1. Robert Downey Jr.
$75
million
At the risk of sounding clichéd, we must say
that the actor is like wine, getting better with age. 'The Avengers' was the third highest grossing movie of all time
- and with a huge star cast, guess who walked away with the biggest paycheck?
That's right; Tony Stark with his iron suit and affable charm was easily the
most popular superhero in the movie.
2. Channing Tatum
$60 million
If you always put Channing
Tatum as one of the young, good-looking actors earning moderately in
medium-budget movies - it's time to change that stereotype. If you caught
'Magic Mike' last year, the comedy drama film was a jackpot for the actor -
earning him $60 million! A movie based on Tatum's own past as a male stripper,
it is now going to be made into a Broadway show.
3. Hugh Jackman
$55 million
Hugh Jackman has done a
number of brilliant roles in his career - but to us, he will always be
Wolverine. However, his biggest paycheck came not from the X-Men franchise -
but the Oscar-winning 'Les Misérables' where he played Jean Valjean and was
nominated for an Academy Award himself. The movie, made on a paltry $61
million, earned $438 million at the box office.
$52 million
Mark Wahlberg is an actor
better remembered for serious roles like 'The Fighter' and 'The Departed'. So
his performance in the surprise hit of 2012, 'Ted', came as another surprise.
He is on the way to big bucks now - with a sequel to 'Ted' in the pipeline and
also 'Transformers 4', to be released next year.
5. Dwayne Johnson
$46 million
Good-looking wrestlers are
always welcome to Hollywood. And Dwayne Johnson is now a part and parcel of
high-grossing action
6. Leonardo DiCaprio
$39 million
Every time we mention
Leonardo DiCaprio, we cannot help but sigh at him being the subject of Oscar
snubs. The actor is superbly talented, to say the least - and 'The Great
Gatsby', with him at the helm of the cast, crossed $250 million at the box
office easily. The actor got his due and $39 million - whether he gets a
mention at the next Academy Awards is anybody's guess.
7. Adam Sandler
$37 million
Just when you pegged him
down as the funny man of Hollywood, Adam Sandler goes and sets the cash
register at the BO ringing with the animated 'Hotel Transylvania'. Grossing
$347 million, this movie is easily Sandler's biggest hit till date - and the
second is 'Grown Ups', the sequel to which also brought in big bucks to
Sandler.
8. Tom Cruise
$35 million
Tom Cruise has many more
years before he is passé, unlike what critics might have to say. The actor's
2012 movie 'Jack Reacher' might not have created magic at the national box
office, but overseas it raked in enough for the movie to gross $217 million.
Lesson number one, never underestimate the overseas BO, and lesson number two,
never underestimate Tom Cruise.
9. Denzel Washington
$33 million
Denzel Washington's
'Flight' was nominated for two Oscars last year, including Best Actor for him.
The actor is one of the best in the industry, and when he asked for a fee that
was more than what the movie was made for, he knew what he was doing. 'Flight'
went on to gross more than 5 times of what it started out with.
10. Liam Neeson
$32 million
Understated, but powerful
performance - that's Liam Neeson for you. He keeps a low profile unlike Ben
Affleck and Will Smith - while making more money than them. The secret is to do
low cost, high return movies like 'Taken' and 'The Grey'. And he is so much in
demand too - he has eight movies lined up for him till next year. How cool is
that?
