The 2019 version of this ranking belongs in a time capsule. Forbes’ newest actor-earnings list, published in March 2026 and covering 2025 income, shows a Hollywood where streaming guarantees, producer fees, back-end participation and franchise leverage matter as much as a traditional movie salary.
Adam Sandler leads the list with estimated net earnings of $48 million after representative fees.
Forbes’ leading 2025 earners
1 · Adam Sandler — $48M. Netflix guarantees and producing work kept him at the top.
2 · Tom Cruise — $46M. A rare first-dollar gross arrangement on Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning helped drive his total.
3 · Mark Wahlberg — $44M. A busy slate across Apple, Prime Video and theatrical projects.
4 · Scarlett Johansson — $43M. A major Jurassic World payday plus profit participation.
5 · Brad Pitt — $41M. F1 combined a large star package with gross participation.
6 · Denzel Washington — $38M. Forbes cites a major streaming fee for Highest 2 Lowest.
7T · Jack Black — $28M. Family-franchise demand and voice/film work remain powerful.
7T · Jason Momoa — $28M. Franchise work and streaming kept his annual total high.
9 · Daniel Craig — $27M. The Netflix-era Knives Out deal remains lucrative.
10 · Millie Bobby Brown — $26M. Stranger Things and side deals pushed her into the top tier.
A “salary” list this is not
Up-front fee
The simplest model: a star is paid a negotiated amount to act in a project.
Producer fee
Many top actors are also producers, adding another compensation channel.
Buyout
Streamers often pay larger guarantees in exchange for limiting traditional residual or back-end upside.
Gross participation
Rare stars can negotiate a share linked to revenue, producing extraordinary upside when a movie becomes a hit.
Streaming changed the shape of star compensation
The central change is not that movie stars suddenly became richer or poorer. It is that compensation has become less dependent on theatrical box office alone. Sandler’s long relationship with Netflix is the clearest example: platform value can support huge annual guarantees even when the traditional ticket-sales model is not the core business.
The paycheck now follows leverage, not just screen time
The highest-paid actors are increasingly those who can combine star power with production control, platform relationships, franchises and unusually favorable participation terms. That is a much better way to read the 2025 list than as ten giant salaries.