They earned how much? Hollywood's richest stars revealed

Robert Downey Jr's role as Iron Man is proving to be a money spinner.

Hollywood's cash king has been crowned, with Robert Downey Jr earning an estimated US$75 million (NZ$95m) over the past year.

Forbes magazine has released its annual Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actors list, which is topped by Downey Jr thanks to his mega hits playing industrialist-super hero Tony Stark in The Avengers and Iron Man 3.

The films earned more than a US$1 billion each.

Downey Jr's rise to the top of Hollywood is worthy of its own biopic, with studios just a decade ago not willing to hire him because he was considered too much of a risk after battling drug addiction and failed rehab stints.

Another Hollywood stud, Channing Tatum, pipped Jackman for Forbes' No. 2 spot.

Tatum's $60 million in earnings largely came from his astute decision to co-finance his male stripper film, Magic Mike, with director Steven Soderbergh.

Magic Mike cost $7 million to make and brought in $167 million, with a large chunk of the profits landing in Tatum's bank account.

There's also talk of a Magic Mike Broadway musical, a line of bars and a sequel.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman banked an estimated US$55 million in the past 12 months to land the No. 3 spot.

"A lot of that money comes from his work as Wolverine in the X-Men films," Forbes said.

The musical Les Miserables, which Jackman earned a best actor Oscar nomination, also added to his fortune with the movie costing just $61 million to make but earning $438 million at the worldwide box office.

Mark Wahlberg, thanks to his foul-mouthed teddy bear comedy Ted costing $50 million but earning a surprise $550 million, handed him the number four spot with $52 million in earnings for the year.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has a big bank balance to match his big biceps with $46 million in earnings for the year, with Fast & the Furious 6's $US695 million global box office haul giving him the number five slot.

Rounding out the top 10 were Leonardo DiCaprio ($39 million), Adam Sandler ($37 million), Tom Cruise ($35 million), Denzel Washington ($33 million) and Liam Neeson $32 million.

HOLLYWOOD'S HIGHEST-PAID ACTORS LIST

1. Robert Downey Jr ($75 million)
2. Channing Tatum ($60 million)
3. Hugh Jackman ($55 million)
4. Mark Wahlberg ($52 million)
5. Dwayne Johnson ($46 million)
6. Leonardo DiCaprio ($39 million)
7. Adam Sandler ($37 million)
8. Tom Cruise ($35 million)
9. Denzel Washington ($33 million)
10. Liam Neeson ($32 million)

- AAP