The world’s highest paid movie stars – and their eye-watering salaries

Making a huge name for yourself in Hollywood comes with a giant pay check, but some of the industry’s most famous movie stars are taking home millions more than others – and their staggering salaries have finally been revealed to the world.

Everyone from legendary actor George Clooney, 57, to Aussie heartthrob Chris Hemsworth and world famous actress Cate Blanchett have made the top 20 highest paid actors and actresses according to Forbes‘ latest rankings – and they’re joined there at the top by some surprising names.

Clooney took the top spot for the actors’ list and it’s all down to his recent US$1billion (AU$1.4bn) sale of his Casamigos Tequila company to drinks giant Diageo. That gave a giant boost to his overall pay check of US$239million in the last year, the magazine reported.

Close behind him were actors Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson with a salary of US$119million, Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr who took home US$79million and Aussie star Chris Hemsworth with a pay check of US$64.5million.

The Rock’s success is largely down to starring roles in new movies including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Skyscraper, Baywatch and Fast & Furious 8.

Other names making the top 10 included comedy actor Jackie Chan, 49-year-old legendary name Will Smith, as well as Akshay Kumar, Adam Sandler, Chris Evans and Salman Khan.

Read more: Axed Studio 10 producer ‘reveals eye-watering salaries of TV’s top stars’

Meanwhile, Avengers star Scarlett Johansson, 33, topped the women’s list with a salary of US$40.5million from June 2017 to June 2018, quadrupling her 2017 earnings to bump actress Emma Stone from the number one spot.

Following her was world famous actress and ex of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, who took home US$28million, ahead of former love rival Jennifer Aniston with a salary of US$19.5million.

They were joined in the top 10 by Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence at US$18million, Legally Blonde star Reese Witherspoon at US$16.5million and Ashton Kutcher’s other half Mila Kunis at US$16million. Meanwhile, Julia Roberts narrowly beat Aussie superstar Cate Blanchett, Melissa McCarthy and Gal Galdot to round off the top 10.

See the full list here: 

Forbes’ world’s best-paid male actors 2018:

1. George Clooney – $239m
2. Dwayne Johnson – $119m
3. Robert Downey Jr – $79m
4. Chris Hemsworth – $64.5m
5. Jackie Chan -$45.5m
6. Will Smith – $42m
7. Akshay Kumar -$40.5m
8. Adam Sandler – $39.5m
9. Chris Evans – $34m
10. Salman Khan – $33.5m

Forbes’ world’s best-paid actresses 2018:

1. Scarlett Johansson – $40.5m
2. Angelina Jolie – $28m
3. Jennifer Aniston – $19.5m
4. Jennifer Lawrence – $18m
5. Reese Witherspoon – $16.5m
6. Mila Kunis – $16m
7. Julia Roberts – $13m
8. Cate Blanchett – $12.5m
9. Melissa McCarthy – $12m
10. Gal Gadot – $10m

What do you think of the list? Are you surprised with any of the results?