Forbes has just released its annual list of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood for 2024. The outlet’s estimations were gathered from interviews with agents, lawyers, managers, executives, industry experts, and data sources like IMDBPro. These figures represent pretax earnings minus 10% for agents, 10% for managers, and 5% for lawyers, which is the industry standard. (Even if the performer does not currently have an agent, manager, and lawyer).
The Top 20 Highest Paid Actors of 2024
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – $88 million ($103 million gross)
2024 showed the shifting tides in the entertainment industry, moving away from theatrical releases to streaming. Much of this $88 million is due to a $50 million deal to star in Amazon’s “Red One.” It is believed that Johnson received the biggest fee-plus-buyout in streaming movie history for the film. This figure also includes a percentage of the profits of the Disney animated movie “Moana 2” for which he is a star and an executive producer.
- Ryan Reynolds – $85 million ($100 million gross)
Like Johnson, Reynolds took on the role of producer and star (and added co-writer) on the biggest live-action movie of the year “Deadpool & Wolverine.” While it grossed $1.3 billion, that wasn’t the only project tacking on to this total. Reynolds also starred in John Krasinski‘s “IF” and was a producer on the latest season of Hulu’s “Welcome To Wrexham.” He may have even reworked the script for Justin Baldoni’s “It Ends With Us,” starring his wife Blake Lively. But it seems the courts will be the ultimate judge on his involvement with that one.
- Kevin Hart – $81 million ($108 million gross)
Hart has been full steam ahead for a while, but 2024 was possibly his most diverse year. He starred in a theatrical release (“Borderlands”), a Netflix movie (“Lift”), an Amazon Prime film (“Die Hart 2: Die Harter”), a Peacock series (“Fight Night”), the 3rd season of his Roku Channel series (“Die Hart”), Netflix’s roast of Tom Brady, a weekly Spotify podcast (“Gold Minds”). And that is all on top of doing 90 stand-up comedy shows, which leads us to believe he is secretly the Energizer Bunny. With that many high-profile projects going it would be pretty much impossible not to have some serious dough rolling in.
- Jerry Seinfeld – $60 million ($70 million gross)
Seinfeld crossed the threshold of billionaire status in 2023. While he remains active on the stand-up comedy circuit, his long-syndicated television show “Seinfeld” is still pulling in $30 million annually. Seinfeld also struck a lucrative deal with Netflix to write, direct, and star in the comedy “Unfrosted.”
- Hugh Jackman – $50 million ($66 million gross)
In 2024 Jackman dawned his adamantium claws to return as Wolverine, a part he hadn’t played since 2017’s “Logan.” As you can imagine, it took some sweet talking from Reynolds and a huge payday to bring him back for “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Now it’s poised to be the most lucrative film of his career.
- Brad Pitt – $32 million ($42 million gross)
Pitt made a huge gamble with his film “Wolfs” co-starring buddy and fellow list member George Clooney, by pulling it from theatrical release. Instead, the actor opted to sell it directly to the streamer AppleTV+. His production company, Plan B, isn’t doing shabby either, backing the box office smash “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and Best Picture nominee “Nickel Boys.”
- George Clooney – $31 million ($37 million gross)
There was a pervasive rumor that Clooney and Pitt were paid $35 million each for the movie “Wolfs.” However, Clooney, and the figure above, adamantly deny that was the case. While AppleTV+ did outbid other platforms for the film in 2021, it doesn’t seem like the salaries went THAT high.
- Nicole Kidman – $31 million ($41 million gross)
Kidman enters this sausage fest courtesy of several projects in 2024. These projects include three miniseries, “The Perfect Couple” for Netflix, “Lioness” for Paramount+, and “Expats” for Amazon. Each miniseries banked her more than $1 million per episode. Top that off with the films “Babygirl” and “A Family Affair” it seems her and Hart may have similar philosophies on diversifying content. But only one of them can make heartbreak feel good in a place like this.
- Adam Sandler – $26 million ($35 million gross)
Sandler has struck a ground-breaking overall deal with Netflix that allows him the versatility to make big theatrical releases like the upcoming “Happy Gilmore 2.” While he still does smaller-scale films like 2024’s “Spaceman,” while receiving top-notch pay for both projects.
- Will Smith – $26 million ($30 million gross)
Smith’s acting career has been in limbo ever since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022. However, returning to the big screen to reprise his role in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” certainly paid off. The film was one of less than 20 movies to gross more than $400 million worldwide in 2024. We don’t know if this means he is officially back, but it probably doesn’t hurt the Oscar winner’s odds of returning.
- Mariska Hargitay – $25 million ($29 million gross)
Hargitay joins Kidman as the second of three women on this list. The actress is a staple on Dick Wolf’s “Law & Order: SVU” which hit the air over 20 years ago. After 550 episodes, Hargitay has become the highest-paid performer on television, earning an estimated $750,000 per episode. On top of that, she is also a producer and gets a cut of the show’s hefty syndication profits. While most people on this list are diversifying content with streamers, Hargitay is choosing to do things the old-fashioned way and it’s clearly working for her.
- Channing Tatum – $24 million ($28 million gross)
Even though the Tatum-led film “Fly Me To The Moon” was a box office bomb, it doesn’t mean he didn’t make any money. The actor also starred in “Blink Twice,” directed by (now ex-girlfriend) Zoe Kravitz, and made a long-rumored cameo as Gambit in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” At age 44, Tatum is tied with number 18 for the second youngest performer in this group.
- Jason Statham – $24 million ($25 million gross)
Statham has made a name for himself by playing an everyman who can also kick ass. The result is a steady string of modestly successful films, including 2024’s “The Beekeeper.” His dependable box office success can garner him $20 million or more per role, all while not being represented by an agent or manager, proving once again that there are many paths to success in the entertainment industry.
- Mark Wahlberg – $23 million ($31 million gross)
In 2024, Wahlberg did a mix of big-budget and lower-key films. Making the big-budget action film “The Union” for Netflix and the independent film “Arthur The King.” After several decades it seems that Wahlberg is still a highly sought-after actor given his steady returns on projects.
- Matt Damon – $23 million ($30 million gross)
Like many others on this list, this Oscar winner isn’t just an actor, he is also a successful filmmaker and producer. Damon’s company Artists Equity, which he co-founded with friend/collaborator Ben Affleck, is all the rage among streamers. Last year, saw the company backing “The Instigators” for AppleTV+, in addition to his up-front fees, he owns a piece of the movies’ equity, which sells for a premium price above its production budget. Not to mention an estimated $8 million annually from his robust back catalog of films including the “Bourne” and “Oceans” franchises.
- John Cena – $23 million ($30 million gross)
The pro-wrestler turned actor is bidding the world of WWE farewell this year after almost 23 years with the company. He has turned his likable tough guy persona into more of a comedy/action guy with films like “Argylle” for Apple, “Ricky Stanicky” for Hulu, and “Jackpot!” for Amazon. Cena even made an appearance in one episode of fellow entree Kevin Hart’s series “Die Hart.”
- Denzel Washington – $23 million ($27 million gross)
The long-awaited sequel, “Gladiator II,” resulted in a substantial payday for this Oscar nominee. Not to mention residuals from Washington’s impressive, decades-long, back catalog adding to the total.
- Jake Gyllenhaal – $22 million ($26 million gross)
It’s been reported that Gyllenhaal’s 2024 remake of “Road House” was given two options in terms of distribution. The film could receive a $60 million budget and a theatrical release, or it could get a $85 million budget and go straight to Amazon Prime. The latter choice was made, giving Gyllenhaal a big payday upfront, without the pressures of the box office. Plus his series adaptation of the film “Presumed Innocent” for AppleTV+ was also a hit.
- Scarlett Johansson – $21 million ($25 million gross)
Johansson is the third woman and the youngest entry on this list. Despite the aforementioned failure of “Fly Me To The Moon,” co-starring Tatum. In 2024, the 40-year-old actress also lent her vocal talents to the lead role in the animated movie “Transformers One.”
- Joaquin Phoenix – $19 million ($22 million gross)
In 2024, Phoenix reprised his infamous role as The Joker in “Joker: Folie à Deux.” This part came with the biggest up-front fee of the Oscar winner’s career, despite being one of the biggest box office bombs of the year.
There you have it, the highest-paid actors in 2024, according to Forbes. Combined, these performers raked in more than $730 million in earnings last year. As you probably noticed, most of them made their money in 2024 outside of theaters, which makes sense given that 6 of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2024 were animated. (Voice actors are typically ridiculously and sometimes criminally underpaid).
We’re willing to bet this trend continues in 2025, but only time will tell who will rake in the most money on which project(s).
