Highest-Grossing Movie Stars of All Time
There’s no magic formula for making a billion-dollar movie or franchise, but it helps when the cast is known to bring home billions to the box office.
These movie stars are known for their appearances in big-budget, high-grossing films that dominate the box office for months and gross hundreds of millions of dollars all over the globe. And while the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated worldwide theater takes for a decade, not every actor plays comic book heroes on the silver screen.
Can you guess who's No. 1 among the stars whose movies have earned the most money?
56. Leonardo DiCaprio
Worldwide gross: $7.29 billion
* Since box office numbers were heavily skewed since 2020, these numbers reflect a pre-pandemic time at the movie theater.
Bottom Line: Leonardo DiCaprio
Sixteen of Leonardo DiCaprio’s 25 films have made over $100 million worldwide. His highest-grossing film is "Titanic," which made a staggering $2.12 billion in 1997.
His next highest-grossing films are "Inception," "The Revenant" and "Django Unchained," which grossed $828 million, $533 million and $425 million, respectively.
His next film, Quentin Tarantino’s "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," also made a boatload of cash, bringing home over $375 million worldwide.
55. Cameron Diaz
Worldwide gross: $7.48 billion
Bottom Line: Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz has dazzled audiences ever since her big-screen debut in "The Mask," which grossed $351.6 million and remains her sixth highest-grossing film.
She went on to make the classic comedy "There’s Something About Mary," which grossed nearly $370 million worldwide. But her biggest success came a few years later when she voiced Princess Fiona in "Shrek" and its three main sequels.
Those films grossed about $3 billion worldwide (not counting "Puss in Boots"), and a fifth "Shrek" movie is in the works.
54. Chadwick Boseman
Worldwide gross: $7.52 billion
Bottom Line: Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman became one of the world’s most recognizable actors after making the $1.34-billion grossing "Black Panther" in 2018, although his first appearance as the Wakanda superhero came in "Captain America: Civil War."
Boseman has only made 12 movies, but his roles in the aforementioned films and "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" were mammoth moneymakers.
53. Brad Pitt
Worldwide gross: $7.54 billion
Bottom Line: Brad Pitt
Many movies that Brad Pitt has made have grossed over $100 million at the global box office.
His highest-grossing movie is "World War Z," which made $531 million worldwide, followed by "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and "Troy," which grossed $486 million and $483 million, respectively.
In fact, all but seven of Pitt’s 44 movies have made over $100 million.
52. Rupert Grint
Worldwide gross: $7.73 billion
Bottom Line: Rupert Grint
No surprises here: All but $48 million of Rupert Grint’s movie grosses come from the eight "Harry Potter" films, wherein he played Ron Weasley.
51. Bruce Willis
Worldwide gross: $7.84 billion
Bottom Line: Bruce Willis
1988’s "Die Hard" pushed Bruce Willis to worldwide fame, and the five films in the "Die Hard" franchise earned over $1.4 billion dollars.
The twist-ending classic, "The Sixth Sense," and the sappy 1998 blockbuster “Armageddon” are Willis’ highest-grossing films, earning $673 million and $554 million at the worldwide box office, respectively.
50. Michael Caine
Worldwide gross: $7.96 billion
Bottom Line: Michael Caine
With over 60 movies in his filmography and an entire Wikipedia page devoted to his many awards, Michael Caine has had a long and celebrated career.
A few of the 87-year-old actor’s highest-earning films are "The Dark Knight Rises," "The Dark Knight," "Inception," "Interstellar" and "Cars 2."
49. Sebastian Stan
Worldwide gross: $7.97 billion
Bottom Line: Sebastian Stan
The five MCU movies where Sebastian Stan appeared as the Winter Soldier grossed $6.3 billion.
He also played Chris Beck in "The Martian," which grossed over $655 million.
48. Elizabeth Olsen
Worldwide gross: $8.02 billion
Bottom Line: Elizabeth Olsen
We’re not sure if Elizabeth Olsen is the richest Olsen, but she’s certainly the one with the highest-grossing films, thanks to her role as Scarlet Witch in four MCU movies, which grossed over $7.3 billion.
Other than those flicks, her next highest-grossing films were 2014’s "Godzilla," which made $529 million, and "Wind River," which grossed 44.9 million.
47. Josh Brolin
Worldwide gross: $8.11 billion
Bottom Line: Josh Brolin
Making this list was a snap for Josh Brolin, whose portrayal of Thanos will surely go down as one of the best villains in cinema history.
Aside from appearing in "Endgame," "Infinity War" and "Age of Ultron," Brolin starred as Cable in "Deadpool 2," and as a young Tommy Lee Jones in "Men in Black 3."
Both of those movies earned a combined $1.4 billion at the box office.
46. Tyrese Gibson
Worldwide gross: $8.14 billion
Bottom Line: Tyrese Gibson
Ten of Tyrese Gibson’s 19 movies have broken the $100 million mark, with five "Fast and the Furious" movies and three "Transformers" films making up the bulk of the rapper-turned-actor’s movie grosses.
45. Natalie Portman
Worldwide gross: $8.17 billion
Bottom Line: Natalie Portman
An appearance in "Endgame" boosted Natalie Portman’s movie grosses by $2.7 billion (although it was all unused footage from "Thor: The Dark World"), but the 38-year-old actress brought in billions much earlier.
She played Padmé in the "Star Wars" prequels, which grossed $2.5 billion.
44. Woody Harrelson
Worldwide gross: $8.31 billion
Bottom Line: Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson’s highest-grossing films include the "Hunger Games" franchise (worth nearly $3 billion in worldwide grosses), the 2009 disaster film "2012" and a role in the hit anti-superhero movie "Venom," which was definitely not "a turd in the wind" at the box office despite lashings by critics.
Harrelson only plays a small post-credits role in the film, but it basically seals that Harrelson will be playing Carnage in the "Venom" sequel rumored to hit hit theaters soon.
43. Matt Damon
Worldwide gross: $8.36 billion
Bottom Line: Matt Damon
Matt Damon’s leading role in "Good Will Hunting" catapulted him to success, and the 1997 film is Damon’s 14th highest-grossing movie (it made $226 million).
The following year, Damon starred as Private Ryan in "Saving Private Ryan," which grossed $485 million worldwide and remains Damon’s second's highest-grossing film.
"The Martian," which made $655 million globally, is his highest.
42. Daniel Radcliffe
Worldwide gross: $8.38 billion
Bottom Line: Daniel Radcliffe
The "Harry Potter" star made millions and grossed billions as Harry Potter in the franchise’s eight movies, which earned over $7.7 billion worldwide.
He’s estimated to have pocketed some $95.6 million for playing the boy wizard.
41. William Hurt
Worldwide gross: $8.48 billion
Bottom Line: William Hurt
William Hurt played Thunderbolt Ross in "Avengers: Endgame," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Captain America: Civil War" and "The Incredible Hulk."
He also had memorable roles in the 2010 "Robin Hood" reboot, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Vantage Point" and 1998’s "Lost in Space."
40. Karen Gillan
Worldwide gross: $8.76 billion
Bottom Line: Karen Gillan
The Girl Who Waited didn’t have to wait long to find massive success. After her run alongside Matt Smith in "Doctor Who," Karen Gillian appeared as Nebula in both "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."
She co-starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which earned $962 million worldwide, and its sequel made $797 million.
39. Tom Holland
Worldwide gross: $8.82 billion
Bottom Line: Tom Holland
Your new friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has several box-office hits, starting with Tom Holland’s first appearance as the webslinger in 2016’s "Captain America: Civil War."
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" grossed $880 million worldwide, and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" made $580 million in its first week.
38. Michelle Rodriguez
Worldwide gross: $9.01 billion
Bottom Line: Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez’s appearance in five "The Fast and the Furious" movies added over $4 billion to her worldwide movie grosses.
She also played Trudy Chacon in "Avatar" and starred in "Turbo," "S.W.A.T" and "Resident Evil: Retribution."
37. Anthony Daniels
Worldwide gross: $9.33 billion
Bottom Line: Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels has played C-3PO in every major "Star Wars" film since 1977 and even played the neurotic robot in "The Lego Movie."
It’s the only character he has ever played in a feature film.
36. Orlando Bloom
Worldwide gross: $9.382 billion
Bottom Line: Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom’s role as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and two of "The Hobbit" films, as well as his role as Will Turner in four of the "Pirates of the Caribbean," movies made him a top-grossing actor.
Outside of those nine films, he appeared in "Troy," which made nearly $500 million, and "Kingdom of Heaven," which made nearly $219 million worldwide.
35. Stellan Skarsgard
Worldwide gross: $9.383 billion
Bottom Line: Stellan Skarsgard
Stellan Skarsgard has appeared in a bunch of hit movies, including a few from the MCU ("The Avengers," "Age of Ultron" and two "Thor" films).
He played Bootstrap Bill in two "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, which grossed over $2 billion combined. He had roles in "Mamma Mia," 2015’s "Cinderella" and "Angels and Demons," all of which earned almost another $2 billion at the worldwide box office.
34. Tom Hiddleston
Worldwide gross: $9.40 billion
Bottom Line: Tom Hiddleston
Tom Hiddleston’s role as Loki in the MCU is pretty much the only reason he made this list, but the 39-year-old actor has some other tricks up his sleeve.
His roles in "Kong: Skull Island," "War Horse," "Midnight in Paris" and "Crimson Peak" grossed over $350 million worldwide.
33. Stanley Tucci
Worldwide gross: $9.45 billion
Bottom Line: Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is one of Hollywood’s most prolific supporting actors and has been in over 55 films.
He played Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord, in 2017’s "Beauty and the Beast," Joshua Joyce in two "Transformers" films and Caesar Flickerman in the "Hunger Games" movies.
He also managed to get some of that MCU money by playing Dr. Abraham Erskine in "Captain America: The First Avenger," the doctor who turned a feeble Steve Rogers into a superhero.
32. Will Smith
Worldwide gross: $9.50 billion
Bottom Line: Will Smith
Now this is a story all about how Will Smith became one of the highest-grossing actors in town. Well, it’s a short story. Smith gained beloved actor status as the star of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in the '90s, and then went on to make blockbuster movies almost right after the show ended.
His first hit, 1996’s "Independence Day," is his second highest-grossing movie. That film raked $817.4 million worldwide. He played Deadshot in the lackluster-but-popular "Suicide Squad," which earned over $746 million worldwide, along with a string of $100 million movies throughout his 20-plus-year career.
Disney’s 2019 "Aladdin" remake, where Smith plays Genie, has already grossed over $1billion worldwide is his top-grossing movie of all time.
31. Emma Watson
Worldwide Gross: $9.76 billion
Bottom Line: Emma Watson
Emma Watson has done only 19 feature films so far, but half of them of them earned big at the box office.
Eight of those are the "Harry Potter" films, which brought in over $7.7 billion worldwide.
Watson’s role in "Beauty in the Beast" added another $1.26 billion to her total, and at 30 years old, she’s sure to climb the list as she adds more movies to her filmography.
30. Ralph Fiennes
Worldwide gross: $9.77 billion
Bottom Line: Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes made a name for himself playing He Who Must Not Be Named in four "Harry Potter" films, which added about $1.5 billion to his movie grosses and opened up even more acting opportunities.
He plays M in the modern James Bond films "Skyfall" and "Spectre," which grossed $341 million and $207 million, respectively.
And well before those films, he portrayed the Nazi concentration commandant Amon Goth in "Schindler’s List."
29. Helena Bonham Carter
Worldwide gross: $9.84 billion
Bottom Line: Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter has been acting in film since 1986, and perhaps gained most recognition for her role in the cult-hit "Fight Club," which was released in 1999.
Her highest-grossing films are four "Harry Potter" films, where she played Beatrix Lestrange, and "Alice in Wonderland" where she played the White Queen.
2005’s "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," where she played Mrs. Bucket, grossed $475 million worldwide.
28. Morgan Freeman
Worldwide gross: $9.86 billion
Bottom Line: Morgan Freeman
The man with the most soothing voice in Hollywood has made over 60 films, many of which were critically acclaimed and mopped up at the box office.
The "Dark Knight" trilogy, wherein he plays Lucius Fox, grossed over $2.4 billion worldwide, making the series his top-earning franchise.
His other top-grossing films include "Bruce Almighty," "The Lego Movie," "Lucy," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Now You See Me," which grossed over $2 billion combined.
27. Anthony Mackie
Worldwide gross: $9.89 billion
Bottom Line: Anthony Mackie
Anthony Mackie’s role as Falcon in five MCU movies solidified his position on this list, but the 41-year-old New Orleanian also has an additional 39 films to his name.
Some of the highest-grossing include "Real Steel," "Eagle Eye," "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," which grossed over $600 million combined.
26. Harrison Ford
Worldwide gross: $10.05 billion
Bottom Line: Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford got his big break in 1977 with "Star Wars," and it’s still the 78-year-old actor’s third highest-grossing film (it made over $775 million at the worldwide box office). "The Force Awakens" is No. 1 at over $2 billion, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is No. 3 at $786 million.
Three other "Star Wars" films are in Ford’s top five highest-grossing movies, with the other "Indiana Jones" films, "The Fugitive" and "Air Force One" making up the rest of his $10.1 billion in grosses.
He’ll appear again as Indiana Jones in the series' fifth installment, which is slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2022.
25. Liam Neeson
Worldwide gross: $10.25 billion
Bottom Line: Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson has appeared in 76 movies as a lead (49) or supporting actor (27), and his worldwide movie grosses have been somewhat evenly spread out among them.
His highest-grossing film is "Star Wars: Episode One — The Phantom Menace," which made over $1 billion worldwide. His other high-grossing films include the 2010 "Clash of the Titans" remake, "The Lego Movie," "Batman Begins" and "Schindler’s List."
And, of course, there’s the "Taken" franchise, which has earned $930 million worldwide.
24. Tom Cruise
Worldwide gross: $10.32 billion
Bottom Line: Tom Cruise
The real-life inspiration for Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho," Tom Cruise is the star of the $3.5 billion "Mission: Impossible" franchise, along with many, many other hit movies.
Outside of the "Mission: Impossible" films, his biggest single-movie blockbuster hit is 2005’s "War of The Worlds," which grossed over $591 million worldwide.
His net worth is reported to be north of $500 million.
23. Ian McKellen
Worldwide gross: $10.61 billion
Bottom Line: Ian McKellen
Patrick Stewart’s best friend and also internationally revered Shakespearean actor, Ian McKellen, has been performing for over 50 years.
Disney’s 2017 "Beauty and the Beast," wherein he played Cogsworth, made over $1.2 billion worldwide. And then, of course, were the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies, which grossed over $1.84 billion worldwide.
He also played an excellent Magneto in the first wave of "X-Men" movies.
22. Gary Oldman
Worldwide gross: $10.70 billion
Bottom Line: Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman is proof that you can be one of the greatest actors of a generation while also making serious bank.
The 62-year-old Brit starred as Detective Gordon in the critically acclaimed "Dark Knight" franchise, which grossed over $2.46 billion.
He played Sirius Black in several "Harry Potter" flicks and Dreyfus in "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," all of which grossed tons of money at the box office.
21. Tom Hanks
Worldwide gross: $10.710 billion
Bottom Line: Tom Hanks
One of the nicest guys in Hollywood is also one of the world’s best performers at the box office. Tom Hanks has starred in almost 50 movies, with 2006’s "The Da Vinci Code" still being his highest-grossing non-animated film at $767 million.
The "Toy Story" franchise has brought in over $2.9 billion, and "Toy Story 3" and "Toy Story 4" each made over billion.
"Forrest Gump," "Saving Private Ryan," “Cast Away," and "Apollo 13” were his other top-earning films.
20. Johnny Depp
Worldwide gross: $10.711 billion
Bottom Line: Johnny Depp
Nearly half of Johnny Depp’s worldwide grosses came from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, which amassed over $4.5 billion worldwide. Other notable films included the billion-dollar "Alice in Wonderland" from 2010 and "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," which earned over $650 million at the global box office.
Depp has had been embattled with legal issues. He’s in a messy divorce with his ex-wife, Amber Heard, and won a malpractice lawsuit against his former lawyers. But in 2018, Disney dropped Depp from its "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.
Now, the 57-year-old former golden boy is looking to make a comeback.
19. Mark Ruffalo
Worldwide gross: $10.73 billion
Bottom Line: Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo smashed the box office as Hulk in the MCU, which created the bulk of his movie grosses. But he also appeared in commercially successful films like "Shutter Island," "Collateral" and "Now You See Me" and its sequel.
His lowest performing film is the little-seen "What Doesn’t Kill You," a 2008 crime drama which only earned $45,000 at the box office because of a limited release due to the collapse of the film’s production company.
18. Vin Diesel
Worldwide gross: $10.75 billion
Bottom Line: Vin Diesel
He might be Groot in the MCU, but his starring role in the $5.13 billion "Fast and The Furious" franchise is where the 53-year-old action star has made most of his money.
At first, he declined a $25 million payday for the 2003 "2 Fast 2 Furious" sequel, then came back to the franchise years later.
Surprisingly, his role as Private Caparzo in "Saving Private Ryan," which is where his road to fame began, is still his ninth-highest grossing movie.
17. Bradley Cooper
Worldwide gross: $11.35 billion
Bottom Line: Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper’s role as Rocket Raccoon in the MCU may have given his worldwide movie earnings a huge boost, but the 44-year-old has been starring in big-budget flicks for years.
Outside of "Endgame," "Infinity War" and the two "Guardians" movies, Cooper has held starring roles in "The Hangover" franchise ($1.4 billion in worldwide earnings), "Wedding Crashers" and 2018’s "A Star is Born."
"American Sniper," where he played a leading role as the late Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, grossed over $547 million and is one of the highest-grossing war movies of all time.
16. Idris Elba
Worldwide gross: $11.51 billion
Bottom Line: Idris Elba
Idris Elba has appeared in over 35 movies, with the MCU flicks being his top-earners (he played Heimdall, the all-seeing Asgardian).
Additionally, his voice acting work is valuable to producers and directors. Elba voiced Chief Bogo from the $1 billion film, "Zootopia" and Shere Khan from 2016’s "The Jungle Book."
He also played a memorable jerk from Dunder Mifflin corporate as Charles Miner in "The Office," although he probably didn’t earn much for that.
15. Chris Pratt
Worldwide gross: $11.52 billion
Bottom Line: Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt’s entire career changed in 2013 when he left his role as Andy Dwyer on "Parks and Recreation" to star in both "The Lego Movie" and "The Guardians of the Galaxy." Both films were blockbuster hits, with his role as Star-Lord in "Guardians" catapulting him to international fame.
He also starred in "Jurassic World" and "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," which earned over nearly $3 billion worldwide. And he reportedly earned $10 million for "Fallen Kingdom."
At 41 years old and already established as a blockbuster movie star, his worldwide grosses are sure to increase as time goes on.
14. Gwyneth Paltrow
Worldwide gross: $11.57 billion
Bottom Line: Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow’s role as Pepper Potts in the MCU is the main reason for Paltrow’s appearance on this list.
Her roles in "Se7en," "Shakespeare in Love," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "A Perfect Murder" and "Shallow Hal" grossed over $600 million worldwide.
13. Cate Blanchett
Worldwide gross: $11.66 billion
Bottom Line: Cate Blanchett
Before the Australian-born actress gained worldwide recognition for her role as the elf queen Galadriel from "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies, she had already earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for the 1998 film "Elizabeth."
She starred in 2008’s "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which was abysmal, but earned over $786 million worldwide.
She also appeared in the MCU as Hela, the goddess of death, in "Thor: Ragnarok."
12. Chris Evans
Worldwide gross: $11.68 billion
Bottom Line: Chris Evans
Similar to Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans made a name for himself in the MCU. But it wasn’t the first Marvel comic book movie he appeared in — Evans played Johnny Storm in the lackluster 2005 and 2007 "Fantastic Four" films (combined, they earned about $600 million worldwide).
His first appearance as Captain America in "Captain America: The First Avenger" only earned him $300,000, but it made him a star. He worked his way up to around $15 million for "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."
He also had a leading role in the critically acclaimed 2015 sci-fi movie, "Snowpiercer."
11. Chris Hemsworth
Worldwide gross: $11.69 billion
Bottom Line: Chris Hemsworth
Marvel movies made up the vast majority of Chris Harmsworth’s worldwide grosses. And it makes sense.
The actor was plucked from relative obscurity to star as the God of Thunder in the 2011 "Thor."
He has starred in seven Marvel movies, which account for over $9.6 billion of his $11.7 billion total.
10. Don Cheadle
Worldwide gross: $11.77 billion
Bottom Line: Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle jumped on the MCU cash machine early by replacing Terrence Howard as War Machine in 2010’s "Iron Man 2" (Howard was not happy).
Cheadle appeared in six MCU movies as well as the "Oceans 11" franchise, "Traffic," "The Family Man" and "Swordfish."
9. Jeremy Renner
Worldwide gross: $11.93 billion
Bottom Line: Jeremy Renner
After missing "Avengers: Infinity War," Jeremy Renner reappeared in "Avengers: Endgame," adding that movie’s $2.7 billion (so far) worldwide earnings for his final tally.
Outside of his rendition of Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Renner has also starred in "The Bourne Legacy," "American Hustle," "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol" and "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation."
8. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Worldwide gross: $11.94 billion
Bottom Line: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has come a long way from earning $40 per wrestling match at the Big Top flea market in Memphis, Tennessee.
While his movies aren’t near the top 10 in overall gross, he’s one of Hollywood’s top stars. Johnson made $124 million in one year, ranking him as the highest-paid actor in Hollywood as of 2018, according to Forbes.
And if studios want him to tweet about one of his own movies to his millions and millions of followers? That’ll cost an extra $1 million.
7. Zoe Saldana
Worldwide gross: $12.03 billion
Bottom Line: Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana’s role as Gamora in four MCU movies contributed over $6 billion to her worldwide movie earnings.
But she also co-starred in "Avatar" as Neytiri, which grossed over $2.78 billion around the globe.
She also played Nyota Uhura in the modern "Star Trek" franchise, which earned over $1 billion worldwide.
6. Benedict Cumberbatch
Worldwide gross: $12.05 billion
Bottom Line: Benedict Cumberbatch
After playing Sherlock Holmes in the 2010 BBC series "Sherlock," Benedict Cumberbatch seemed to appear everywhere.
He was the voice of (and did motion capture for) Smaug in the "Hobbit" movies, played the main villain for "Star Trek Into Darkness," voiced the titular character in the 2018 "The Grinch" and raked in MCU paydays with his role as Doctor Strange.
5. Andy Serkis
Worldwide gross: $13.18 billion
Bottom Line: Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis' indelible performance as Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies cemented him as one of the finest voice actors around.
In 2005, he played King Kong in Peter Jackon’s "King Kong," and then Caesar in the modern "Planet of the Apes" series.
But his highest-grossing movies are "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," where he played Snoke, and "Black Panther," where he had a memorable role as bad guy Ulysses Klaue.
4. Paul Bettany
Worldwide gross: $13.40 billion
Bottom Line: Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany plays Vision in the MCU, which made up a few billion of his movie grosses.
But he also had roles in blockbusters like "The Da Vinci Code," "A Beautiful Mind," "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."
He might be more of a supporting actor than a leading man, but he sure knows how to pick winning roles.
3. Scarlett Johansson
Worldwide gross: $14.29 billion
Bottom Line: Scarlett Johansson
Similar to Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson’s role as Black Widow started back in 2010 when she made an appearance in "Iron Man 2." Since then, she appeared in six additional MCU movies, all of which contributed significantly to the massive $14.3 billion her movies have earned.
But the 35-year-old star from Manhattan had made a name for herself long before Marvel began sweeping the box office. Mega-hits from Johansson include 2016’s "The Jungle Book," "Sing," "Lucy," "Ghost in the Shell" and "The Horse Whisperer."
Her upcoming Black Widow stand-alone flick is sure to make millions, or possibly a billion, as well.
2. Robert Downey Jr.
Worldwide gross: $15.08 billion
Bottom Line: Robert Downey Jr.
It’s fitting that the pioneer of the MCU is also the second-highest grossing movie star of all time. Robert Downey Jr. has starred as Tony Stark/Iron Man in nine Marvel movies since 2008’s “Iron Man,” all of which earned over $12 billion combined in worldwide grosses.
Outside of the MCU, Downey Jr. starred as Sherlock Holmes in 2009’s "Sherlock Holmes" and its sequel, "A Game of Shadows," which together earned over $1.5 billion.
He is said to have made $100 million per movie for "Endgame" and "Infinity War."
1. Samuel L. Jackson
Worldwide gross: $23.88 billion
Bottom Line: Samuel L. Jackson
One of the most prolific and varied movie makers of all time, Samuel L. Jackson tops the list of the highest-grossing movie stars worldwide. And it’s not all because of the MCU.
He's also been part of other successful movies franchises, including "The Incredibles," "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park."
And 43 of his films have earned over $100 million.