiao Zhan’s popularity, many fans are surprised that the star’s income is on the lower end.  The majority of his income goes to his management company. For example, of the CNY 5 million fee for starring in 2019’s drama The Untamed <陳情令>, Xiao Zhan received only CNY 1 million for his role, while his management company received CNY 4 million.

The same discrepancy is said for the income from Xiao Zhan’s product endorsements. While brands pay hefty fees to collaborate with Xiao Zhan, his agency takes a big cut in his earnings.  The star received a mere CNY 3.4 million yuan for his eight days of work and a one-year collaboration with a well-known skin care brand. In comparison, Angelababy and Yang Mi (楊冪) would earn ten of millions more for similar work.

Many fans argue that Xiao Zhan’s income is lower than second-tier celebrities, and believe this is the reason why he is always busy working to compensate for the steep commissions. After his stage play performance, Xiao Zhan will be hosting a concert in October while taking on more endorsement projects, including being a spokesperson for a national car brand.

Source: On.cc