The Highest Paid Movie Roles (27 pics)

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27. Emma Stone as Mia in “La La Land”

$26 million

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26. Ryan Reynolds in “Six Underground”

$27 million

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25. Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator in “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”

$29 million

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24. Leonardo DiCaprio as Randall Mindy in “Don’t Look Up”

$30 million

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23. Mark Wahlberg as Spenser in “Spenser Confidential”

$30 million

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22. Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Coming 2023)

$30 million

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21. Jim Carrey as Carl Allen in “Yes Man”

$30 million

Carrey reportedly exchanged his salary for “Yes Man” for an ownership stake in the movie, which paid off.

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20. Will Smith as Peter in “Emancipation”

$35 million

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19. Will Smith as Richard Williams in “King Richard”

$40 million

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18. Denzel Washington as Joe Deacon in “The Little Things”

$40 million

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17. Tom Hanks as Captain John Miller in “Saving Private Ryan”

$40 million

Hanks has struck “act now, get paid later” deals on multiple films, in which he would receive a portion of the box office earnings. That got him at least $40 million for “Saving Private Ryan.”

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16. Cameron Diaz as Elizabeth Halsey in “Bad Teacher”

$42 million

Diaz was paid a mere $1 million to get “Bad Teacher” produced, but received a portion of box-office earnings, which secured her over $40 million for the movie.

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15. Dwayne Johnson in “Red One” (Coming 2023)

$50 million

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14. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc in “Knives Out” sequels

$100 million ($50 million per movie)

Netflix landed two “Knives Out” sequels in a deal worth $469 million, and star Daniel Craig could earn “upward of $100 million” for the sequels, according to THR.

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13. Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb in “Inception”

$50 million

DiCaprio earned at least $50 million just from box-office earnings, but his deal also included home video and television sales. According to Forbes, he took a pay cut because the movie was so “risky,” but he and Nolan agreed to split first dollar gross points.

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12. Jack Nicholson as The Joker in “Batman”

$50 million

Though Nicholson was paid $6 million up front for his role in the 1989 “Batman,” he reportedly secured a lucrative deal that included box-office earnings and merchandise sales from its sequels — that he didn’t even appear in.

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11. Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”

$55 million

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10. Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump in “Forrest Gump”

$60 million

The box-office hit “Forrest Gump” is another case in which Hanks opted for performance-based pay, in which he received an estimated $60 million.

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9. Adam Sandler in his Netflix movies

$250 million for four movies ($62.5 million per movie)

Sandler struck a deal with Netflix in 2014 for four exclusive movies worth an estimated $250 million, or $62.5 million per movie, according to Forbes. Netflix renewed the deal in 2017 for four more movies, and again last year.

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8. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”

$65 million

To get Ford back for a fourth “Indiana Jones” movie, Paramount agreed to a deal that split a large portion of the film’s earnings between him, director Steven Spielberg, and producer George Lucas.

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7. Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland”

$68 million

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6. Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone in “Gravity”

$70 million

Bullock was paid $20 million up front for “Gravity,” which is an impressive number on its own. But her deal also included 15% of box office revenue, which got her at least $70 million.

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5. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man in “Avengers: Infinity War”

$75 million

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4. Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol”

$75 million

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3. Keanu Reeves as Neo in “The Matrix” trilogy

$250 million ($83.3 million per movie)

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2. Will Smith as Agent J in “Men in Black 3”

$100 million

Will Smith’s performance-based pay for the third “Men in Black” movie got him $100 million of its $624 million gross.