Top Ten Highest-Paid Actors in the world 2020. Salaries for the world's highest paid film actors currently range from $20–30 million, but an actor can 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. 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 ranked the 10 highest-paid actors in the world, and No. 1 wasn't even in a movie this year
George Clooney was the world's highest-paid actor in the past year, according to Forbes.
Clooney took home an industry-leading pretax paycheck of $239 million in the calendar year between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, Forbes reported.
Though he didn't appear in a film during that period, Clooney brought in his career-high salary on the strength of the $700 million sale of his tequila brand, Casamigos Tequila, in June 2017.
He was followed on Forbes' list by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., and seven other actors.
Forbes said that its pretax earnings estimates are "based on data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders."
Here are the ten highest-paid actors in the world, according to Forbes:
10. Chris Evans — $34 million
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Evans' paycheck primarily stemmed from his role as Captain America in Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the 2018 blockbuster "Avengers: Infinity War."
9. Salman Khan — $38.5 million
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Khan, a Bollywood star, earned $38.5 million from a combination of successful films that he starred in and produced, including 2017's "Tiger Zinda Hai," and endorsement deals for consumer items like Suzuki motorcycles and Chlormint gum.
8. Adam Sandler — $39.5 million
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Sandler made millions from his Netflix movie deal, which he signed in 2014 and extended for four films in 2017. Forbes said he also earned six-figures for each live comedy act he performed in the last year.
7. Akshay Kumar — $40.5 million
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Bollywood's Kumar brought in back-end profits from his film releases like "Toilet" and "Padman." He also endorsed around 20 brands, per Forbes, including Indian finance conglomerate Tata and battery manufacturer Eveready.
6. Will Smith — $42 million
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Smith earned a reported $20 million for his role in Netflix's critically panned original film "Bright." He also signed contracts to appear in upcoming films, including the 2019 live adaptation of Disney's "Aladdin" and the computer-animated comedy "Spies in Disguise."
5. Jackie Chan — $45.5 million
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Chan took home millions from his starring roles in six films in 2017, including "Kung Fu Yoga" and "The Foreigner." He also made a series of product endorsements and brought in revenue from the line of theaters that he owns.
4. Chris Hemsworth — $64.5 million
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Forbes said Hemsworth more than doubled his earnings from its 2017 list thanks to his paychecks from two blockbuster Marvel films, "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Avengers: Infinity War."
3. Robert Downey Jr. — $81 million
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Downey Jr. reportedly nearly doubled his salary from Forbes' 2017 list by negotiating outsized contracts for his appearances as Iron Man in Marvel films, including an estimated $15 million upfront payment for his brief role in 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming.
2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — $124 million
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Johnson's $124 million gave him the highest-ever total for acting earnings in the history of Forbes' Celebrity 100 for the outlet's 2018 list. The "vast majority" of Johnson's money came from acting earnings, including huge upfront checks for blockbusters like "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," Forbes reported.
1. George Clooney — $239 million
Getty/Neilson Barnard
Clooney brought in the highest-ever earnings of his career and in the history of Forbes' actors list for his share of the $700 million sale of his tequila company, Casamigos, to the British liquor company Diageo.
George Clooney, the world's highest-paid actor, earns more than the 10 highest-paid actresses combined
Actor George Clooney
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Clooney, whose millions came from a lucrative business venture, endorsements and older movies, made nearly twice as much as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the second highest-paid actor. And he earned more than the 10 highest-paid actresses combined.
Cumulatively, the top female earners took home $186 million before fees and taxes. Scarlett Johansson led the way with $40.5 million in earnings.
Actress Scarlett Johansson
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Forbes' ranking includes extracurricular earnings. Most of Clooney's earnings actually came from his tequila company, which he sold to Diageo for as much as $1 billion, rather than from onscreen gigs.
"Women, in general, are making four-fifths at best," Oscar-winner Emma Stone said of the Hollywood gender pay gap in a conversation with Out Magazine in 2017. "In my career so far, I've needed my male co-stars to take a pay cut so that I may have parity with them. ... That's something that's also not discussed, necessarily — that our getting equal pay is going to require people to selflessly say, 'That's what's fair
Although some defenders of the system point out that the disparity could be chalked up to the fact that more men star in profitable action and superhero franchises, women often make less even in romantic comedies. Portman, for example, says she was paid three times less than her male co-star Ashton Kutcher for the 2011 movie "No Strings Attached."
"I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain," the star continues, "but the disparity is crazy."
Here's the breakdown of how much the 10 highest-paid actors earn, according to Forbes. All figures are pre-tax.
10. Chris Evans: $34 million 9. Salman Khan: $38.5 million 8. Adam Sandler: $39.5 million 7. Akshay Kumar: $40.5 million 6. Will Smith: $42 million 5. Jackie Chan: $45.5 million 4. Chris Hemsworth: $64.5 million 3. Robert Downey Jr.: $81 million 2. Dwayne Johnson: $124 million 1. George Clooney: $239 million
And here's how much the 10 highest-paid actresses earn. Again, all figures are pre-tax:
10. Gal Gadot: $10 million 9. Melissa McCarthy: $12 million 8. Cate Blanchett: $12.5 million 7. Julia Roberts: $13 million 6. Mila Kunis: $16 million 5. Reese Witherspoon: $16.5 million 4. Jennifer Lawrence: $18 million 3. Jennifer Aniston: $19.5 million 2. Angelina Jolie: $28 million 1. Scarlett Johansson: $40.5 million
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