The least surprising news of the day involves pay — how male actors still crush their female counterparts in financial compensation.
Forbes says: “The top 10 actors banked a cumulative $488.5 million — nearly three times the $172.5 million combined total of the 10 top-earning women. While only three actresses made more than $20 million in 12 months, 16 actors broached the mark.”
We’ll let slide the fact that many women call themselves actors.
Movieweb.com dissected the numbers as well.
“After ‘winning’ the coveted title of the world’s highest paid actor in 2016, Dwayne Johnson came up just a bit short of taking home that title for two years in a row. … ‘The Last Knight’ star Mark Wahlberg came out on top instead this year, earning $68 million before taxes, through Forbes’ 12-month scoring period.
Johnson earned $65 million, just a bit more than his 2016 tally of $64.5 million, from movies including “The Fate of the Furious” and “Baywatch.”
Vin Diesel was third with $54.5 million, followed by Adam Sandler ($50.5 million) and Jackie Chan ($49 million). Down the list were Robert Downey Jr. ($48 million), Tom Cruise ($43 million) and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan ($38 million), Salman Khan ($37 million) and Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million).
Emma Stone, with $26 million from movies like “La La Land,” was first among women but 15th overall. Jennifer Aniston made $25.5 million and Jennifer Lawrence $24 million.
Forbes says the gender pay disparity comes down to roles.
“In release schedules dominated by superhero movies and brawny blockbusters, there are simply fewer parts for women that pay the sizable backend profits that result in leading men’s large paydays, or the franchise sequels that permit aggressive negotiation for favorable deals.”
According to a 2016 study, Forbes says women comprise just 28.7 percent of all speaking roles in movies and only a quarter of roles for characters over the age of 40 — “an ageism and lack of opportunity not facing Hollywood’s leading men.”