List of highest-grossing actors

The following are non-definitive lists of the actors with the highest career-film grosses. There are box-office gross revenue lists, which are not adjusted for inflation, as well as lists for the number of box-office ticket sales.

Box-office gross revenue

Because of the long-term effects of inflation on movie theater ticket prices, a list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later actors.[1] Therefore, the gross revenue lists are largely meaningless for comparing acting careers widely separated in time, as many actors from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite their films' achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases.[2]

Lead roles

This list only includes leading roles and lead ensemble roles, including voice acting. The list is updated as of 29 April 2023.

Rank Actor Worldwide total[3] Top-grossing film Films Average
1 Scarlett Johansson $14,519,686,740 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 33 $439,990,507
2 Robert Downey Jr. $14,393,065,910 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 44 $327,115,134
3 Samuel L. Jackson $14,376,505,937 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 64 $224,632,905
4 Zoe Saldaña $13,399,627,718 Avatar ($2,923,706,026) 31 $432,246,055
5 Chris Pratt $12,655,767,080 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 23 $550,250,743
6 Chris Hemsworth $11,958,567,765 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 26 $459,944,914
7 Tom Cruise $11,541,519,513 Top Gun: Maverick ($1,481,369,482) 43 $268,407,431
8 Chris Evans $11,277,890,989 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 29 $388,892,793
9 Tom Hanks $10,799,541,509 Toy Story 4 ($1,073,064,540) 55 $196,355,300
10 Vin Diesel $10,537,096,327 Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754) 28 $390,262,827

All roles

This list includes cameos and voice acting. The number of films is from the source The Numbers and may not correspond exactly to a linked filmography. The list is updated as of 29 April 2023.

Rank Actor Worldwide total[4] Top-grossing film Films Average
1 Stan Lee $30,601,574,433 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 50 $612,031,489
2 Samuel L. Jackson $27,774,380,735 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 140 $198,388,434
3 Frank Welker $17,442,469,964 Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1,123,794,079) 112 $155,736,339
4 John Ratzenberger $16,766,086,423 Incredibles 2 ($1,242,805,359) 52 $322,424,739
5 Robert Downey Jr. $15,725,830,781 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 68 $231,262,217
6 Bob Bergen $15,707,337,459 Minions ($1,157,271,759) 60 $261,788,958
7 Scarlett Johansson $15,384,676,764 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 51 $301,660,329
8 Andy Serkis $15,197,137,127 Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,064,615,817) 36 $422,142,698
9 Benedict Cumberbatch $15,089,890,060 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 43 $350,927,676
10 Alan Tudyk $14,991,275,447 Frozen II ($1,444,735,491) 40 $374,781,886
11 Warwick Davis $14,965,807,693 Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,064,615,817) 24 $623,575,321
12 Zoe Saldaña $14,693,359,294 Avatar ($2,923,706,026) 47 $312,624,666
13 Chris Pratt $14,388,676,928 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 36 $399,685,470
14 Jon Favreau $13,970,645,911 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 41 $340,747,461
15 Chris Evans $13,753,699,045 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 42 $327,469,025
16 Paul Bettany $13,398,876,626 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 33 $406,026,564
17 Dwayne Johnson $13,068,242,837 Furious 7 ($1,514,553,486) 50 $261,364,857
18 Vin Diesel $12,583,345,351 Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754) 37 $340,090,415
19 Idris Elba $12,567,018,758 Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754) 49 $256,469,771
20 Chris Hemsworth $12,447,713,879 Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) 28 $444,561,210

Earlier eras

Up until 2000

A survey by TLA Video in 2000 estimated that the following actors had sold the most movie tickets at the box office.[5][6]

Rank Actor Ticket sales (est.)
1 Clark Gable 1,168,300,000
2 John Wayne 1,114,000,000
3 Bing Crosby 1,077,900,000
4 James Stewart 981,900,000
5 Cary Grant 942,500,000
6 Spencer Tracy 937,200,000
7 Gary Cooper 878,600,000
8 Mickey Rooney 867,900,000
9 Harrison Ford 852,700,000
10 Gregory Peck 728,000,000

Up until 1966

In 1966, Variety calculated a list of the highest-grossing stars using their All-Time Top Grossing Films lists based on the number of films that had earned theatrical rentals of $4 million or more in the United States and Canada by the end of 1965.[7] As the list was based on number of films on the chart, there may have been some stars who appeared in fewer films listed but with a higher total rental. As with current lists, the list favors films and stars of the later eras as later films generally gross more. John Wayne topped the list. Variety noted that Crosby's last hit prior to 1965 was High Society in 1956, and at that date he would have led the list.[7] They also noted that Gable was the undisputed king until he went into the Army in 1942 and that he wasn't ranked higher, as many of his earlier hits did not reach their $4 million cut-off and were therefore not included in his total.[7]

Rank Actor Total
(US/Canada rentals)[7]		 Top-grossing film
(US/Canada rentals)		 Films on chart Average
1 John Wayne $113,422,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 17 $6,671,882
2 Charlton Heston $110,500,000 Ben-Hur ($38,000,000) 7 $15,785,714
3 Gregory Peck $105,075,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 14 $7,505,357
4 Frank Sinatra $95,450,000 From Here To Eternity ($12,200,000) 17 $5,614,706
5 Elizabeth Taylor $85,825,000 Cleopatra ($23,500,000) 10 $8,582,500
6 Richard Burton $79,950,000 Cleopatra ($23,500,000) 7 $11,421,429
7 James Stewart $77,700,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 9 $8,633,333
8 Bing Crosby $68,500,000 White Christmas ($12,000,000) 11 $6,227,273
9 Clark Gable $65,100,000 Gone with the Wind ($41,200,000) 6 $10,850,000
10 William Holden $62,610,000 The Bridge on the River Kwai ($17,195,000) 10 $6,261,000
11 Cary Grant $62,550,000 Operation Petticoat ($9,500,000) 11 $5,686,364
12 Shirley MacLaine $62,150,000 Around the World in 80 Days ($22,000,000) 7 $8,878,571
13 Henry Fonda $61,250,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 6 $10,208,333
14 Fred MacMurray $58,300,000 The Shaggy Dog ($9,600,000) 8 $7,287,500
15 Spencer Tracy $57,950,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 6 $9,658,333
16 Jean Simmons $57,450,000 The Robe ($17,500,000) 7 $8,207,143
17 Jack Lemmon $56,405,000 Irma La Douce ($11,250,000) 8 $7,050,625
18 Marlon Brando $56,150,000 Sayonara ($10,500,000) 9 $6,238,889
19 David Niven $54,400,000 Around the World in 80 Days ($22,000,000) 6 $9,066,667
20 Doris Day $53,900,000 Lover Come Back ($8,500,000) 9 $5,988,889

See also

References
  1. Bialik, Carl (January 29, 2010). "How Hollywood Box-Office Records Are Made". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  2. Pincus-Roth, Zachary (July 6, 2009). "Best Weekend Never". Slate. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  3. "Top 100 Stars in Leading Roles at the Worldwide Box Office". The Numbers. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. "Top Stars at the Worldwide Box Office". The Numbers. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. Macfarlane, Malcolm (2001). "Chapter 11: Epilogue". Bing Crosby – Day by Day. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 670–671. ISBN 0-8108-4145-2. Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  6. "Top Stars of All-Time: Estimated Ticket Sales". TLA Video. Archived from the original on December 11, 2001. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Beaupre, Lee (January 5, 1966). "Star, Producer, Director Identification With All-Time Top-Grossing Features". Variety. p. 7.
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