Some actors make tens of millions of dollars at the worldwide box office every year, and that's how get on the list of highest grossing actors of all time. Over the past decade of filmmaking, many of the old rules of stardom have changed. The notion of the A-List actor – a figure of such incredible fame and audience allure that their name alone can guarantee financial success – has greatly shifted in the new blockbuster age.

Now, the money makers are franchises, familiar intellectual properties, and years-long series where the brand attracts more attention than those playing the key parts. What this means is that a Marvel actor can have billions of dollars of grosses to their names thanks to their involvement in those films, but there’s no guarantee that stardom will carry over to commercial glory when they headline a completely different title. That’s not to say that stardom is worthless now.

Related: The Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2018 (So Far)

The importance of international box office success, especially in regions like China, has seen the clout of certain actors increase over others. However, there is still a reason that the majority of the highest grossing actors today are Avengers stars. To show how much this has impacted the box office, we’re taking a look at the 15 highest grossing actors at the box office (based on the worldwide totals of all their movies), not adjusted for inflation.

15. Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt as Owen in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom
  • Top Movies Credited: Jennifer's Body (2009), Moneyball (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Lego Movie (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Jurassic World (2015), Passengers (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
  • Domestic: $1,169,054,669 (as leading actor), $1,753,221,722 (as lead ensemble member), $420,542,717 (as supporting actor), $18,389,433 (other)
  • International: $2,086,944,533 (as leading actor), $2,509,631,443 (as lead ensemble member), $417,111,869 (as supporting actor), $15,922,905 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $7,518,852,367
  • Average: $626,571,031 (from 12 films)

Chris Pratt became a blockbuster star after first appearing in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, and then took things to the next level with the overwhelming success of Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World, both of which released one year apart. Despite having fewer appearances in the MCU than his other leading contemporaries, Pratt is one of the leading stars of two major franchises, which is what boosted his overall box office performance as an actor into the top 15 list. Interestingly, Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson are the only two actors with two films grossing over $1 billion in 2018. Pratt's sure come a long way from being a TV star on Everwood and Parks and Recreation.

14. Dwayne Johnson

The Rock in Skyscraper
  • Top Movies Credited: The Mummy Returns (2001), Doom (2005), Fast Five (2011), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Hercules (2014), Furious 7 (2015), San Andreas (2015), Moana (2016), The Fate of the Furious (2017), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Rampage (2018)
  • Domestic: $1,841,588,089 (as leading actor), $810,856,927 (as lead ensemble member), $1,010,604,745 (as supporting actor), $192,264,688 (other)
  • International: $3,009,343,992 (as leading actor), $1,937,420,097 (as lead ensemble member), $1,738,247,364 (as supporting actor), $107,251,182
  • Worldwide Total: $7,599,209,105
  • Average: $271,400,325 (from 28 films)

From WWE wrestler to Hollywood superstar, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s career trajectory frequently defies belief. While he headlined a number of original properties before joining the Fast and Furious franchise, it’s that series that catapulted him to a new level of fame. Johnson is one of the few actors who can join an ailing or lesser-known franchise late in the game and elevate it to box office glory. He’s also one of the few actors working today whose name can sell as many tickets as the intellectual property the film is based on. Johnson has used that power to make old-school crowd-pleasing action fare like Rampage, and he’s in no danger of slowing down any time soon. After all, he's slated to join the DCEU as Black Adam and is co-headlining a Fast & Furious spinoff, titled Hobbs & Shaw, in 2019.

13. Rupert Grint

Rupert Grint Harry Potter
  • Top Movies Credited: Harry Potter series (2001 - 2011), Charlie Countryman (2013), Moonwalkers (2015)
  • Domestic: $2,072,738,993 (as leading actor), $317,684,888 (as lead ensemble member)
  • International: $4,679,903,079 (as leading actor), $671,041,017 (as lead ensemble member)
  • Worldwide Total: $7,741,367,977
  • Average: $595,489,844 (from 13 films)

As one of the central actors at the heart of the Harry Potter series, Rupert Grint has kept by far the lowest profile. Indeed, he hasn’t been in a film since 2015, and is instead mostly sticking to television series like Snatch, not to mention starring in M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming Apple series. But the fact that he’s on this list above one of the biggest stars on the planet is a testament to how popular the Harry Potter movies were when they released in theaters (and continue to be to this day).

12. Chris Evans

Steve Rogers holding the Captain America shield on his arm in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  • Top Movies Credited: Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Cellular (2004) Fantastic Four (2004), Sunshine (2007), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Domestic: $415,128,925 (as leading actor), $2,531,775,589 (as lead ensemble member), $331,114,058 (as supporting actor), $334,286,550 (other)
  • International: $450,670,453 (as leading actor), $4,508,262,888 (as lead ensemble member), $293,629,651 (as supporting actor), $546,969,390 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $7,905,837,855
  • Average: $343,732,081 (from 23 films)

Captain America himself, Chris Evans, had already cracked the superhero market when he played the Human Torch in the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies in the mid-2000s, but the box office clout of Chris Evans came when he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2011. Outside of the MCU, Evans has kept a low-key actor profile, sticking to indies, like Gifted, but he’s made so many appearances in the franchise as Steve Rogers that he remains a box office power above others in the movies.

11. Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana in James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
  • Top Movies Credited: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Star Trek (2009), Avatar (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Domestic: $917,894,197 (as leading actor), $2,162,953,081 (as lead ensemble member), $524,182,734 (as supporting actor), $117,963,959 (other)
  • International: $2,104,789,482 as leading actor, $2,850,802,676 (as lead ensemble member), $569,590,463 (as supporting actor), $61,311,333 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $8,036,439,436
  • Average: $321,457,577 (from 25 films)

All too often, Zoe Saldana's box office clout is underestimated. On top of her work as Gamora in the MCU, she starred in the first Pirates of the Caribbean film and played Uhura in all three Star Trek reboot movies. Then there's James Cameron's Avatar, which remains the highest grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office. If the Avatar sequels keep up that pace at the box office, then it's certainly possible Saldana can become the highest grossing actor/actress in the world.

Page 2 of 3: Highest Grossing Actors: #10 - #6

Billy Lee spreading his arms under the rain in Bad Times at the El Royale

10. Chris Hemsworth

  • Top Movies Credited: Star Trek (2009), Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Blackhat (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), Ghostbusters (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
  • Domestic: $353,467,567 (as leading actor), $2,667,311,985 (as lead ensemble member), $316,614,207 (as supporting actor)
  • International: $539,252,693 (as leading actor), $4,553,803,873 (as lead ensemble member), $171,372,739 (as supporting actor)
  • Worldwide Total: $8,113,836,118
  • Average: $405,691,806 (from 20 films)

After leaving his native Australia and work on the soap opera Home and Away, Chris Hemsworth made the leap to Hollywood and almost immediately landed a small but pivotal role in the Star Trek reboot. Soon after, he joined the MCU as Thor, and the rest is history. As with a majority of actors on this list, being part of the MCU is what has bolstered Hemsworth’s box office power, but he’s also mixed it up with films like Ghostbusters and Vacation. But now that he's slated to leave the MCU after Avengers 4, he could be overtaken by another actor in the near future.

9. Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • Top Movies Credited: Harry Potter series (2001 – 2011), The Woman in Black (2012), Victor Frankenstein (2015), Swiss Army Man (2016), Now You See Me 2 (2016), Beast of Burden (2018)
  • Domestic: $2,141,551,050 (as leading actor), $382,651,090 (as lead ensemble member), $110,212,700 (as supporting actor), $13,491,653 (other)
  • International: $4,787,340,899 (as leading actor), $920,429,486 (as lead ensemble member), $30,911,197 (as supporting actor), $14,000,000 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $8,231,972,525
  • Average: $411,598,626 (from 20 films)

For the rest of his career, Daniel Radcliffe will be known as Harry Potter. The Wizarding World series has made over $9 billion worldwide (making it the third highest grossing franchise ever), thus allowing Radcliffe the ability to do whatever he wants for the rest of his career without panicking about the grosses - and that's perhaps why he's avoided joining another blockbuster film franchise in recent years, even though there are plenty to choose from. But even if he does mostly indie films for the rest of his life, the Harry Potter grosses will keep his name in the headlines.

8. Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Fury in the Avengers
  • Top Movies Credited: Goodfellas (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Menace II Society (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Hard Eight (1996), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), xXx (2002), The Incredibles (2004), Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Django Unchained (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), The Hateful Eight (2015), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Incredibles 2 (2018)
  • Domestic: $1,525,952,436 (as leading actor), $2,318,049,540 (as lead ensemble member), $3,780,739,550 (as supporting actor), $1,469,449,288 (other)
  • International: $1,349,115,861 (as leading actor), $3,706,047,004 (as lead ensemble member), $4,786,966,400 (as supporting actor), $3,955,934,901 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $8,899,164,841
  • Average: $156,125,699 (from 57 films)

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood, so it's not surprising to see him as one of the highest grossing actors in the industry. Alongside award-winning titles like Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Hard Eight, he’s become a regular feature in blockbusters and franchises. The Star Wars prequels, Jurassic Park, and his voice work in Pixar’s The Incredibles made him a box office power long before he donned the eyepatch to play Nick Fury. He’s a favorite of Quentin Tarantino, he does every genre, and he even did Snakes on a Plane. He’s an actor whose might should never be under-estimated.

7. Emma Watson

  • Top Movies Credited: Harry Potter series (2001 - 2011), The Bling Ring (2013), Noah (2014), Beauty and the Beast (2017)
  • Domestic: $2,110,809,867 (as leading actor), $827,435,447 (as lead ensemble member), $166,674,594 (as supporting actor), $101,470,202 (other)
  • International: $4,734,419,231 (as leading actor), $1,418,923,439 (as lead ensemble member), $310,879,360 (as supporting actor), $25,068,915 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $9,091,587,984
  • Average: $606,105,866 (from 15 films)

If Emma Watson had hung up her wand after her eight film stint as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series, her status in pop culture history, as well as box office success, would have been secured. But that wasn’t enough, and thanks to two major blockbusters – Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic Noah and the live-action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast – she has a bigger box office gross than her two Harry Potter costars. Interestingly, the Beauty and the Beast film was even one of the highest grossing movies of 2017.

6. Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise looking worried in The Mummy 2017
  • Top Movies Credited: Risky Business (1983), Top Gun (1986), Rain Man (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Days of Thunder (1990), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996), Jerry Maguire (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), War of the Worlds (2005), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Tropic Thunder (2008), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Jack Reacher (2012), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), The Mummy (2017), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
  • Domestic: $3,209,686,729 (as leading actor), $493,773,267 (as lead ensemble member), $436,102,695 (as supporting actor), $306,348,849 (other)
  • International: $4,628,010,736 (as leading actor), $1,075,223,222 (as lead ensemble member) $479,181,951 (as supporting actor), $116,503,000 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $9,406,693,954
  • Average: $241,197,281 (from 39 films)

In an age where the A-List star model is weaker than ever, Tom Cruise remains a bona fide megastar. His international appeal has remained potent, and the Mission: Impossible franchise is evident of that. While Cruise tends to appear in all sorts of movies that perform mediocre to fantastic at the box office - with the rare film even bombing at the box office, like The Mummy - he still has a devout fan base that continues to remain in his corner.

Page 3 of 3: Highest Grossing Actors: #5 - #1

5. Tom Hanks

  • Top Movies Credited: Splash (1984), Big (1988), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Philadelphia (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Toy Story (1995), Saving Private Ryan (1996), Toy Story 2 (1999), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Polar Express (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels and Demons (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Cloud Atlas (2012), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Inferno (2016), The Post (2017)
  • Domestic: $4,396,228,137 (as leading actor), $127,751,988 (as lead ensemble member), $46,678,895 (as supporting actor), $34,346,139 (other)
  • International: $9,035,469,461 (as leading actor), $463,084,484 (as lead ensemble member), $70,078,895 (as supporting actor), $40,067,009 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $9,498,961,247
  • Average: $189,979,225 (from 50 films)

Tom Hanks has had a long and illustrious career in Hollywood (and at the box office), not to mention having multiple Oscars under his belt. What's interesting is that despite not appearing in major blockbuster movies (aside from the Toy Story series), Hanks remains one of the highest grossing stars in the world. That's partly thanks to the strong relationships he has with directors like Steven Spielberg but also that his acting skills and stardom can attract audiences of all ages. Perfect example is The Da Vinci Code, which was the 2nd highest grossing film of 2006, ahead of Pixar, James Bond, and X-Men, though it's worth noting that the movie itself was based on a widely popular book.

4. Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel in Return of Xander Cage
  • Top Movies Credited: Saving Private Ryan (1998), Pitch Black (2000), The Fast and the Furious (2001), xXx (2002), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Riddick (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Domestic: $1,445,783,638 (as leading actor), $1,757,536,303 (as lead ensemble member), $317,355,795 (as supporting actor), $207,957,923 (other)
  • International: $3,067,021,258 (as leading actor), $3,345,762,133 (as lead ensemble member), $338,511,416 (as supporting actor), $155,337,379 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $9,616,103,332
  • Average: $437,095,606 (from 22 films)

When the first film in what would become the epic Fast and Furious franchise premiered, it received mixed reviews and did solid box office, but few could have predicted what it would become, much less how that would affect Vin Diesel. As well as being an executive producer for the majority of the series, Diesel has starred in most Fast and Furious films, giving him the prize of being the head of the eighth highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Outside of driving very fast cars, Diesel has made the Riddick franchise a passion project, then returned to the xXx series, and became the voice of Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, thus giving him a foot in the door to the MCU.

3. Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp Unmasked in 21 Jump Street
  • Top Movies Credited: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Platoon (1986), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Donnie Brasco (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Chocolat (2000), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), The Lone Ranger (2013), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2017), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
  • Domestic: $2,958,681,361 (as leading actor), $692,659,744 (as lead ensemble member), $297,876,370 (as supporting actor), $49,508,329 (other)
  • International: $5,087,659,789 (as leading actor), $1,347,031,431 (as lead ensemble member), $91,093,732 (as supporting actor), $45,362,197 (other)
  • Worldwide Total: $10,086,032,325
  • Average: $201,720,647 (from 50 films)

Johnny Depp’s reputation has taken a serious nosedive over the past couple of years, thanks to abuse allegations made by his ex-wife and multiple reports of bad on-set behavior. Between that and some major flops like The Lone Ranger, it’s easy to forget what a massive risk it was for Disney to allow him to helm the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. At the time, he was mostly known as a kooky character actor and long-time Tim Burton collaborator, and he didn’t have that many big-budget blockbusters to his name. His performance was also lambasted by Disney CEOs, who feared his work as Jack Sparrow would sink the movie before it even opened. Yet it became a game changer for the studio and catapulted Depp into a new level of Hollywood fame. Now, he’s a regular franchise player thanks to the Fantastic Beasts series and continues to appear in top budget blockbuster movies, as well as smaller projects on the side that contribute to his overall gross.

2. Scarlett Johansson

  • Top Movies Credited: The Horse Whisperer (1998), Ghost World (2001), Lost in Translation (2003), Match Point (2005), The Island (2005), The Prestige (2006), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Her (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Lucy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Sing (2016), Ghost in the Shell (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Domestic: $485,690,191 (as leading actor), $3,538,231,607 (as lead ensemble member), $358,540,043 (as supporting actor), $124,443,223 (unclassified)
  • International: $931,313,392 (as leading actor), $5,791,303,195 (as lead ensemble member), $269,875,594 (as supporting actor), $190,655,856 (unclassified)
  • Worldwide Total: $10,746,538,385
  • Average: $398,019,940 (from 27 films)

Before joining the MCU as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson was primarily an indie talent known for works with celebrated auteurs like Sofia Coppola and the Coen Brothers. She had a couple blockbusters under her name but it wasn’t until she appeared in Iron Man 2 (and then later in The Avengers) that she dove into that career direction. In-between the big films, Johansson makes small-budget critical darlings like Under the Skin. Films like Lucy, however, have made her the biggest female star on the planet, despite some of those movies being poorly received overall - and even under-performing blockbusters like Ghost in the Shell have done little to quash her place on this list.

1. Robert Downey Jr.

  • Top Movies Credited: Weird Science (1985), Chaplin (1992), Natural Born Killers (1994), U.S. Marshals (1998), Good Night and Good Luck (2005), Zodiac (2007), Iron Man (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  • Domestic: $1,254,193,216 (as leading actor), $487,336,306 (as supporting actor), $3,284,474,685 (as lead ensemble member)
  • International: $1,206,172,684 (as leading actor), $200,078,688 (as supporting actor), $5,562,609,181 (as leading ensemble member)
  • Worldwide Total: $11,307,449,766
  • Average: $269,224,994 (from 42 films)

Given his absolute domination of the international box office, it’s easy to forget that, once upon a time, Robert Downey Jr. was considered a risky bet in Hollywood. The one-time SNL star was a teen idol who had won intense critical acclaim with films like Richard III as well as an Oscar nomination for playing Charlie Chaplin. Then he went through a very public downfall and drug addiction that saw him serve jail time. When he was cast as Tony Stark, it was considered a huge risk. Yet it paid off marvelously, and Downey Jr. could easily claim the credit of being the defining actor of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thanks to his frequent roles throughout the past decade of the franchise, he’s chalked up quite a few box office breakers, but solo efforts like the Sherlock Holmes movies have also helped to bolster his reputation.

More: The Highest Grossing Directors at the Box Office