The world's highest-paid film actors can command a salary of up to US$40 million per film, 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.

Highest earnings for a single production

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, as was the case for 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]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $75,000,000+ [5]
Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man 3 2013 $75,000,000 [6]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Endgame 2019 $20,000,000 $75,000,000 [7]
Sandra Bullock Gravity 2013 $20,000,000 $70,000,000+ [8]
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 [9]
Jack Nicholson Batman 1989 $6,000,000 $60,000,000 [1][10]
Leonardo DiCaprio Inception 2010 $59,000,000 [11]
Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2011 $35,000,000 $55,000,000 [11][12]
Jackie Chan Rush Hour 3 2007 $15,000,000 $53,700,000 [13]
Robert Downey Jr. The Avengers 2012 $50,000,000 [14]
Margot Robbie Barbie 2023 $12,500,000 $50,000,000 [15]
Cameron Diaz Bad Teacher 2011 $42,000,000 [16]
Robert Downey Jr. Captain America: Civil War 2016 $40,000,000 $40,000,000+ [6]
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 [11]
Robert Downey Jr. Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $40,000,000 [17]
Will Smith King Richard 2021 $40,000,000 $40,000,000 [18]
Denzel Washington The Little Things 2021 $40,000,000 [19]
Aamir Khan Dangal 2016 $39,000,000 [nb 1][21][22]
Jim Carrey Yes Man 2008 $35,000,000 [23]
Will Smith Emancipation 2021 $35,000,000 $35,000,000 [24]
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 [19]
Leonardo DiCaprio Killers of the Flower Moon 2023 $30,000,000 $30,000,000 [24]
  1. ^ ₹257 crore ($39.4 million at 2017 exchange rates).[20]
  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

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 [25]
1988 Sylvester Stallone $63 million — — [26]
1989 Eddie Murphy $60 million — — [27]
1990 Sylvester Stallone $63 million — — [28]
1991 Kevin Costner $59 million — — [29]
1992 Kevin Costner $71 million — — [30]
1993 Kevin Costner $48 million — — [31]
1994 Harrison Ford $44 million — — [32]
1995 Sylvester Stallone $58 million Roseanne Barr $32 million [33]
1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger $74 million Roseanne Barr $40 million [34]
1997 Tom Cruise $82 million Roseanne Barr $55 million [35]
1998 Harrison Ford $58 million Julia Roberts $28 million [36]
1999 Tom Hanks $71.5 million Julia Roberts $50 million [37]
2000 Bruce Willis $70 million Julia Roberts $18.9 million [38]
2002 Adam Sandler $47 million Cameron Diaz $40 million [39]
2003 Will Smith $60 million Jennifer Aniston $35 million [40]
2004 Jim Carrey $66 million Cameron Diaz $32 million [41]
2005 Will Ferrell $40 million Drew Barrymore $22 million [42]
2006 Tom Cruise $67 million Jodie Foster $27 million [43]
2007 Johnny Depp $92 million Nicole Kidman $28 million [44]
2008 Johnny Depp $72 million Cameron Diaz $50 million [45]
2009 Harrison Ford $65 million Angelina Jolie $27 million [46][47]
2010 Johnny Depp $75 million Sandra Bullock $56 million [48][49]
2011 Leonardo DiCaprio $77 million Angelina Jolie $30 million [50][51]
2012 Tom Cruise $75 million Kristen Stewart $34.5 million [52][53]
2013 Robert Downey Jr. $75 million Angelina Jolie $33 million [54][55]
2014 Robert Downey Jr. $75 million Sandra Bullock $51 million [56][57]
2015 Robert Downey Jr. $80 million Jennifer Lawrence $52 million [58][59]
2016 Dwayne Johnson $64.5 million Jennifer Lawrence $46 million [60]
2017 Mark Wahlberg $68 million Emma Stone $26 million [61]
2018 George Clooney $239 million[nb 1] Scarlett Johansson $40.5 million [62][63]
2019 Dwayne Johnson $89.4 million Scarlett Johansson $56 million [64][65]
2020 Dwayne Johnson $87.5 million Sofía Vergara $43 million [66][67]
2021 Dwayne Johnson $270 million Reese Witherspoon $115 million [68]
2022 Tyler Perry $175 million — — [69]
  1. ^ George Clooney's 2018 earnings are mainly from the June 2017 sale of Casamigos tequila.

See also

References

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