SRK, Salman, Akshay part of Forbes’ highest paid actors list

NEW YORK:  Indian superstars Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are among the top 10 highest paid actors in the world in a list compiled by Forbes that has been topped by “Transformers” actor Mark Wahlberg.

            Shahrukh is at the eighth spot on the list with earnings of 38 million dollars, followed by Salman on the ninth position with 37 million dollars.

            Akshay is completing the top 10 with 35.5 million dollar earnings.

            Wahlberg is Hollywood’s highest-paid leading man, earning USD 68 million in the scoring period. Forbes said the Boston native recorded his highest-ever payday thanks to soaring fees for movies such as “Transformers: The Last Knight” and the forthcoming “Daddy’s Home 2”.

            Wahlberg replaced last year’s top-ranked star, Dwayne Johnson who comes in at the second spot with 65 million dollar earnings.

            On the third spot is “The Fate of the Furious” star Vin Diesel with USD 54.5 million earnings.

            Rounding out the top five is Adam Sandler at the number four position with 50.5 million dollars and Jackie Chan on number five with USD 49 million dollars.

            Sandler returns to the list courtesy the lucrative deal with Netflix that allows him to produce his own movies for the platform.

            The world’s 20 highest-paid actors tallied a combined USD 720 million between June 2016 and June 2017, before fees and taxes.

            A quarter of this year’s list hail from outside the US, including the three stars from Bollywood.

            Forbes said this year, newcomers comprise one fifth of the list, including Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo.

            Hollywood’s highest-paid actors continue to out-earn their female counterparts, Forbes said adding that the top 10 actors banked a cumulative USD 488.5 million– nearly three times the USD 172.5 million combined total of the 10 top-earning women. While only three actresses made more than USD 20 million in 12 months, 16 actors broached the mark, it said. (AGENCIES)