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.
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.
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.
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.
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] |
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great wealth, participation in sports or the entertainment industry, their position as a political figure, or even their connection to another celebrity. 'Celebrity' usually implies a favorable public image, as opposed to the neutrals 'famous' or 'notable', or the negatives 'infamous' and 'notorious'.
Robert John Downey Jr. is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Downey's career has been characterized by some early success, a period of drug-related problems and run-ins with the law, and a surge in popular and commercial success since the late 2000s. In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. From 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's highest-paid actor.
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, Khan has received numerous awards, including two National Film Awards as a film producer, and two Filmfare Awards as an actor. He is cited in the media as one of the most commercially successful actors of Indian cinema. Forbes has included Khan in listings of the highest-paid celebrities in the world, in 2015 and 2018, with him being the highest-ranked Indian in the latter year. Khan has starred in the annual highest-grossing Hindi film of 10 individual years, the highest for any actor.
Christopher Hemsworth is an Australian actor. He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent installments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.
Ellen Kathleen Pompeo is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on Forbes' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara is a Colombian and American actress and television personality. She is known for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020) and Griselda Blanco in the Netflix miniseries Griselda (2024). She received five nominations each at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards for both performances. The former also established her as one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States.
Celebrity 100 was an annual list compiled and published by Forbes magazine from 1999 to 2020, preceded by the Forbes Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, social media following, magazine covers and a range of qualitative metrics, with the aim of "measuring power". Since 2015, Forbes had solely factored pretax earnings, before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents.
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence is an American actress and producer. Lawrence is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, she appeared in Time's 100 most influential people in the world list in 2013 and the Forbes Celebrity 100 list from 2013 to 2016.
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson is an American actress and singer. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Johansson's films have grossed over $15.4 billion worldwide, making her the highest-grossing box office female star of all time. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
This is a list of the highest-paid athletes in the world as ranked by Forbes magazine.
Denise Coates is a British billionaire businesswoman, the founder, majority shareholder and joint chief executive of online gambling company bet365.
The term Khans of Bollywood refers to several actors of Bollywood, the Mumbai-based Hindi language Indian film industry, whose surnames are Khan. Most commonly, this involves the Three Khans: Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. The three are unrelated, but happen to share the same surname, and were all born in 1965. Due to their longevity and high popularity, they are considered among the most successful movie stars in the history of Indian cinema.
This is a list of the world's highest-paid dead celebrities as ranked by Forbes magazine since October 2001.
The Estate of Michael Jackson is a legal entity established following the death of American singer Michael Jackson in 2009 for the purpose of administering his property and overseeing his posthumous income. Jackson's last will was filed by the attorney John Branca at the Los Angeles County courthouse on July 1, 2009. Signed July 7, 2002, it names Branca and accountant John McClain as executors; they were confirmed as such by a Los Angeles judge on July 6, 2009. All assets are given to the (pre-existing) Michael Jackson Family Trust, the details of which have not been made public. The Associated Press reported that, in 2007, Jackson had a net worth of $236.6 million: $567.6 million in assets, which included Neverland Ranch and his 50% share of Sony/ATV Music Publishing' catalogue, and debts of $331 million. The guardianship of his three children is given to his mother, Katherine, or if she is unable or unwilling, to singer Diana Ross. Jackson's will allocates 20% of his fortune as well as 20% of money made after death to unspecified charities.
The highest-paid musicians in the world have been reported annually by Forbes since at least 1987. For measurement, the magazine used pretax earnings—before deducting fees for agents, managers or lawyers. Most of the lists were estimated within a June-to-June scoring period, except for 1999, 2021, and 2022 when a calendar year period was used instead.
The Forbes Top 40 was an annual list of 40 highest-paid entertainers compiled and published by Forbes magazine from 1987 until 1998. The following year, 1999, it was created the Forbes Celebrity 100. The list was published every September, compiled by using the income of performers over two years to overcome the year-to-year of a performer's income.
This is a list of the highest-paid models—applicable to either sex— in the world as ranked by Forbes magazine. For measurement, the magazine used pretax earnings, and fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted, based on the report of 2018. The estimated figures are based on interviews with managers, agents, brand executives, and industry experts. Models income came from multiples entries, including endorsements, licensing ventures, runway shows, and commercial catalogs.
By 1994, it had reportedly reached $60 million.
One of the biggest costs of making On Stranger Tides was paying the production staff and actors with Mr Depp alone believed to have received $55 million for the movie.