Adam Sandler named highest paid actor of 2023

Forbes has released its highest earners in Hollywood for 2023, and Adam Sandler has come out on top.

No matter what way you look at it, 2023 will be looked back at as the year of Barbenheimer from a film stand point.

Both blockbuster hits were released on the same day in July, after neither refused to budge on their release dates and have a combined box office haul nearing $2.5 billion (£2.2 billion) at the time of writing.

Oppenheimer currently sits as overall favourite to take home the most Oscars this weekend.

But while the flicks may have been the big hits of the year, none of their stars landed the number one spot on the coveted Forbes list.

That's right, it was actually Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer - better known as Adam Sandler - who stands alone as the highest paid actor in Hollywood last year, raking in a whopping $93 million, according to Forbes.

It may sound surprising but when you think about it a bit more, it does make sense.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The second instalment to his Murder Mystery movie series was released on Netflix last year and has accumulated over 173 million hours of viewership from the streaming platform's subscribers.

Other films that sit in his most watched on the platform are the first Murder Mystery, Grown Ups, Just Go With It and The Week Of among others.

Full Forbes list below

Ever since the actor signed his four-film, $250 million deal with Netflix in 2014, the 57-year-old has reaped the financial rewards, signing several more deals and earning a pretty penny in the process.

Scott Yamano/Netflix

The top 10 in 2023 combine for a total earning of $449 million, coming exclusively from movies instead of TV, partly due to the screen writers' strike for half the year and the power that actors now have when negotiating salaries.

Margot Robbie ranks second in the list, featuring as the youngest actor and only one of two female actors on there.

The other is Jennifer Aniston, whose earnings are heavily enhanced by residuals from hit NBC sitcom Friends, even though it ended 20 years ago.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Other A-Listers on the list include Denzel Washington, the only person of colour on the list, and Jason Statham, the only Brit.

The rest of the list could probably be guessed, with these actors ruling the big screen for decades.

The full Forbes list of highest paid actors in 2023:

Adam Sandler - $73 million ($97 million gross)

Margot Robbie - $59 million ($78 million gross)

Tom Cruise - $45 million ($53 million gross)

Ryan Gosling - $43 million ($50 million gross)

Matt Damon - $43 million ($50 million gross)

Jennifer Aniston - $42 million ($56 million gross)

Leonardo DiCaprio - $41 million ($48 million gross)

Jason Statham - $41 million ($48 million gross)

Ben Affleck - $38 million ($45 million gross)

Denzel Washington - $24 million ($28 million gross)

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