scorecardTom Cruise raked in $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick,' making him the highest-paid actor this year. Here are the other top earners in Hollywood.
  1. Home
  2. entertainment
  3. news
  4. Tom Cruise raked in $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick,' making him the highest-paid actor this year. Here are the other top earners in Hollywood.

Tom Cruise raked in $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick,' making him the highest-paid actor this year. Here are the other top earners in Hollywood.

Jason Guerrasio   

Tom Cruise raked in $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick,' making him the highest-paid actor this year. Here are the other top earners in Hollywood.
Tom Cruise.Dominique Charriau/WireImage/Getty
  • Tom Cruise will earn $100 million or more for "Top Gun: Maverick," according to Variety.
  • Despite the Oscars slap, Will Smith is still earning big with a $35 million check for his next movie.

Tom Cruise — $100 million+ ("Top Gun: Maverick")

Tom Cruise — $100 million+ ("Top Gun: Maverick")
Tom Cruise in "Top Gun: Maverick."      Paramount.

Cruise only received a base pay of $13 million for the "Top Gun" sequel, but this is where Cruise is still the best in the biz.

He makes most of his money on the back end, meaning if the movie does amazing at the box office, as "Maverick" did, Cruise gets first-dollar gross.

So he gets a percentage of the money the movie earns even before the studio gets a taste.

Will Smith — $35 million ("Emancipation")

Will Smith — $35 million ("Emancipation")
Will Smith.      PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Despite the now-infamous slap, the Oscar winner will continue to get big paydays. His next check will be for the escaped-slave thriller "Emancipation," coming to Apple TV+.

Leonardo DiCaprio — $30 million ("Killers of the Flower Moon")

Leonardo DiCaprio — $30 million ("Killers of the Flower Moon")
Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Killers of the Flower Moon."      Paramount Pictures/Apple TV+

DiCaprio's latest team-up with Martin Scorsese will score him another big check.

Brad Pitt — $30 million (Untitled Formula 1 movie)

Brad Pitt — $30 million (Untitled Formula 1 movie)
Brad Pitt.      Isaaak/Shutterstock

The Oscar winner will be getting behind the wheel of a race car for his next movie. It will be directed by "Top Gun: Maverick" helmer Joseph Kosinski.

Dwayne Johnson — $22.5 million+ ("Black Adam")

Dwayne Johnson — $22.5 million+ ("Black Adam")
Dwayne Johnson in "Black Adam."      Warner Bros.

Like Cruise, Johnson gets other incentives added to his pay. Along with a producer credit, he earns millions through promoting the movie on his social media.

Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds — $20 million each ("Spirited")

Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds — $20 million each ("Spirited")
(L-R) Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.      Getty

The two funnymen will be getting top dollar for this modern retelling of "A Christmas Carol."

Chris Hemsworth — $20 million ("Extraction 2")

Chris Hemsworth — $20 million ("Extraction 2")
Chris Hemsworth in "Extraction."      Netflix

The "Thor" star will move over to his Netflix franchise next to do the sequel to the highly popular 2020 action movie where he plays a mercenary.

Vin Diesel — $20 million ("Fast X")

Vin Diesel — $20 million ("Fast X")
Vin Diesel in "F9."      Universal

The star of the "Fast and Furious" franchise will take in a cool $20 million for his acting and producing work on the upcoming movie.

Tom Hardy — $20 million ("Venom 3")

Tom Hardy — $20 million ("Venom 3")
Tom Hardy in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage."      Sony

As the face of the Marvel franchise, Hardy gets paid top dollar.

Joaquin Phoenix — $20 million ("Joker 2")

Joaquin Phoenix — $20 million ("Joker 2")
Joaquin Phoenix in "Joker."      Warner Bros.

According to Variety, Phoenix only brought in $4.5 million for the first time playing the legendary villain.

After the movie brought in $1 billion, he's going to earn a little more for his return to the role.

Denzel Washington — $20 million ("The Equalizer 3")

Denzel Washington  — $20 million ("The Equalizer 3")
Denzel Washington in "The Equalizer 2."      Sony

Denzel only does one franchise, and he gets paid well to do it.

Jason Momoa — $15 million ("Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom")

Jason Momoa — $15 million ("Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom")
Jason Momoa in "Aquaman."      Warner Bros.

According to Variety, Momoa restructured his deal for the "Aquaman" sequel following the success of the first movie.

Eddie Murphy — $15 million ("Beverly Hills Cop 4")

Eddie Murphy — $15 million ("Beverly Hills Cop 4")
Eddie Murphy.      Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Niche Imports

Murphy continues to bring in major coin.

Chris Pine — $13 million ("Star Trek" sequel)

Chris Pine — $13 million ("Star Trek" sequel)
Chris Pine.      Daniel Knighton/Getty

A new "Star Trek" movie will give Pine a nice addition to his bank account.

Steve Carell — $12.5 million ("Minions: The Rise of Gru")

Steve Carell — $12.5 million ("Minions: The Rise of Gru")
Steve Carell has been the voice of Gru since 2010's "Despicable Me."      Isaiah Trickey / FilmMagic / Getty Images / Universal Pictures

Doing the wacky voice of Gru has been very profitable for Carell.

Ryan Gosling & Margot Robbie — $12.5 million each ("Barbie")

Ryan Gosling & Margot Robbie — $12.5 million each ("Barbie")
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling on the set of "Barbie."      Mega/GC Images/Getty

Both Gosling and Robbie will get equal pay playing Ken and Barbie.

Millie Bobby Brown — $10 million ("Enola Holmes 2")

Millie Bobby Brown — $10 million ("Enola Holmes 2")
Millie Bobby Brown at the 2022 BAFTAs.      Samir Hussein/WireImage

The "Stranger Things" star will get a big payday for her other Netflix venture.

Timothée Chalamet — $9 million ("Wonka")

Timothée Chalamet — $9 million ("Wonka")
Timothée Chalamet arrives for the 92nd annual Academy Awards on February 9, 2020.      ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Chalamet is still a rising star when it comes to paydays, but he'll get a nice check for playing the iconic chocolate maker.

Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. — $4 million each ("Oppenheimer")

Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. — $4 million each ("Oppenheimer")
(L-R) Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr.      Getty

This trio is accepting pay way below their usual asking price to star in the next Christopher Nolan movie.

Daniel Kaluuya — $4 million ("Nope")

Daniel Kaluuya — $4 million ("Nope")
Daniel Kaluuya in "Nope."      Universal

The Oscar winner is the star of Jordan Peele's latest movie.

Jamie Lee Curtis — $3.5 million ("Halloween Ends")

Jamie Lee Curtis — $3.5 million ("Halloween Ends")
Jamie Lee Curtis attends the Australian Premiere of Halloween at Event Cinemas George Street on October 23, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.      Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

This movie marks the end of Curtis in the "Halloween" franchise. (Though, never say never.)

Anya Taylor-Joy — $1.8 million ("Furiosa")

Anya Taylor-Joy — $1.8 million ("Furiosa")
Anya Taylor-Joy attends the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.      Daniele Venturelli/WireImage via Getty Images

We expect this star's asking price to go way up after people see her in this prequel to "Mad Max: Fury Road."

READ MORE ARTICLES ON

Advertisement