Top 10 Actors Who Command Big Salaries

Dwayne Johnson has sure come a long way from his flattop, sunglasses-wearing days as pro wrestler The Rock, since these days, he’s more likely to be starring in the third highest-grossing film of all time and numerous other blockbusters. Johnson earns a big paycheck to go with his big muscles, making between $10-12 million for "Hercules" alone and averaging roughly $13-15 million per movie that he stars in, which is what he made for the summer of 2015's "San Andreas." Do you smell what The Rock is cooking? It could be anything with that kind of money.

He’s the Hollywood star that surprised everyone, and yet deep down we all still remember him as the asshole fiancé from "Wedding Crashers." Since then, he has starred in the enormously popular "The Hangover" series, in which he made $15 million (against backend) for the final installment. He's also successfully tried his hand at drama, earning several Academy Award nominations and securing a steadily rising paycheck, which currently rests at around $10 million per movie. It's only a matter of time before he cements himself a permanent spot on the A-list and makes even bigger bucks.

One of Hollywood's leading ladies in terms of both star power and wealth, Sandra Bullock is arguably bigger now than she's ever been, thanks to a successful comedic turn in "The Heat" and her Oscar-nominated role in "Gravity." Speaking of which, Bullock, along with her base salary of $10-20 million per movie, has enough sway in Hollywood to demand a portion of the box office intake, as do many others that will appear on this list. Therefore, by earning a percentage of what "Gravity" grossed, Bullock walked away with a minimum $70 million payday for that movie alone.

Winning two Academy Awards and being nominated for three more brings prestige in Hollywood, and with prestige comes a fat wallet. Tom Hanks’ is really fat, as he is one of the few actors working today to demand $20 million or more for a movie, depending on the budget. Also, like Bullock, he's been known to take home a percentage of his movies' gross, leading to a $70 million payday for "Forrest Gump" twenty years ago, not accounting for inflation. As you can imagine, his fame and salary have only increased since.

Good ol' Denzel Washington. He's the one man the studios can always go to in order to secure a good performance. And if they want to piss their money away… Denzel has been reported to be one of the most overpaid actors in Hollywood, at least according to his box office grosses relative to his income, which is in the vicinity of $40 million a year. He certainly hasn't been in much lately save for his amazing performances in "Flight" and "The Equalizer," so we can only imagine how much he makes for one movie.

Just like her Hollywood buddy Bradley Cooper, J-Law has taken the acting world by storm in recent years. She was paid a measly $500,000 for the first "Hunger Games," but that amount skyrocketed to $10 million for its sequel when she quickly became famous. After receiving several Academy Award nominations and starring in many successful films, she will now make the A-list $20 million for her role in the upcoming "Passengers." She was probably ecstatic to receive a $500,000 payday only three short years ago. Now she would consider that pocket change.

Forget about his goofy former infatuation with Katie Holmes and his Scientology beliefs for a second. The truth is, the man is a megastar, and every time a new "Mission: Impossible" movie comes out, Tom Cruise can basically buy his own country with the income he earns. Alongside starring in them, he also produces them and optioned the rights for the original, meaning he takes in about $70 million per movie released. To date, he's made almost $300 million on those movies alone, and that's not counting the $20 million he earns on any other non-"Mission: Impossible" film that he stars in.

The internet's favorite movie star, Leo has certainly been around in his films, portraying a classic Shakespearian character, a racist plantation owner, and even the eccentric Howard Hughes, among many others. Yet still no Oscar! Leonardo DiCaprio has been receiving the A-list amount of $20 million for a long while now, mostly due to starring in what was then the highest grossing film of all time until 2010. He even surpassed that amount later on, making $25 million for his turn in "The Wolf of Wall Street." That Quaalude scene was worth the extra money alone, though.

Sometimes all it takes is one movie to elevate your career from good to great. Such was the case with Johnny Depp, when he struck gold with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. After the resounding success of the first three movies, Depp earned a reported and quite unheard-of $55 million for "On Stranger Tides," plus, you guessed it, a percentage of the profits. At the end of the day, Depp took home almost $60 million for that movie alone, and is now earning the A-list fee of $20 million per movie.

Before we feel even poorer from our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Keanu Reeves
$30 Million for "The Matrix" Sequels + 15% of Gross = $206 Million Approximately

Angelina Jolie
$18 Million for "Maleficent"

Harrison Ford
$65 Million for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

Will Smith
$20-30 Million Per Movie + Profits

Adam Sandler
$15-20 Million Per Movie

Talk about a miraculous comeback! After battling legal and drug problems for many years, Robert Downey, Jr. returned with a vengeance in the 21st century. After scoring the coveted role of Tony Stark in the "Iron Man" films, the series – and the movie industry in general - has been particularly good to him. On top of his usual $15-20 million salary, he was able to score up to a $75 million payday for "Iron Man 3.” Reported as the highest-paid actor for two years running, RDJ will only continue this streak with his $50 million salary for the "Avengers" movies. Suffice it to say, Robert has it pretty darn good.

Do you agree with our list? Who is your favorite actor to command a big salary? For more wealthy top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.