habshi@anony.net: Aug 06 10:19PM
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/04/robert-downey-jr-best-paid-actor-forbes-jackie-chan-amitabh-bachchan
Robert Downey Jr still world's best-paid actor as Bollywood stars
crowd top 10
Avengers star tops annual Forbes list for the third year running, but
Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp find themselves displaced by Amitabh
Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar
Money man ... Robert Downey Jr. Photograph: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Ben Child
Tuesday 4 August 2015 17.59 BST Last modified on Wednesday 5 August
2015 16.45 BST
Robert Downey Jr has topped Forbes magazine's annual list of the
highest paid actors for the third year in a row. The Iron Man and
Avengers star made an estimated $80m (£51m) over the past 12 months,
beating out fellow Hollywood behemoths such as Vin Diesel, Bradley
Cooper and Tom Cruise.
However, in a startling development, four out of the top 10 wealthiest
male film stars now hail from outside Hollywood, according to the
latest edition of the annual survey. China's Jackie Chan and Bollywood
stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar all finished
ahead of established American actors such as Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo
DiCaprio and Johnny Depp.
Robert Downey Jr and the Avengers: Age of Ultron cast hit back at
superhero movie critics
The surprise results came after the financial magazine featured actors
from international film industry meccas beyond the Hollywood bubble
for the first time ever. The prominence of Asian actors comes as
something of a shock because Chinese and Indian movies rarely feature
on annual lists of the highest-grossing films across the globe. The
most successful Bollywood film of all time, last year's PK, made just
$120m globally, while the highest-grossing Chinese film, this year's
Monster Hunt, boasts $290m. Hollywood's best effort, 2009's Avatar,
scored a staggering $2.78bn.
Downey Jr's $80m earnings were thanks largely to a lucrative
profit-share deal from the $1.39bn success of superhero epic Avengers:
Age of Ultron, and a reported $40m payday for upcoming Marvel film
Captain America: Civil War. "Downey Jr has been able to cut unique,
favourable deals that ensure he is well compensated for his Tony Stark
troubles," Forbes' Natalie Robehmed told The Guardian. "Movies
featuring his Iron Man character still perform astronomically at the
box office."
The Hollywood star earned a full $30m more than second-placed Chan.
The 61-year-old Hong Kong-based martial arts star, who is popular in
the west but an unmatched megastar in east Asia, made his $50m from
highly profitable franchises such as the upcoming historical action
movie Dragon Blade, as well as merchandise tie-ins and a cinema chain
which trades under his name.
Vin Diesel, star of the Fast & Furious movies, landed in third with
earnings of $47m during the period recorded by Forbes (1 June, 2014 to
1 June, 2015) thanks largely to the box office success of the most
recent instalment in the street racing saga. Fuelled by hype
surrounding the death of star Paul Walker, Fast & Furious 7 scored
$1.51bn globally earlier this year.
Robert Downey Jr calls British journalist 'bottom-feeding muckraker'
The top five was rounded out by Bradley Cooper, whose roles in box
office smashes American Sniper and Guardians of the Galaxy last year
helped earn him $41.5m, and Adam Sandler ($41m) who is generally
considered to be a Hollywood star on the wane following a series of
box office bombs but who benefited from a lucrative deal to screen his
next four films exclusively on Netflix.
Sixth place, with $40m, went to Tom Cruise, who remains a high earner
thanks to the box office success of the Mission: Impossible films,
which he also produces.
Bachchan, the 72-year-old star of close to 200 Bollywood films, was
the joint-top Indian actor on the list at No 7. He and Salman Khan,
the controversial 49-year-old Mumbai-based megastar who has retained
his popularity despite a recent homicide conviction relating to the
drunken killing of a homeless man, both earned $33.5m. Kumar, the
47-year-old actor and martial artist who has appeared in hundreds of
Hindi-language films, made ninth place with earnings of $32.5m, just
ahead of Transformers star Mark Wahlberg ($32m).
Depp and DiCaprio, who have both topped Forbes' list in the past,
found themselves pushed outside the top 10 into 12th and 13th
positions with earnings of $30m and $29m respectively, and Robehmed
said it was no surprise that the Hollywood stars had been displaced.
"Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are Bollywood
legends," she said. "Bollywood movies gross far less at the box
office, with nearly all their money from domestic ticketing. But
movies cover costs by selling satellite rights to TV channels. And
unlike the US, where first dollar gross deals are a thing of the past,
Indian stars continue to earn a cut of each film's ticketing revenue.
"Jackie Chan, meanwhile, has built an empire on brand extensions and
East-West co-productions - helped by his special relationship with the
Chinese government."
The best-remunerated Briton was James Bond star Daniel Craig in 15th,
with earnings of $27m. Forbes' list features only male stars. A
female-only rundown is promised at an unspecified later date.
The World's Highest-Paid Actors 2015
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
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