Scarlett Johansson Dethrones Emma Stone as World's Highest Paid Actress 2018
Hollywood showed Scarlett Johansson the money, big time, making her the highest paid actress of the year. That's thanks largely to Marvel.
It was also thanks to Marvel that, in 2016, the Black Widow star was named the highest-grossing actress of all time.
Those two don't always go together -- highest-paid and highest-grossing -- but they did in ScarJo's case, meaning you could argue the money was well invested.
Johansson took the 2017-2018 throne with $40.5 million. Last year, Emma Stone had No. 1 with $26 million. Stone had dethroned her friend Jennifer Lawrence, who was No. 1 for the two previous years.
This year, Emma Stone didn't even make the list at all. Amy Adams, Emma Watson, and Charlize Theron also dropped off the list after being featured last year.
Forbes' latest report covers earnings between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018.
Johansson *quadrupled* her 2017 earnings, thanks to pay for "Avengers: Infinity War," but also probably including her pay for the less successful "Rough Night" and voice-work in "Isle of Dogs," since they were released during that time period. ("Ghost in the Shell" was released March 2017 so it was probably included in last year's tally.)
Forbes' figures are all before deducting taxes, fees for agents, managers, and lawyers, etc. Overall, the cumulative total is up 16 percent from $172.5 million in 2017. That's good. But it's sad that this worldwide list of movie stars is still very white. Where are the women of color?
Here are the top 10 highest-paid actresses of the year:
1. Scarlett Johansson, $40.5 million (pre-tax)
2. Angelina Jolie, $28 million (upfront pay for "Maleficent 2," among other things)
3. Jennifer Aniston, $19.5 million (mostly from endorsements)
4. Jennifer Lawrence, $18 million ("mother!," "Red Sparrow," Dior contract, X-Men pay)
5. Reese Witherspoon, $16.5 million ("A Wrinkle in Time," "Big Little Lies')
6. Mila Kunis, $16 million ("Bad Moms Christmas," "Family Guy," "The Spy Who Dumped Me")
7. Julia Roberts, $13 million ("Wonder," Lancome endorsement, earnings from older movies)
8. Cate Blanchett, $12.5 million ("Thor: Ragnarok," "The House With a Clock In Its Walls")
9. Melissa McCarthy, $12 million ("Life of the Party," "The Happytime Murders," "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," "SNL")
10. Gal Gadot, $10 million (newcomer to the list, from Revlon endorsement and upfront pay for "Wonder Woman 1984)
This list of movie stars is separate from the tally of highest-paid TV actresses. Sofia Vergara has had that on lock for years, with 2017 earnings north of $41.5 million.
Yes, they all make A TON of money. But they still make a ton less than the dudes.
Last year, Mark Wahlberg was named the highest-paid actor with $68 million, followed by The Rock with $65 million, Vin Diesel with $54.4 million, Adam Sandler with $50.5 million, and Jackie Chan with $49 million.
That's the top 5 from the 2017 list for actors. That's the same year when Emma Stone topped the entire lady list with $26 million.
We still have to see the actor list from 2018, to see if they went up or down. That list will be stacked with "Avengers" stars as well, possibly led by Chris Pratt thanks to "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." We'll see.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.