As sad as it is to see people making that much money to play make-believe, it is even sadder to see the trend in the list...Where are all the ladies.  The top 20 actors are all Men!  Come On!  

Does the figure include just what they've acted in, or is what these folks earn by producing, directing, etc. included?  I think some of the top ten may wear more than one hat, so if income from other jobs is included, it may give some more justification.  Plus, what about royalties from prior projects?  Just too much that's not clear.

I don't think it's a question of "what have you done for me lately?" so much as "what have you ever done?"
Celebrities in general are the most over-paid, most irrelevant people on the planet, and, yet, we glorify them while teachers, emergency responders, and the soldiers defending our country scrape by.  What does that say about us?

I agree that they're all over paid for what they do, and several of those guys do, as you said, phone it in.  Is anyone lining up to see the next Eddie Murphy or Nicolas Cage movie anymore?  NO.  So stop paying them so much!
However, in a way I can understand it a bit in a few exceptions.  Indiana Jones 4, as mediocre as it turned out to be, grossed over $780 million, more than 4xs its bloated, $185 million budget.  Without Ford, never would have happened. Same for Johnny Depp and the Pirates franchise.
If an actor is integral to a film's success, then it's hard to argue that they don't deserve it, especially if it's a back end deal depending on how well the film actually does.  If you or I were necessary for a product that could clear a profit of over half a billion dollars, I think we'd all want a big piece of the pie too.  Ford's huge payday is actually less than 9% of the film's box office.
Gross to think of an actor getting tens of millions for a few months of work, especially in these economic times?  Absolutely.  But Mr. Ford can thank you and I and everyone who went to see IJ4, because we're the ones who paid him.

Well there is a difference:  Actors are INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS, while CEOs are the heads of large organizations where MANY CONTRIBUTE, but ONLY THE CEO GETS ABSURDLY OVERPAID !!!  CEOs ought to be paid like ARMY GENREALS, not MOVIE STARS !!!  Only their GREED and CONTROL of the Board of Directors allows them to LOOT THE CORPORATIONS they run, often INTO THE GROUND !!!

Responding to erin from washington dc - an actor is a male.  a woman actor is an actress.  I'm sure there's a list of top earning actresses, so rest assured, women are making money in the biz.

This article in general is short-sighted.  You try to suggest that actors' earnings are only on the films they released in the time period, but there's a lot more to their income than that.  Some actors get paid before production, some get paid after distribution.  And Forbes may be including investments in their calculations too.  Harrison Ford most certainly did not make 65 million off of Indiana Jones.  Don't try to stir up the pot if you don't have all the facts.

Those wages are made by supply and demand.  Movie moguls know those big names will pull in the moviegoers and turn a profit.  Since the list of people who can do such a thing is small, the wages are high.

I think it blows considering that so many admirable professions make next to nothing.  

Athletes and entertainers make millions doing what we did as children......make believe and playing sports.

I agree with John.  Celebrities are the most over-paid, irrelevant people yet some of the highest paid.  I agree, the people from the civil sector; teachers, emergency workers, and military personnel (not the high ups that already get paid a lot)are the people that deserve a lot of money.  

I never can believe that celebrities are paid such large amounts of money for entertaiment. Maybe the big names pull in moviegoers but I am hard pressed to think of one movie that has interested me enough in the last year to pay $15+ to see it!  

no human is worth that amount of money.  here we are in a struggling economy & have homeless children/families all over & they make this money in a two month time.  ridiculous

How many Police Officers and Fire Fighters actually died in the line of duty and not in a movie who'll never come back to do a sequel deserves more?

They deserve more than a pretend cop or grown man or woman playing the same games we did for fun and free as a kid. I hope one day we'll realize our priorities and truly reward those who deserve and earned it.

Um in response to Jon, Los Angeles many actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow describe themselves as an "actor" in the industry not an actress. So, a little bit of misunderstanding there, but this list is for male actors only. Also, since when is pretending to do work ever paid such a huge amount. I can go to work and pretend to pick up the phones and assist people, does that mean I get a bonus? No, but there's nothing that we can do about it, other than refuse to go and watch their movies. Hollywood's execs will watch their attendance numbers go down even further watch out. Yes, then they'll increase ticket prices and that will drive demand down even further, then all we will have left is straight to DVD.

Let's not forget all the freebies they all get. while the mother of 4 is trying to keep food in their bellies nad a roof over their heads. why don't some of these high paid actors help out. Give up a million to some of these homeowners.  

Try paying Police,Firefighters,Teachers,Nurses etc. a decent wage instead of paying these morons obnoxious sums of money!!!!

Oh for crying out loud, stop being a bunch of jealous haters already. It's a job that pays alot of money and regardless of how insignificant people think it is, I highly doubt any one of you would turn down $20 million or more a picture to pretend to be sad, happy, or in love. The average individual does not strive for mediocrity but the reality is, so many individuals will remain to be "average" and that's just a fact of life. To compare their salaries to the current state of the economy is ridiculous. Actors have been making that much money for years and while they are infact unbelievably overpaid, people still continue to flock to the newstands to buy the magazines they're in, or go to the cinema to see the movies they're in, etc. The salary list is positively mindboggling but you all sound like a bunch of whining crybabies. Sure police, fire, emergency personnel and so on are very significant jobs that deserve a better salary but the fact of the matter is, they never had one and it just goes on to prove what a shallow world we live in. Tom Cruise made $60 million for Mission Impossible and the average policeman makes say, $35-40,000 a year? The odds of Tom Cruise dying on the set of a movie are pretty close to nill whereas the odds of a policeman or fireman dying in the line of duty is substantially more possible but guess what? Joe Blow CHOSE to be a fireman or a policeman or an emergency worker and with that choice comes risk that can very well be fatal. Soldiers CHOOSE to be soldiers and while we're eternally grateful, these are the facts. Does it suck? Sure but that's life. You can cry and moan about it or you can try to enjoy your life the best way you can. My life doesn't revolve around a celebrity's salary or fame and yours shouldn't either. You want to see the celebs stop making so much money? STOP GOING TO SEE THEIR MOVIES! STOP BUYING THEIR DVD'S! STOP BUYING THE MAGAZINES THEY'RE IN. Trust me, when their popularity nosedives so will their salaries. Two fine examples - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

America, made in hollywood!

I agree with Kim. And what you have to realize is that they (big money/draw actors) are a business in of themselves with there own set of "employes" to pay. Yes, if they didn't make that much money they wouldn't have employes, but even so thay would still have to pay their agent at at least 5% to 10% a pop. And I do believe that "actors" contribute to Charities. Again, Yes! More than likely for a tax right off, but that doesn't mean that the charities don't appreciate the big donation that might not have been if not for the "actors" payday.  As for the highly paid athlete, he or she has a short shelf life and some are taken out to soon. So it's gamble for them and some hit the jack pot. Humm I guess the same can be said for actors. OK, I'm off that soap box. Next?

I can't believe that Christian Bale was in the second highest grossing film of all time (without inflation adjustment of course), yet he only made $10 Million?  Granted, that is a lot of money, but compared to the dreck that most of the top 10 put out, he is a relative bargain!

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