The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2015: Robert Downey Jr. Leads With $80 Million

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For the third year in a row, Robert Downey Jr.’s stratospheric $80 million payday is more than any other leading man on the planet, helping Iron Man punch $30 million above Hong Kong hero Jackie Chan’s second place haul.

Though China may be Chan’s cinematic stomping ground, the nation’s movie appetite propelled Downey’s Avengers: Age of Ultron to a $240 million gross in the People’s Republic alone, ensuring Downey topped the World’s Highest Paid Actors list. From Hollywood to Hong Kong and Bollywood, the ranking examines international stars’ earnings for the first truly global dollar tally of film’s flushest stars.

Though we have long looked at foreign actors starring in the U.S. films — Irishman Liam Neeson, Brit Daniel Craig and Australian Hugh Jackman have all made the Highest-Paid Actors list previously – we have never examined those working solely in international movie industries.

As a result, 12 newcomers join the ranking, five of whom collect their paychecks from Bollywood. Three of them are in the top 10: Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan rank at No. 7 with $33.5 million, just ahead of Akshay Kumar’s $32.5 million haul.

Six of the top 10 hail from the U.S., including Vin Diesel, ranked at No. 3, who earned a hefty $47 million thanks in part to the success of Furious 7. The most recent Diesel-fueled installment of the Fast and the Furious car franchise grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, 77% of that from beyond the borders of the United States and $400 million in China alone.

“The whole point [of The Fast and the Furious] was to diversify Hollywood and in some ways change the face of Hollywood,” Diesel told FORBES.

As U.S. and Canadian box office declines–down 5% to $10.4 billion between 2013 and 2014–the global film market continues to grow, notably in China, which jumped 34% to $4.8 billion. An increasingly international ticket booth needs stars like Diesel that can cross borders.

Or stars who can entertain couch potatoes. That’s the strategy for Adam Sandler, whose films have traditionally been popular with home audiences. Sandler this year signed on to make four films exclusively for Netflix, helping him pocket $41 million despite a dry recent box office run. That’s $9 million more than fellow funnyman Mark Wahlberg, who rounds out the top 10 with $32 million in earnings.

It also helps to have a good producer’s eye. Bradley Cooper, ranked at No. 4 with $41.5 million, produced and starred in American Sniper, which was directed by Clint Eastwood after Steven Spielberg passed on the military epic. Tom Cruise (No. 6; $40 million) is also a producer on the Mission: Impossible movies and is able to earn a ton based on how the blockbusters perform at the box office.

The 34 highest-paid actors, who hail from seven countries, earned a combined $941 million before taxes and fees between June 1, 2014 and June 1, 2015. Our list measures earnings before subtracting management fees and taxes; figures are based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with agents, managers, lawyers—and stars themselves. It only examines men–a separate list of highest-paid actresses will be published later.

THE LIST
1. Robert Downey Jr: $80m
2. Jackie Chan: $50m
3. Vin Diesel: $47m
4. Bradley Cooper: $41.5m
5. Adam Sandler: $41m
6. Tom Cruise: $40m
= 7. Amitabh Bachchan: $33.5m
= 7. Salman Khan: $33.5m
9. Akshay Kumar: $32.5m
10. Mark Wahlberg: $32m
11. Dwayne Johnson: $31.5m
12. Johnny Depp: $30m
13. Leonardo DiCaprio: $29m
14. Channing Tatum: $29m
= 15. Chris Hemsworth: $27m
= 15. Daniel Craig: $27m

click on the link for the rest of the list.

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