CEBU, Philippines - For the second year in a row, “Iron Man” Robert Downey Jr. tops the Forbes annual list of highest earning actors with an estimated $75 million since June 2013, the same amount that Forbes estimated the year before.
Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man 3” crossed the billion dollar threshold in 2013. His turn in Jon Favreau’s “Chef” was more of a favor than a moneymaker, but he also appears in the mystery drama “The Judge,” opening October 13.
Downey Jr. received notable press for holding out on his contract for upcoming sequel “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” due to salary concerns. Though he has agreed to star in both “Age of Ultron” and an upcoming “The Avengers 3,” neither role has been confirmed.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the only other actor from last year’s Forbes top five to make this year’s top five again, placing second with $52 million. Johnson will star in “Hercules,”opening Friday, as well as “Fast & Furious 7” and disaster film “San Andreas” next year.
Bradley Cooper, who voices Rocket Raccoon in Marvel’s next feature “Guardians of the Galaxy,” places third with $46 million. Cooper received his second Academy Award nomination this year for his work in David O. Russell’s “American Hustle.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who placed sixth on Forbes list last year, places fourth this year with $39 million. DiCaprio had box office success starring in “The Great Gatsby” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” last year, the latter earning him his fourth Academy Award nomination.
Downey Jr.’s fellow Avenger Chris Hemsworth places fifth this year with $37 million. Hemsworth found commercial success in his second solo outing “Thor: The Dark World” last year, and will reprise the role for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
Forbes says it compiles its salary figures based on talks with agents, producers, lawyers and others to calculate how much each actor earned from entertainment-related work from June 2013 to June 2014.
The rest in the Top 10 list are: Liam Neeson (6th, $36 million), Ben Affleck (7th, $35 million), Christian Bale (8th, $35 million), Will Smith (9th, $32 million) and Mark Wahlberg (10th, $32 million).