List of highest-grossing actors explained

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 effects of inflation on cinema ticket prices, a list unadjusted for inflation gives much more weight to later actors.[1] Therefore, gross revenue lists are largely meaningless for comparing acting careers widely separated in time, as many actors from earlier eras will not appear on a modern, unadjusted list, despite their films achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for inflation.[2]

Lead roles

This list only includes leading roles and lead ensemble roles, including voice acting. The list is updated .

RankActorWorldwide totalFilms AverageTop-grossing film
1 $14,627,843,11766 $217,825,848 ($2,794,731,755)[3]
2$14,527,030,793[4] 52 $308,651,830Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [5]
3$14,346,904,62665 $254,705,039Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [6]
4 $14,254,606,62631 $459,358,011Avatar ($2,923,706,026) [7]
5 $14,136,190,39723 $605,670,108Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [8]
6 $12,091,844,41043 $273,891,151 ($1,478,933,621)[9]
7$12,091,815,72628 $431,951,467Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[10]
7 $12,082,125,17927 $442,957,869Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [11]
9 $11,417,543,88728 $402,679,897Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[12]
10 $12,477,890,98929 $388,892,793Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[13]

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 .

RankActorWorldwide totalFilms Average Top-grossing film
1 $30,601,574,433[14] $612,031,489 ($2,794,731,755) [15]
2 $27,774,380,735142$195,594,231Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[16]
3 $18,272,497,80453 $372,908,115Inside Out 2 ($1,508,252,788) [17]
4 $17,442,437,820112$155,736,052 ($1,123,794,079) [18]
5 $15,707,353,00560 $261,789,217Minions ($1,157,271,759) [19]
6$15,663,322,33536 $435,092,287Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [20]
7$15,533,829,92947 $330,507,020Avatar ($2,923,706,026) [21]
8$15,428,096,444$296,694,162Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [22]
9$15,346,079,650$229,045,965Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [23]
10$15,197,137,127$422,142,698 ($2,064,615,817) [24]
11$15,090,526,782 43$350,942,483Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[25]
12$15,034,696,11341 $366,699,905Frozen II ($1,453,683,476) [26]
13$14,971,417,73624 $623,809,072Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,064,615,817) [27]
14$14,140,890,09737 $382,186,219Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[28]
15$13,970,645,911 41$340,747,461Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[29]
16$13,788,085,28551$270,354,613Furious 7 ($1,511,986,364) [30]
17$13,753,699,04542$327,469,025Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755)[31]
18$13,334,065,59751$261,452,267 ($2,048,359,754) [32]
19$13,017,541,89640 $325,438,547Avengers: Endgame ($2,794,731,755) [33]
20$12,783,203,247 [34] 48$266,316,734 ($1,478,933,621)[35]

Earlier eras

Up until 2000

See also: List of films by box office admissions.

A survey by TLA Video in 2000 estimated that the following actors had sold the most movie tickets at the box office.[36] [37]

RankActor Ticket sales
11,168,300,000
2John Wayne1,114,000,000
3Bing Crosby1,077,900,000
4James Stewart981,900,000
5Cary Grant942,500,000
6Spencer Tracy937,200,000
7Gary Cooper878,600,000
8Mickey Rooney867,900,000
9Harrison Ford852,700,000
10Gregory Peck728,000,000

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. 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. 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. 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.

RankActorTotal
(US/Canada rentals)[38]
Top-grossing film
(US/Canada rentals)
Films on chartAverage
1 $113,422,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 17 $6,671,882
2 $110,500,000 Ben-Hur ($38,000,000) 7 $15,785,714
3 $105,075,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000)14 $7,505,357
4 $95,450,000 From Here To Eternity ($12,200,000) 17 $5,614,706
5 $85,825,000Cleopatra ($23,500,000) 10 $8,582,500
6 $79,950,000 Cleopatra ($23,500,000) 7 $11,421,429
7 $77,700,000How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 9 $8,633,333
8 $68,500,000White Christmas ($12,000,000) 11 $6,227,273
9 $65,100,000 Gone with the Wind ($41,200,000) 6 $10,850,000
10 $62,610,000 The Bridge on the River Kwai ($17,195,000) 10 $6,261,000
11 $62,550,000 Operation Petticoat ($9,500,000) 11 $5,686,364
12 $62,150,000Around the World in 80 Days ($22,000,000) 7 $8,878,571
13 $61,250,000How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 6 $10,208,333
14 $58,300,000 The Shaggy Dog ($9,600,000) 8 $7,287,500
15 $57,950,000 How the West Was Won ($23,000,000) 6 $9,658,333
16 $57,450,000 The Robe ($17,500,000) 7 $8,207,143
17 $56,405,000Irma La Douce ($11,250,000) 8 $7,050,625
18 $56,150,000Sayonara ($10,500,000) 9 $6,238,889
19 $54,400,000 Around the World in 80 Days ($22,000,000) 6 $9,066,667
20 $53,900,000 Lover Come Back ($8,500,000) 9 $5,988,889

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Bialik . Carl . January 29, 2010 . How Hollywood Box-Office Records Are Made . . live . August 9, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111101195443/http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/how-hollywood-box-office-records-are-made-889/ . November 1, 2011.
  2. News: Pincus-Roth . Zachary . July 6, 2009 . Best Weekend Never . . live . August 10, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120117004626/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/summer_movies/2009/07/best_weekend_never.single.html . January 17, 2012.
  3. Web site: Samuel L. Jackson . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  4. Web site: Top 100 Stars in Leading Roles at the Worldwide Box Office . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  5. Web site: Scarlett Johansson . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  6. Web site: Robert Downey, Jr. . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  7. Web site: Zoe Saldana . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  8. Web site: Chris Pratt . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  9. Web site: Tom Cruise . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  10. Web site: Vin Diesel . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  11. Web site: Chris Hemsworth . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  12. Web site: Bradley Cooper . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  13. Web site: Chris Evans . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  14. Web site: Top Stars at the Worldwide Box Office . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  15. Web site: Stan Lee . 2023-07-20. The Numbers.
  16. Web site: Samuel L. Jackson . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  17. Web site: John Ratzenberger . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  18. Web site: Frank Welker . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  19. Web site: Bob Bergen . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  20. Web site: Chris Pratt . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  21. Web site: Zoe Saldana . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  22. Web site: Scarlett Johansson . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  23. Web site: Robert Downey, Jr. . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  24. Web site: Andy Serkis . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  25. Web site: Benedict Cumberbatch . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  26. Web site: Alan Tudyk . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  27. Web site: Warwick Davis . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  28. Web site: Vin Diesel . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  29. Web site: Jon Favreau . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  30. Web site: Dwayne Johnson . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  31. Web site: Chris Evans . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  32. Web site: Idris Elba . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  33. Web site: Bradley Cooper . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  34. Web site: Tom Cruise - Box Office .
  35. Web site: Tom Cruise . 2023-07-20 . The Numbers.
  36. Book: Macfarlane, Malcolm . Bing Crosby – Day by Day . 2001 . The Scarecrow Press, Inc . 0-8108-4145-2 . Lanham, Maryland . 670–671 . Chapter 11: Epilogue . March 21, 2022 . http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_10.htm . https://web.archive.org/web/20220223190329/http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/Chapter_10.htm . February 23, 2022 . live.
  37. Web site: Top Stars of All-Time: Estimated Ticket Sales . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20011211143752/http://www.tlavideo.com/templates/top_stars.cfm?c=1&sn=1&v=1 . December 11, 2001 . March 21, 2022 . . Internet Archive.
  38. Beaupre . Lee . January 5, 1966 . Star, Producer, Director Identification With All-Time Top-Grossing Features . . 7.