Tom Cruise, Mark Wahlberg, Scarlett Johansson, and Jack Black are also among last year's highest-paid actors
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NEED TO KNOW
- Adam Sandler is Hollywood’s highest-paid actor, earning $48 million in 2025
- Tom Cruise, Mark Wahlberg, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Jack Black, and Jason Momoa are also among last year’s highest-paid actors
- Millie Bobbie Brown, 22, is the youngest actor ever to be listed on Forbes’ highest-paid actors list
Adam Sandler was Hollywood’s highest-paid actor in 2025.
The comedian, 59, earned $48 million in the last fiscal year, according to Forbes.
In 2025, Sandler produced and starred in Happy Gilmore 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 sports comedy, and starred in Jay Kelly alongside George Clooney — No. 13 on the list. Sandler’s performance as Ron Sukenick, the devoted manager to famous movie star Jay Kelly (Clooney), in the Netflix film earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Globes.
Despite topping the 2025 list, Sandler earned significantly less than last year’s highest-paid actor, Dwayne Johnson, who earned $88 million in 2024.
Forbes also reported that the collective pay of the 20 highest-paid actors in Hollywood was $590 million, 20% lower than last year’s $730 million.
Credit: Netflix
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Next up on the list? Tom Cruise. The Mission: Impossible star, 63, earned $46 million for the eighth installment of the action franchise, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
Third on the list was Mark Wahlberg at $44 million, followed by Scarlett Johansson at $43 million, and Brad Pitt with $41 million.
Wahlberg, 54, drew in his earnings from Apple TV’s The Family Plan, Prime Video’s Play Dirty and Mel Gibson’s Flight Risk. Johansson, 41, starred in Jurassic World: Rebirth and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenecian Scheme, as well as making her directorial debut last year with Eleanor the Great. Pitt, 62, starred in Apple’s F1, which earned a Best Picture nomination at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Denzel Washington ($38 million), Jack Black ($28 million), Jason Momoa ($28 million), Daniel Craig ($27 million) and Millie Bobby Brown ($26 million) round out the top ten.
Last year, Washington, 71, starred in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. Black, 56, starred in A Minecraft Movie alongside fellow top earner Momoa, 46, and the Anaconda reboot with Paul Rudd. Craig, 58, reprised his role as detective Benoit Blanc in Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
The Stranger Things actress is the youngest actor ever to be featured on Forbes’ highest-paid actors list at just 22 years old. Along with starring in the hit Netflix series’ fifth and final season, Brown starred in The Electric State with Chris Pratt — No. 16 on the list.
Forbes' earnings estimates are based on data from Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders. The figures listed represent earnings after fees paid to the actors’ agents, managers and lawyers.
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