fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

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

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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 27 October 2022^[update].

Rank	Actor	Worldwide total[3]	Top-grossing film	Films	Average
1	Scarlett Johansson	$14,522,750,835	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	33	$440,083,359
2	Robert Downey Jr.	$14,396,065,966	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	43	$334,792,232
3	Samuel L. Jackson	$14,365,112,007	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	64	$224,454,875
4	Chris Hemsworth	$11,945,886,832	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	25	$477,835,473
5	Chris Pratt	$11,742,676,900	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	21	$559,175,090
6	Tom Cruise	$11,544,828,597	Top Gun: Maverick ($1,484,714,485)	43	$268,484,386
7	Chris Evans	$11,280,325,003	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	29	$388,976,724
8	Zoe Saldaña	$11,063,398,205	Avatar ($2,910,370,239)	29	$381,496,490
9	Tom Hanks	$10,691,104,235	Toy Story 4 ($1,073,064,540)	55	$194,383,713
10	Vin Diesel	$10,537,096,327	Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754)	27	$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 27 October 2022^[update].

Rank	Actor	Worldwide total[4]	Top-grossing film	Films	Average
1	Stan Lee	$30,605,726,750	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	49	$624,606,668
2	Samuel L. Jackson	$27,710,678,446	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	139	$199,357,399
3	Frank Welker	$17,443,170,518	Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1,123,794,079)	112	$155,742,594
4	John Ratzenberger	$16,769,266,754	Incredibles 2 ($1,242,805,359)	52	$322,485,899
5	Robert Downey Jr.	$15,728,830,837	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	67	$234,758,669
6	Bob Bergen	$15,707,280,114	Minions ($1,157,271,759)	60	$261,788,002
7	Scarlett Johansson	$15,387,863,830	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	51	$301,722,820
8	Andy Serkis	$15,197,787,310	Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,064,615,817)	35	$434,222,495
9	Benedict Cumberbatch	$15,074,872,123	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	42	$358,925,527
10	Alan Tudyk	$15,006,910,283[dubious – discuss]	Frozen II ($1,444,735,491)	40	$375,172,757
11	Warwick Davis	$14,966,069,724[dubious – discuss]	Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2,064,615,817)	24	$623,586,239
12	Jon Favreau	$13,971,071,386	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	41	$340,757,839
13	Chris Evans	$13,756,133,059	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	42	$327,526,978
14	Chris Pratt	$13,459,905,517	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	35	$384,568,729
15	Paul Bettany	$13,401,876,924[dubious – discuss]	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	33	$406,117,483
16	Dwayne Johnson	$12,830,162,560	Furious 7 ($1,514,553,486)	50	$256,603,251
17	Vin Diesel	$12,567,664,120	Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754)	35	$359,076,118
18	Idris Elba	$12,565,649,969	Avengers: Infinity War ($2,048,359,754)	48	$261,784,374
19	Chris Hemsworth	$12,435,032,946	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	27	$460,556,776
20	Don Cheadle	$12,417,897,080	Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,732,053)	46	$269,954,284

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

• Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll
• Lists of highest-grossing films
• List of highest-grossing film directors
• List of highest-grossing film producers
• List of highest-paid film actors
• Bankable star
• Movie star

References

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