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Home / Entertainment

Forbes’ highest-paid actors 2023: Margot Robbie, Adam Sandler top list

By Hannah Roberts
AAP·
7 Mar, 2024 03:48 AM3 mins to read

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Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie. Photo / Warner Bros. Pictures

Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie. Photo / Warner Bros. Pictures

Barbie star Margot Robbie was the highest-paid actress in 2023, according to Forbes’ annual list, and the second-highest paid actor overall.

Barbie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are among the highest paid actors in 2023, according to Forbes’ annual list.

Australian actress Robbie, 33, is the youngest on the list by a decade and the second-highest earner, achieving $US59 million (NZ$96m) for the year.

Greta Gerwig’s comedy based on the popular Mattel doll grossed $US1.4 billion ($2.2b) worldwide.

Robbie starred as Barbie and was a producer on the blockbuster which was created by her production company LuckyChap, which was also behind hit dark thriller Saltburn.

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Canadian actor Gosling, 43, who starred opposite Robbie playing Ken, was placed fourth equal on the list alongside Matt Damon, both earning $US43 million ($70m).

Adam Sandler poses for media for the movie 'Spaceman' during the International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin. Photo / AP
Adam Sandler poses for media for the movie 'Spaceman' during the International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin. Photo / AP

Adam Sandler came out as the top earner as he managed to rake in $US73m ($118m) following the success of his 2023 Netflix film Murder Mystery 2 and his stand-up comedy tour.

Friends star Jennifer Aniston, who was Sandler’s co-star in the comedy film, was placed sixth with $US42m ($68m) and is one of the two women who feature in the top 10.

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Denzel Washington, who starred in the third instalment of The Equaliser franchise in 2023, landed in 10th place and is the only non-white actor to make the cut.

He made $US24m ($39m) and is the oldest movie star to feature on the list.

Tom Cruise cashed in on the latest Mission: Impossible movie, earning $US45m ($73m) in 2023, placing him third.

This image released by Apple TV+ shows Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "Killers of the Flower Moon". (Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+ via AP)
This image released by Apple TV+ shows Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "Killers of the Flower Moon". (Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+ via AP)

Elsewhere, Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s epic Killers Of The Flower Moon, raked in $US41m ($66m) placing him joint seventh with the only English actor to make the cut: Jason Statham.

In 2023, the 56-year-old starred in films Fast X, Meg 2: The Trench, Expend4bles and Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre.

In ninth place, with $US38m ($61m), is actor Ben Affleck, who serves as chief executive of artist-led studio Artists Equity, which he co-founded with Damon.

In 2023 his sports film Air, which he had directed and starred in alongside his friend and co-worker Damon, was released.

Forbes’ estimations are calculated through a host of interviews including with agents and industry experts, as well as using data sources such as IMDB Pro and Polestar.

The business magazine said its figures represent taxed earnings for the calendar year 2023 and only include income related to entertainment.


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