Scarlett Johansson has overtaken Emma Stone to lead this year’s ranking with $40.5 million in pretax earnings between June 1, 2017 – 2018, making her acting’s top-earning female lead.
Johansson edges Angelina Jolie (No. 2; $28 million), Jennifer Aniston (No. 3; $19.5 million), Jennifer Lawrence (No. 4; $18 million), and Reese Witherspoon (No. 5; $16.5 million).
As reported by Forbes, earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders. All figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted. Overall, the cumulative total is up 16% from $172.5 million in 2017.
Examining actresses the world over, including Australian Cate Blanchett (No. 8; $12.5 million) and Israeli Gal Gadot (No. 10; $10 million). Gadot, whose turn as Wonder Woman catapulted her to fame, is the only newcomer on the ranking. Mila Kunis (No. 6; $16 million), Julia Roberts (No. 7; $13 million), and Melissa McCarthy (No. 9; $12 million) round out the list.
Currently, female characters fill only 28.7% of all speaking roles in film, according to a 2016 study. This lack of roles limits opportunities for females to earn at the highest echelon. Only two women broached the $20 million mark this year, down from three in 2017 and four in 2016. Notably absent: Amy Adams, Emma Watson, Charlize Theron and last year’s top-ranked Emma Stone—none earned above the $10 million cut off and dropped off this year’s list.
Roles for women who are no longer young ingenues are few and far between. Yet the highest-paid actresses have overcome this: 60% of this year’s list members are over the age of 40. Some forge their own roles to build opportunities for themselves: Witherspoon cofounded her Pacific Standard production company and Hello Sunshine media house to option rights for female-led parts. Others, like Aniston, supplement acting income with hefty endorsement deals.
