Adam Sandler had a triumphant 2023, making him Forbes’ highest-paid actor of the year. Accruing $14 million more than the next person on the list, the funnyman proved that having your eggs in more than one basket proves lucrative.
But the Sandman wasn’t the only star to have success last year. “Barbie,” the most profitable film of the year, had two of its stars on the long list of wealthy names.
We take a look at who made the top 10.
‘BARBIE’ AND ‘SUPER MARIO BROS’ LED 2023 BOX OFFICE WITH ‘THE MARVELS’ DISAPPOINTING
Sandler comfortably sits atop the list of affluent stars, raking in $73 million for the year. That includes funds allocated to his manager, lawyer and agent.
Much of Sandler’s success is due in part to his massive contract with Netflix, which he originally signed in 2014 for $250 million and was renewed in 2020. Last year, three of Sandler’s movies had enormous success — “Murder Mystery 2” with Jennifer Aniston; “You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” featuring his wife and two daughters; and the animated flick “Leo.”
According to Forbes, Netflix users streamed over 500 million hours of Sandler content last year.
When you’re the star and producer of the year’s most successful movie, you’re bound to see monetary success of your own.
Margot Robbie not only landed herself at No. 2, she’s also the youngest person on the 10-person list. The Australian beauty made $59 million last year.
“Barbie” set box office records for Warner Bros., making nearly $1.5 billion.
Tom Cruise had an exceptional 2023, earning $45 million.
The star’s success can be attributed to his latest “Mission: Impossible” installment, which will have a second part released in 2025. Part one made more than $567.5 million worldwide.
Cruise also continues to reap the benefits of his “Top Gun: Maverick,” film, which premiered in theaters in 2022 but accrued on-demand profits last year.
Two Hollywood hunks tied for fourth place, both earning a comfortable $43 million.
Smiliar to his co-star Robbie, Ryan Gosling has benefited from the success of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” His memorable song from the film, “I’m Just Ken,” has streamed over 100 million times on Spotify, according to Forbes.
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Matt Damon was in another major movie of the year, “Oppenheimer,” which opened the same weekend as “Barbie.” Despite it being a blockbuster, Damon had a relatively low salary of $4 million for his supporting role in the Christopher Nolan flick. Most of Damon’s income came from an acquisition with Amazon. He and partner Ben Affleck sold the rights to their movie, “Air” for $130 million.
Aniston will always reap the benefits of residuals from her time on “Friends,” but her new source of income seems to be from her newer program, “The Morning Show,” for which she reportedly makes $2 million an episode.
In addition to that substantial TV deal, Aniston has partnerships with Uber Eats, Vital Proteins, Pvolve Fitness that are a healthy source of income. She made $42 million in 2023.
Two more Hollywood heartthrobs tied for seventh place, just below Aniston.
Leonardo DiCaprio can mainly thank his Oscar-nominated film, “Killers of the Flower Moon” for the additional $41 million in his bank account.
Jason Statham had a busy 2023, starring in several motion pictures, including “Fast X,” “Meg 2: The Trench” and “Expend4bles,” all of which made tens or hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.
Like his good pal Damon, Affleck can thank his movie “Air” for the $38 million dollars he made in 2023.
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At 69 years old, Denzel Washington is the oldest actor on this list.
Washington starred in “The Equalizer 3,” which made over $190 million at the box office. Washington made a cool $24 million in 2023.