Thanks to a lucrative contract with streaming giant Netfilx, long-time funnyman Adam Sandler has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid actors for 2023.
Remarkably, none of the star’s films hit theatres last year but with a whopping four flicks available via the online platform, viewers couldn’t get enough of “The Sandman”.
Releasing You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah, Leo, Murder Mystery 2, and The Out-Laws across the calendar year, the 57-year-old pocketed a cool $US73 million ($111 million) for his work.
Coming in second place was homegrown talent Margot Robbie, who has been the talk of Barbie Land, Hollywood and naturally Australia since news that she would even be playing the blonde icon was announced.
The Queenslander also starred in the romance comedy Asteroid City, which bumped her total year’s earnings to $US59 million ($90 million).
Robbie’s co-star Ryan Gosling came in tied for fourth for his role as toy boy Ken, with the film’s biggest Oscars rival Oppenheimer elevating Matt Damon equally alongside him — not to mention his Michael Jordan biopic Air with ol’ pal Ben Affleck.
Action hero Tom Cruise assumed the familiar role of leading man in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, securing bronze in the list with $US45 million ($68 million) but more importantly, finished the year with all of his joints intact after more death-defying stunt work.
Jennifer Aniston — who took sixth place — largely has pal Sandler to thank for her continued film success, but anchored TV drama The Morning Show’s third season to wide acclaim.
The remaining four spots were filled by some of the biggest shoes to walk down Hollywood Boulevard in recent times, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jason Statham, Ben Affleck and Denzel Washington rounding out the top 10.