For the second year in a row, the odds are in her favor: Jennifer Lawrence is once again the world’s highest-paid actress, notching $46 million pretax over 12 months–$13 million more than second-rankedMelissa McCarthy, who pocketed $33 million.
Lawrence’s impressive earnings consist largely of a profit slice from the big box office gross ($653.4 million) of her final Hunger Games installment and a mammoth upfront fee for the forthcomingPassengers. Her total is down 11.5% from $52 million in 2015, but she remains the girl on fire, financially speaking.
McCarthy, 45, is this year’s biggest dollar gainer year over year; her earnings are up $10 million on 2015′s estimate thanks in part to a reported eight-figure payday for Ghostbusters. This year, the Mike & Molly star recorded her biggest annual paycheck to date, out-earningScarlett Johansson (No. 3, $25 million).
“I started to think if I could do anything to build women up rather than the constant tear down I’m going to do it,” McCarthy, who started her own all-sizes clothing line, told FORBES.
Once again, we examined stars from around the globe, scouring Bollywood and the burgeoning Chinese cinema industry. To wit, 30% of the list hail from outside the U.S.; Chinese actress Fan Bingbing makes the cut for the second consecutive year, while Charlize Theron, a dual citizen of South African and the U.S., returns to the list for the first time since 2013.
India’s Deepika Padukone is the only newcomer to the ranking. The 30-year-old joins the list with Bollywood hits such as Bajirao Mastani, though she earns far less than her Hollywood counterparts for roles. Instead, she compensates with over a dozen lucrative endorsements–a hedging tactic employed by many of her Hollywood peers.
In an industry where a pay gap with male actors still exists, 90% of the world’s highest-paid actresses supplement their on-screen earnings with endorsements. A particular standout: Jennifer Aniston (No. 4), 47, whose advertisements for Emirates airlines, Smartwater, Aveeno and Living Proof comprise a chunk of her $21 million earnings.
Together, the world’s 10 highest-paid actresses tallied a combined $205 million between June 1, 2015, and June 1, 2016, before fees and taxes. Four women, up from three in 2015, banked more than $20 million compared with 18 of the world’s leading men (a separate list of highest-paid actors will be published Thursday).
Though these select actresses earn more than most could dream of, their movie money is but a fraction of what many of their male counterparts pocket. While top actresses can negotiate eight figure upfront fees plus a cut of profits for leading parts in big budget movies, there are simply fewer of those roles available for women. In fact, a recent study found that female characters fill only 28.7% of all speaking roles in film. When women are on screen, they are likely to be eye candy for a male gaze: Women appeared in sexy attire more than a third of the time and were shown partially or fully nude 27.5% of the time, three times as much as men.
It’s a phenomenon up-and-comer Brie Larson experienced firsthand. “There were many times that I would go into auditions and the casting directors would say, ‘It’s really great, we love what you’re doing but we’d really love for you to come back in a jean miniskirt and high heels,’ ” said 30 Under 30 honoree Larson after winning the Best Actress Oscar for Room.
Well-known names including Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Kristen Stewart, Reese Witherspoon and Cameron Diaz were among the drop-offs on this year’s ranking. There were also some noteworthy near misses: Kristen Wiig, Renée Zellweger and Cate Blanchett all narrowly missed the $10 million cut off for this year’s ranking.
Where last year’s ranking evaluated 18 women, this year’s list has returned to the top 10 to give a more accurate portrait of acting’s earning elite. Earnings estimates are based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with agents, managers and lawyers.