While the notion of him being bested by anyone may seem antithetical to Dwayne Johnson's very existence, it seems that The Rock is no longer the highest paid actor in Hollywood. While Johnson topped 2016's list, the top spot this year goes to his Pain and Gain costar, Mark Wahlberg.
Mark Wahlberg earned an estimated $68 million in 2017, $3 million more than Dwayne Johnson's 2017 total. Wahlberg has both the recent Transformers: The Last Knight and the upcoming Daddy's Home 2 to thank for his successful franchise returns. Johnson, meanwhile, was bolstered in 2017 by The Fate of the Furious, Baywatch and the upcoming Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. That's all in addition to the star's HBO series, Ballers, which happens to include Wahlberg among its executive producers. Forbes then reports that on Dwayne's Johnson's tail on the highest paid actors of 2017 list is his Fast and Furious co-star, Vin Diesel. Then, thanks to his massive deal with Netflix, Adam Sandler edges out both Jackie Chan and Robert Downey, Jr. Here's the full list:
1. Mark Wahlberg, $68 million2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, $65 million3. Vin Diesel, $54.5 million4. Adam Sandler, $50.5 million5. Jackie Chan, $49 million6. Robert Downey, Jr., $48 million7. Tom Cruise, $43 million8. Shah Rukh Khan, $38 million9. Salman Khan, $37 million10. Akshay Kumar, $35.5 million
While those last three names on the list may not be so recognizable to American audiences, Bollywood fans know them as three of India's biggest film stars. Meanwhile, the majority of slots 11 through 20 are comprised of Marvel Cinematic Universe stars. In comparison with the Distinguished Competition's big screen stars, only Green Lantern's Ryan Reynolds appears in the top 20 among male stars (#15 with $21.5 million), with Amy Adams then landing on the list of highest paid actresses (#10 with $ 11.5 million).
While Dwayne Johnson may not have the number one spot on this year's list, don't even think about counting out The Rock to retake the top slot. 2018 will see Johnson re-teaming with San Andreas director Brad Peyton for the video game adaptation Rampage in April. Then in July, Johnson is working with Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber again for the blockbuster Skyscraper. There's also said to be a Fast and the Furious franchise spinoff movie on the way that will team Johnson's Luke Hobbs with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. If rumors are to be believed about on-set conflicts between Johnson and Vin Diesel, whatever feelings Johnson may have about taking second place to Mark Wahlberg could easily pale in comparison to the pride of topping Diesel by more than $10 million.
While there are a few stars who are more likely to appear again than others, next year's list could change dramatically as new casting announcements come in. You can stay up to date on what's coming to theaters in the near future by checking out our schedule of upcoming movie releases.
