Most Hollywood stars seem to command big-budget salaries these days – but who really comes out on top when their impressive earnings are compared?
Forbes has today announced the 10 highest-paid screen stars of 2023 – in a year of mixed fortunes for the entertainment industry.
Although the world of cinema was dominated by the likes of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the writers’ and actors’ strikes put a stop to dozens of projects for six months.
But the biggest industry earners appeared to come out relatively unscathed – with the top 10 earning a staggering combined total of $449 million.
Here, FEMAIL has taken a deeper dive to see which stars are raking in the most.
Forbes has today announced the 10 highest-paid screen stars of 2023 – and acting veteran Denzel Washington secured a spot following the release of Equalizer 3 (pictured)
10. Denzel Washington – $24 million ($28 million gross)
In 2023, acting veteran Denzel Washington proved that age is just a number.
The 69-year-old secured himself a spot on the list of highest-paid screen stars largely down to the third installment of vigilante thriller franchise Equalizer.
The smash hit sees the unassuming assassin takes matters into his own hands when he ‘discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses.’
It earned strong reviews from critics with 76 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and scored the second-best Labor Day weekend in cinematic history.
It took in an estimated $42 million for the four-day holiday weekend frame – second only to the 2021 Marvel adventure Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, according to Deadline.
But it was not just the new release that earned Washington a spot on the list since he has a back catalog going back nearly 40 years.
Many of the titles, which date back to the 1970s, continue to produce a steady income stream for the Oscar winner.
9. Ben Affleck – $38 million ($45 million gross)
All eyes might have been on Ben Affleck’s love life in recent weeks – following the release of Jennifer Lopez’s The Greatest Love Story Never Told – but perhaps fans should have been studying his career instead.
The 51-year-old was in the top 10 Hollywood earners largely thanks to his role as CEO of studio startup Artists Equity.
He co-founded the venture with close friend Matt Damon as an ‘artist-led studio that partners with filmmakers to empower creative vision and broaden access to profit participation,’ Deadline previously reported.
Ben Affleck directed and co-starred in sports drama Air (pictured) which grossed $90 million at the box office before moving to Amazon Prime Video
This brought in a steady stream of revenue as Affleck also directed and co-starred in sports drama Air.
The film, which tells the story of sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro and his involvement with Nike, grossed $90 million at the box office before moving to Amazon Prime Video.
It achieved a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93 per cent and Affleck later dished on what it was really like working with Damon on the project.
‘I love and trust Matt so much, and it was so lovely to be working together,’ he told IndieWire.
7. Jason Statham – $41 million ($48 million gross)
Notorious tough guy Jason Statham has been a stalwart of the big screen for more than 20 years – but, in 2023, his earning power was higher than ever.
The 56-year-old fronted three popular franchises – Fast X, Meg 2: The Trench and Expend4bles – which all boasted generous budgets.
But the hotly-anticipated Meg 2 turned out to be something of an anti-climax.
The critics score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a measly 27 per cent with experts claiming it was ‘dull’ and ‘boring.’
Deadline critic Todd McCarthy bluntly stated in his review, ‘Meg 2 rather wears out its welcome very early on as it begins feeling like a tedious, repetitive joke.’
Jason Statham fronted three popular franchises – Fast X, Meg 2: The Trench (pictured) and Expend4bles – which all boasted generous budgets
He also bashed the writers who, ‘for some reason stinted in the creation of any worthy supporting players to fill out the cast and seem uninterested in character building or even finding distinctive young actors to fill out the crew.’
Elsewhere, Statham featured in Guy Ritchie’s spy thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre as Statham undertakes an undercover mission ‘when the sale of a deadly new weapons technology threatens to disrupt the world order.’
But the fan favorite shows little sign of slowing down.
His action-thriller, titled The Beekeeper, is already the highest-grossing movie of 2024.
7. Leonardo DiCaprio – $41 million ($48 million gross)
Statham’s earnings are reportedly on a par with long-time Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio.
The actor and producer, 49, boasted a healthy balance sheet last year due to his appearance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon – despite being snubbed for the Oscar.
Forbes reported that there was also a ‘buy-out of his theatrical profit participation once the movie hits AppleTV+.’
Based on a true story, the film, which has been released today, follows a series of murders carried out against members of the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on their Oklahoma land in the 1920s.
Leonardo DiCaprio boasted a healthy balance sheet last year due to his appearance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (pictured)
But the movie was blasted by critics for being ‘tiresomely long.’
The Times’ Kevin Maher awarded the film a paltry two stars out of five, labelling it a ‘dud’ and ‘just not great’ partly due to its ‘paper-thin characters.’
Nonetheless, if you have ever wondered how DiCaprio might spend his fortune, it was recently revealed that the star has a priceless collection of original Star Wars toys which he goes undercover to buy.
The Titanic star uses a pseudonym to bid for rare items online as he continues to grow his beloved collection, The Sun reported.
6. Jennifer Aniston – $42 million ($56 million gross)
Friends fans will always associate Jennifer Aniston with her role as Rachel Green – but the 54-year-old has never been one to sit back and simply enjoy the residuals from the sitcom.
In 2023, she claimed her spot on the list of highest-paid stars thanks to her various performances across both the big and small screens.
Forbes revealed that the star makes as much as $2 million for acting and executive producing each episode of The Morning Show on AppleTV+.
Following the debut of season three of the show, it secured six nominations at the Critics Choice Awards.
Forbes revealed that Jennifer Aniston makes as much as $2 million for acting and executive producing each episode of The Morning Show (pictured) on AppleTV+
In addition to Best Drama Series, the show earned several acting nominations including Best Actress in a Drama Series for both Jennifer and Reese.
Billy Crudup was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, while Nicole Beharie and Karen Pittman both earned nods for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Elsewhere, Aniston, who also appeared alongside Adam Sandler in Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2, landed a slew of brand deals as well.
These included being the face of brands such as Uber Eats, Pvolve Fitness, Vital Proteins. She also runs her own haircare line called LolaVie.
4. Matt Damon – $43 million ($50 million gross)
Matt Damon, who was ranked among Forbes’ most bankable stars in 2007, continues to make the cut nearly two decades later.
The actor and producer continues to serve as Chief Creative Officer at his joint venture with Affleck – with their first project being the aforementioned movie Air.
It sold to Amazon before it even went into production for an estimated $130 million, according to the outlet.
Damon, 53, also took a salary of $4 million for his part in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer after agreeing to receive a slice of the movies profits.
Matt Damon continues to serve as Chief Creative Officer at his joint venture with Affleck – with their first project being the aforementioned movie Air (pictured)
The biopic of the ‘father of the atomic bomb,’ which also starred the likes of Cillian Murphy, Florence Pugh and Emily Blunt, grossed just over $950m.
And the three-hour epic had critics swooning.
Film critic Robbie Collin from The Telegraph raved on Twitter: ‘Am torn between being all coy and mysterious about Oppenheimer and just coming out and saying it’s a total knockout that split my brain open like a twitchy plutonium nucleus and left me sobbing through the end credits like I can’t even remember what else.’
And Vulture movie critic Bilge Ebiri gushed: ‘OPPENHEIMER is…incredible. The word that keeps coming to mind is “fearsome.”
‘A relentlessly paced, insanely detailed, intricate historical drama that builds and builds and builds until Nolan brings the hammer down in the most astonishing, shattering way.’
4. Ryan Gosling – $43 million ($50 million gross)
Ryan Gosling earned more than ‘Ken-ough’ in 2023 after being part of the cultural phenomenon that was Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
The blockbuster, which became an instant hit following its release in July, achieved the accolade of biggest Box Office debut of the year after bringing in over $300 million on its opening weekend alone.
Ryan Gosling earned more than ‘Ken-ough’ in 2023 after being part of the cultural phenomenon that was Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (pictured)
The 43-year-old assumed the supporting role of Barbie’s plastic sidekick – earning the star a controversial Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor as well as a healthy payday.
He issued a statement at the time after Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig failed to receive individual nominations, writing: ‘There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.’
The cherry on top was that Gosling’s power ballad – titled I’m Just Ken – created for the movie became an instant hit and has been streamed more than 100 million times on Spotify.
3. Tom Cruise – $45 million ($53 million gross)
It seems that Tom Cruise has made it his mission to make the most out of his acting endeavors.
Forbes explained that the 61-year-old, who continues to do all his own stunts, is ‘one of the last’ onscreen stars to command the ‘first-dollar gross’ deal.
This means ‘he gets paid a percentage of box office and other revenues beginning the day it’s released, before the studio even recoups its money.’
Last year, Cruise returned to the latest Mission: Impossible movie but it did not perform as well as hoped at the box office.
It seems that Tom Cruise has made it his mission to make the most out of his acting endeavors – having recently returned to the latest Mission: Impossible movie (pictured)
It earned $78.5 after a five-day opening but, with a budget of some $290 million, Dead Reckoning Part One was left with a long way to go to recuperate costs.
The movie has received a 96 per cent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 94 per cent audience score.
But the stuntman continued to receive healthy profits from Top Gun: Maverick (2022) from both streaming and on-demand platforms.
Cruise could be set to make the cut for next year’s list of highest-paid earners as well after signing a new development deal with Warner Bros.
2. Margot Robbie – $59 million ($78 million gross)
Australian actress Margot Robbie was also engulfed in the Barbie craze with the cinematic hit not only smashing box office records but also bringing in millions in licensing and partnerships.
The outlet suggested that the leading lady, 33, cashed in on around 12.5 per cent of all ‘back-end’ profits that are estimated to total more than $60 million.
Australian actress Margot Robbie was also engulfed in the Barbie (pictured) craze with the cinematic hit not only smashing box office records but also bringing in millions in licensing and partnerships
Her production company was also behind Saltburn starring Barry Keoghan and Barry Keoghan and signed a new exclusive first-look feature film deal with Warner Bros.
Earlier this year, the blonde bombshell announced that she was planning to take a step back from acting following the success of Barbie.
She told Deadline about her ambitions to work off-screen before adding: ‘I also think everyone’s probably sick of the sight of me for now. I should probably disappear from screens for a while.’
1. Adam Sandler – $73 million ($97 million gross)
It may come as a surprise to many but Adam Sandler, 57, came out on top as the highest-paid screen star for 2023.
But a quick glimpse at his schedule makes it clear to see why – starting with the release of Murder Mystery 2.
The comedian resumed his role in the hotly-anticipated sequel which the streaming platform said was watched for a total of 173 million hours across the world in the three months following its release in March.
It also ranked in the Top 10 on the site across 90 different countries.
But, despite audiences lapping up the detective comedy, critics reviews were mixed – being both panned and praised for its lowbrow humor.
It may come as a surprise to many but Adam Sandler, 57, came out on top of the highest-paid screen stars for 2023 after appearing in Murder Mystery 2 (pictured)
In Peter Travers’ review for Good Morning America, he slammed the ‘nothingburger’ movie, saying Aniston and Sandler’s chemistry was ruined by the ‘dialogue from the playbook of sitcom cliches.’
‘One of those new AI bots like ChatGPT could have coughed up a script with more personality,’ the film critic wrote.
Johnny Oleksinski at the New York Post agreed, dubbing the sequel ‘painfully uninteresting’ and ‘nothing more than a free vacation’ for Aniston and Sandler.
However, others appreciated the screwball action-adventure comedy, which has its main characters jetting off to nondescript private island and Paris, for what it is, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
New York Times critic Brandon Yu called it an ‘innocuous sequel’ but felt the film’s stars gave it a slight boost.
‘Sandler and Aniston maintain a charming midcareer looseness, and have a palpable affability as a duo — one can sense the fun they had making such silliness, even if the result isn’t gold,’ he wrote. ‘You could do worse for something to turn on while making dinner.’
Beyond that, however, Sandler also committed to more than 40 stand-up comedy tour dates in 2023 to go with three Netflix film projects.
It seems his career efforts have not gone unnoticed by his adoring fans because, earlier this year, he was awarded the People’s Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.
