Scarlett Johansson’s role as Marvel superhero Black Widow catapulted her to the top of Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid actresses on Thursday, landing her ahead of Angelina Jolie.
The 33-year-old actress took in US$40.5 million in pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2017, to June 1, 2018, which quadrupled her income from the previous year, according to Forbe’s calculations.
Johansson played Black Widow in this year’s hit movie Avengers: Infinity War and will return to the role in the 2019 installment from Marvel Studios.
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Jolie earned $28 million, largely thanks to a payment for the film Maleficent 2, scheduled for release in 2020.
Jennifer Aniston came in third with $19.5 million. The actress still earns residual income from the 1990s sitcom, Friends. She also received money from endorsements of products including Smartwater brand and Johnson & Johnson’s Aveeno.
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Jennifer Lawrence, who starred in the underperforming films Mother! and Red Sparrow was fourth on the Forbes list with continued earnings from her role in the X-Men series.
The 28-year-old actress also earned money from an endorsement contract with fashion brand Christian Dior. Her $18 million income was $6 million less than the year before.
Reese Witherspoon took fifth place this year with $16.5 million thanks to her part in A Wrinkle in Time and the upcoming season of Big Little Lies.
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Mila Kunis came in sixth place this year with $16 million. The voice of Meg on Family Guy scored big with the sequel of Bad Moms Christmas.
Julia Roberts is behind Kunis with $13 million, with earnings from older movies and a Lancôme endorsement. Roberts had huge box office success with Wonder this year as well.
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Cate Blanchett is in eighth place with $12.5 million with the forthcoming The House with a Clock in Its Walls and 2018 Thor: Ragnarok making up the bulk of her earnings.
Melissa McCarthy is in ninth place with $12 million for upcoming movies including The Happytime Murders and Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Gal Gadot was the only newcomer to make the list this year, taking the 10th spot. She earned her spot due to a recent Revlon endorsement and with her salary for the Wonder Woman sequel, set to hit theatres in 2019 titled, Wonder Woman 1984.
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Last year’s highest-paid actress, Oscar-winning La La Land star Emma Stone, fell out of the top 10.
The 2018 Forbes list of highest-paid actors is scheduled to be released next week. Last year, Mark Wahlberg led the pack with $68 million thanks to his paydays for movies Daddy’s Home 2 and Transformers: The Last Knight.
The magazine compiles its annual celebrity earnings lists from box office and Nielsen data, as well as from interviews with industry insiders.
—With files from Reuters
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