She headed to the stars in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity last year, and now Sandra Bullock has rocketed to the top of Forbes’ list of highest earning actresses. Bullock dominates the chart with $51 million in earnings between June 2013 and June 2014. She has Cuarón’s space thriller to thank. The film became one of the highest grossing movies of 2013, raking in $716 million at the global box office. Of course, Bullock does have Oscar-winning appeal on her side, with one golden statue for The Blind Side.
Coming in at the number two earning spot is the ever popular Jennifer Lawrence, who earned $34 million. Forbes points out that her debut in The Hunger Games franchise brought her less than a million in take-home pay. Jennifer Aniston is hanging on at the number three spot, thanks to her business savvy — taking smaller upfront pay for bigger dividends in movie profits. She earned $31 million during the June to June time period. Gwyneth Paltrow boasts $19 million in movie earnings, but it’s a pittance compared to her Iron Man costar Robert Downey Jr. He earned $75 million during the same period and topped Forbes' chart of highest earning actors. Angelina Jolie (last year’s number one) and Cameron Diaz tie for the number five spot, but we expect to see Jolie’s number rise next year after profit sharing for Maleficent is taken into consideration.
If you’re wondering how these earnings are calculated, Forbes collected data from agents, producers, lawyers and other industry heads during the 12-month period. The magazine did not, however, account for taxes, agent fees and other costs.
