Hollywood had a very successful year in 2023. Even with the release of blockbusters like Barbie and Oppenheimer, Adam Sandler managed to top the list of highest earning actors of 2023. Forbes recently published a report listing the top earning Hollywood actors in the year 2023. Adam Sandler, Margot Robbie, and Tom Cruise turned out to be the highest paid actors in Hollywood according to Forbes’ report.
So are you also wondering who the most paid actors in Hollywood are? How much did these movie stars earn in the year 2023? Then here’s a list of top-earning Hollywood actors to satisfy your curiosity.
Top Earning Hollywood Actors of 2023
1. Adam Sandler – $73 million
2023 turned out to be a very big year for the 57 year old Adam Sandler. Sandler managed to bank an estimated $73 million which made him the highest earning Hollywood actor of the year. His movie Murder Mystery 2, with Jennifer Aniston was watched over 173 million hours on Netflix across the globe. Netflix also reported that the movie ranked in the top 10 in 90 different countries. Sandler appeared in You’re So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah as well with his daughter and wife. He also gave his voice for the animated movie, Leo, about a 74 year old lizard. He also did more than 40 stand-up comedy shows across the country grossing more than $400,000 per show.
2. Margot Robbie – $59 million
As it turns out, Margot Robbie is not just any Barbie – she is the Rich Barbie! At 33, Robbie is the youngest in the list of the top earning Hollywood actors by a decade. The tremendous buzz surrounding Margot Robbie’s 2023 banger Barbie welcomed a successful year. The movie brought in more than $636 million in its opening weekend in the US. Barbie cashed in around $1.45 billion at the box office worldwide. On top of that, Robbie’s production company LuckyChap also delivered one of the most sensational movies of the year, Saltburn.
3. Tom Cruise – $45 million
At 61, Tom Cruise has a career spanning over 40 years. He is considered to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Famous for his impressive acting and fearless stunt works, Cruise stands as one of the major crowd-pullers of Hollywood. Tom Cruise returned to the big screen in 2023 with Dead Reckoning Part One, the seventh installment of his Mission: Impossible series, grossing over $567 million worldwide. So it is no surprise that Tom Cruise should be one of the highest paid film actors in Hollywood.
4. Ryan Gosling – $43 million
The massive success of Barbie, made Margot Robbie the second highest paid actor in Hollywood. Following Robbie, co-star Ryan Gosling was also able to stand in the list of the highest earning actors of 2023. Along with the huge Barbie paycheck, the 43-year-old Ken actor also earned from the benefits from his song “I’m Just Ken”. The song was played for over 100 million times on Spotify.
5. Matt Damon – $43 million
Matt Damon along with his long time pal Ben Affleck co-founded the “independent, artist-led studio” in 2022 called Artists Equity Studio. The studio’s first project Air was sold to Amazon studios for an estimated $130 million even before it went into production. The movie was produced by both Damon and Affleck, where they also acted together.
Matt Damon was also a part of one of the biggest movies of the year 2023, Oppenheimer. The movie was reported to earn over $957 million worldwide.
6. Jennifer Aniston – $42 million
The 54-year-old actress Jennifer Aniston starred in Murder Mystery 2 alongside Adam Sandler for Netflix. The movie was a massive success. She was paid an estimated $2 million per episode for her acting in AppleTV+ show The Morning Show. Aniston was also the executive producer of the show. On top of this, Aniston also appears in promotional commercials for Uber Eats, Pvolve Fitness, Vital Proteins and her own haircare brand LolaVie. All this easily opens a spot for her as one of the top earning Hollywood actors.
7. Leonardo DiCaprio – $41 million
The 49-year-old, Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio holds one of the most impressive and critically acclaimed acting careers in Hollywood today. His last project with director Martin Scorsese in the historical epic film, The Killers of the Flower Moon brought him immense praise and an even bigger salary.
8. Jason Statham – $41 million
Jason Statham is famously known for movie franchises like The Expendables, Fast & Furious and Transporter. The 56-year-old English actor starred in Expend4bles, Meg 2: The Trench, Fast X and Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre adding more credits to his long list of action-blockbuster movies.
9. Ben Affleck – $38 million
Ben Affleck directed, produced Air as the first project from his collaborative studio startup with Matt Damon, Artists Equity. Affleck also starred as the Nike executive Phil Knight in the movie. Air made over $90 million in box office. He was also seen acting as Detective Danny Rourke in the mystery action film Hypnotic.
10. Denzel Washington – $24 million
The 69-year-old American actor, producer, and director is known for his all-rounding works in Hollywood. Washington returned as Robert McCall for the third installment of the Equalizer franchise. The movie earned over $191 million worldwide. With a career spanning over four decades easily makes him one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood.
Conclusion
This article illustrates the range of actors that made it into the list of top earning Hollywood actors in 2023, demonstrating the richest movie stars in Hollywood. But the list lacks clear diversity, with only 2 female actors and 1 Black actor making it in there, showing how Hollywood needs to be more inclusive when it comes to pay equity.
