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List of highest-paid film actors

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While the highest-paid film actors can command multi-million-dollar salaries, actors can potentially earn substantially more by deferring all or part of their salary against a percentage of the film's gross, known within the industry as a "profit participation" deal.

Highest earnings for a single production

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Since not all salaries are made public, this is a non-definitive list of actors who have received $30 million or more as compensation for their services in a single production. Occasionally an actor's fee may cover multiple films, and they are included on the list if the films were filmed as a back-to-back production (for example, Keanu Reeves and the Matrix sequels). The figures are given at their nominal value, since earnings from profit-based deals are accumulated over many years, making it unfeasible to adjust for inflation.

Keanu Reeves earned a record $156 million for the first two Matrix sequels, filmed back-to-back.
Tom Cruise has earned in excess of $100 million per film on three occasions.
Sandra Bullock is the highest-paid actress, earning over $70 million for Gravity.

Forbes publishes yearly lists of the highest-paid actors and actresses based on total earnings from 1 June the previous year to 1 June the current year.

Highest-earning actors for a single production
Actor Film Year Salary Total income Ref.
Keanu Reeves The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions 		2003 $30,000,000 $156,000,000 [1]
Bruce Willis The Sixth Sense 1999 $14,000,000 $100,000,000 [1]
Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible 2 2000 $100,000,000 [1]
Tom Cruise War of the Worlds 2005 $100,000,000 [1]
Will Smith Men in Black 3 2012 $100,000,000 [2]
Tom Cruise Top Gun: Maverick 2022 $12,500,000 $100,000,000 [3][4]
Alec Guinness Star Wars 1977 $150,000 $95,000,000 [5]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $75,000,000+ [6]
Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man 3 2013 $75,000,000 [7]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Endgame 2019 $20,000,000 $75,000,000 [8]
Sandra Bullock Gravity 2013 $20,000,000 $70,000,000+ [9]
Tom Hanks Forrest Gump 1994 $70,000,000 [1]
Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible 1996 $70,000,000 [1]
Harrison Ford Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 2008 $65,000,000 [10]
Jack Nicholson Batman 1989 $6,000,000 $60,000,000 [1][11]
Leonardo DiCaprio Inception 2010 $59,000,000 [12]
Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2011 $35,000,000 $55,000,000 [12][13]
Jackie Chan Rush Hour 3 2007 $15,000,000 $53,700,000 [14]
Robert Downey Jr. The Avengers 2012 $50,000,000 [15]
Margot Robbie Barbie 2023 $12,500,000 $50,000,000 [16]
Cameron Diaz Bad Teacher 2011 $42,000,000 [17]
Robert Downey Jr. Captain America: Civil War 2016 $40,000,000 $40,000,000+ [7]
Leonardo DiCaprio Titanic 1997 $40,000,000 [1]
Tom Hanks Saving Private Ryan 1998 $40,000,000 [1]
Johnny Depp Alice in Wonderland 2010 $40,000,000 [12]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $40,000,000 [18]
Will Smith King Richard 2021 $40,000,000 $40,000,000 [19]
Denzel Washington The Little Things 2021 $40,000,000 [20]
Aamir Khan Dangal 2016 $39,000,000 [nb 1][22][23]
Jim Carrey Yes Man 2008 $35,000,000 [24]
Will Smith Emancipation 2021 $35,000,000 $35,000,000 [25]
Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 2003 $29,250,000 $30,000,000+ [nb 2][1]
Mel Gibson Lethal Weapon 4 1998 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [1]
Brad Pitt Ocean's Eleven 2001 $10,000,000 $30,000,000 [1]
Leonardo DiCaprio Don't Look Up 2021 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [20]
Leonardo DiCaprio Killers of the Flower Moon 2023 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [25]
  1. ^ ₹257 crore ($39.4 million at 2017 exchange rates).[21]
  2. ^ Arnold Schwarzenegger received a $29,250,000 salary for Terminator 3 plus a 20% royalty on the worldwide box office gross over $380 million. The film ultimately had a global gross of $433 million.

Highest annual earnings

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Sylvester Stallone was the highest-paid actor in 1987, 1988, 1990, and 1995.
Dwayne Johnson was the highest-paid actor in 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Julia Roberts was the highest-paid actress in 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Forbes publishes yearly lists of the highest-paid actors and actresses based on total earnings from 1 June the previous year to 1 June the current year.

Annual highest-paid actor and actress
Year Actor Earnings Actress Earnings Ref.
1987 Sylvester Stallone $74 million Jane Fonda $13 million [26]
1988 Sylvester Stallone $63 million — — [27]
1989 Eddie Murphy $60 million — — [28]
1990 Sylvester Stallone $63 million — — [29]
1991 Kevin Costner $59 million — — [30]
1992 Kevin Costner $71 million — — [31]
1993 Kevin Costner $48 million — — [32]
1994 Harrison Ford $44 million — — [33]
1995 Sylvester Stallone $58 million Roseanne Barr $32 million [34]
1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger $74 million Roseanne Barr $40 million [35]
1997 Tom Cruise $82 million Roseanne Barr $55 million [36]
1998 Harrison Ford $58 million Julia Roberts $28 million [37]
1999 Tom Hanks $71.5 million Julia Roberts $50 million [38]
2000 Bruce Willis $70 million Julia Roberts $18.9 million [39]
2002 Adam Sandler $47 million Cameron Diaz $40 million [40]
2003 Will Smith $60 million Jennifer Aniston $35 million [41]
2004 Jim Carrey $66 million Cameron Diaz $32 million [42]
2005 Will Ferrell $40 million Drew Barrymore $22 million [43]
2006 Tom Cruise $67 million Jodie Foster $27 million [44]
2007 Johnny Depp $92 million Nicole Kidman $28 million [45]
2008 Johnny Depp $72 million Cameron Diaz $50 million [46]
2009 Harrison Ford $65 million Angelina Jolie $27 million [47][48]
2010 Johnny Depp $75 million Sandra Bullock $56 million [49][50]
2011 Leonardo DiCaprio $77 million Angelina Jolie $30 million [51][52]
2012 Tom Cruise $75 million Kristen Stewart $34.5 million [53][54]
2013 Robert Downey Jr. $75 million Angelina Jolie $33 million [55][56]
2014 Robert Downey Jr. $75 million Sandra Bullock $51 million [57][58]
2015 Robert Downey Jr. $80 million Jennifer Lawrence $52 million [59][60]
2016 Dwayne Johnson $64.5 million Jennifer Lawrence $46 million [61]
2017 Mark Wahlberg $68 million Emma Stone $26 million [62]
2018 George Clooney $239 million[nb 1] Scarlett Johansson $40.5 million [63][64]
2019 Dwayne Johnson $89.4 million Scarlett Johansson $56 million [65][66]
2020 Dwayne Johnson $87.5 million Sofía Vergara $43 million [67][68]
2021 Dwayne Johnson $270 million Reese Witherspoon $115 million [69]
2022 Tyler Perry $175 million — — [70]
2023 Adam Sandler $97 million Margot Robbie $78 million [71]
  1. ^ George Clooney's 2018 earnings are mainly from the June 2017 sale of Casamigos tequila.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. HarperCollins. pp. 616–617, 714–715, 824–825 & 832. ISBN 9780061778896.
  2. ^ Masters, Kim (5 June 2013). "Will Smith's 'After Earth' Apocalypse: Who Loses Most". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  3. ^ Voytko, Lisette (1 June 2022). "'Top Gun: Maverick' Puts Tom Cruise On Track To Best Will Smith's Record Hollywood Payday". Forbes. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  4. ^ Lang, Brent (20 July 2022). "Inside Movie Stars' Salaries: Joaquin Phoenix Nabs $20M for 'Joker 2,' Tom Cruise Heads to Over $100M and More". Variety. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (27 May 2022). "Hollywood Flashback: Alec Guinness Struck Gold With 'Star Wars' 45 Years Ago". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  6. ^ Borys, Kit (30 April 2019). "Robert Downey Jr.'s Massive Payday Tops 'Avengers: Endgame' Star Deals". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b Graser, Mark (13 October 2014). "Robert Downey Jr. to Join 'Captain America 3' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  8. ^ Shaf, Zack (10 July 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame' Box Office Earns Robert Downey Jr. Additional $55 Million Payday". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  9. ^ Galloway, Stephen (26 February 2014). "Sandra Bullock to Make $70 Million (At Least) for 'Gravity' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  10. ^ Pomerantz, Dorothy (10 June 2009). "Hollywood's Top-Earning Actors". Forbes. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013.
  11. ^ Thompson, Peter A. (1997). Jack Nicholson: the life and times of an actor on the edge. Carol Publishing Group. p. 214. ISBN 9781559724203. By 1994, it had reportedly reached $60 million.
  12. ^ a b c Newcomb, Peter (March 2011). "Hollywood's Top 40". Vanity Fair. p. 2. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
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  50. ^ "#8 Sandra Bullock - Forbes.com". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
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  62. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (22 August 2017). "Full List: The World's Highest-Paid Actors And Actresses 2017". Forbes. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  63. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (22 August 2018). "The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2018: George Clooney Tops List With $239 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  64. ^ Robehmed, Natalie (16 August 2018). "The World's Highest-Paid Actresses 2018: Scarlett Johansson Steals The Spotlight With $40.5 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  65. ^ Berg, Madeline (21 August 2019). "The Highest-Paid Actors 2019: Dwayne Johnson, Bradley Cooper And Chris Hemsworth". Forbes. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  66. ^ Berg, Madeline (23 August 2019). "The Highest-Paid Actresses 2019: Scarlett Johansson Leads With $56 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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