In recent years there has been a lot of talk about the gender pay gap between men and women. That may soon have to change, as Forbes has just released their list of the highest-grossing actors at the box office for 2016. Not only did several women place in the top five, butScarlett Johanssoncame out on top, outgrossing several of her male Marvel Studios co-stars.
Forbesdetermined the list by looking at the movies released in 2016 and compared the box office take with the actors who appeared in the movies.Scarlett Johanssoncame out on top mostly because ofCaptain America: Civil War, which wound up being the highest-grossing movie of 2016 overall ($1.15 billion). She also got a little boost fromHail, Caesar!, which helped her to edge outChris EvansandRobert Downey Jr., who both tied for second place.
In addition toScarlett Johansson,Margot RobbieandAmy Adamsboth made the top five.Margot Robbiecame in at number four, largely thanks toSuicide Squad, but she also starred inThe Legend of Tarzanwhich gave her the edge.Amy Adamsstarred inBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is where the lion’s share of her total came from, but she also got a nice chunk of her box office take from the sci-fi hitArrival.Rogue One: A Star Wars StorystarFelicity Jonesalso made the list at number nine with $805 million. Though,Star Warsis going to keep raking it in at the box office, so she could wind up overtaking a few others on the list.
There may still be a fairly large pay gap between men andwomen in Hollywood, butJohansson’s recent success is helping to prove that women can be just as big of a box office draw as men can. Earlier this year, she was named the top-grossing actress of all time, which was thanks to the success ofCaptain America: Civil War. She also starred inLucyin 2014 and in a somewhat under the radar fashion, led that movie to a very impressive $463 million worldwide take. Despite some controversy, she will also be taking on the lead role in the upcomingGhost in the Shelllive-action adaptation, and Marvel has stated that they are “committed” to doing aBlack Widowsolo movie at some point, which is something fans have been wanting for a long time now. So she should remain a massive box office draw for the foreseeable future.
The rest of the list was unsurprisingly dominated by actors who appeared in comic book movies.Ben Affleckcame in at number six with $1.02 billion. He was able to edge out hisBatman V Superman: Dawn of Justiceco-starHenry Cavill, thanks to his thrillerThe Accountant.Henry Cavillcame in at number seven, outpacingRyan Reynoldswho made the list thanks toDeadpool, which is now the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever. Lastly,Will Smithcame in at number 10, almost entirely thanks toSuicide Squad. You can check out the full list for yourself below.
