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Earlier this year, we saw Bollywood making its mark as Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan appeared on Forbes' ‘Celebrity 100: The World's Top-Paid Entertainers 2015'. Well, the duo has done it yet again; the two are now also on the 2015 Forbes list of the Highest Paid Actors.
Bachchan and Khan tied for the seventh spot on the list, with estimated earnings of $33.5 million this year alone. Akshay Kumar also appears right after them in the top 10, leaving behind many Hollywood A-listers, with his $32.5 million haul.
Diversity is key?
For the first time ever, the highly awaited list included actors from different industries around the world. Forbes described it as "the first truly global earnings tally of leading men".
Robert Downey Jr. may have topped the list with $80 million in tow but Chinese superstar Jackie Chan bagged the second spot with $50 million in earnings. Four out of the top 10 men hailed from outside of Hollywood.
Interestingly but not surprisingly, no Pakistani actor made the cut. The only name that comes to mind who could have possibly be included is Fawad Khan but how much he earns has always been an ambiguous matter.
Long way to go
Let's be honest: If notable big stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are missing, the chances of Fawad being on it are a case of us being delusional and hopeful.
The Pakistani film industry might be going through a revival but it'll be years, maybe decades, before we get to the level where homegrown talent and movies make millions of dollars.
For now, the only way a local actor could even dream of being on the list is by taking the Chan route, that is to make your name so huge that you could slap it on anything and people will buy it for a steep amount.
Jackie's wealth comes from him selling branded merchandise and he also owns a Segway dealership, as well as a cinema chain.
Grady Hendrix, cofounder of the New York Asian Film Festival says, “Jackie Chan is basically the Mickey Mouse of Chinese culture, a celebrity who is so omnipresent that his name has become shorthand.”
Other actors on the list were Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, as well as Adam Sandler, despite a dry box office run.
The full list is as follows (before management fees and tax deductions):
Robert Downey Jr: $108.4m
Jackie Chan: $67.8m
Vin Diesel: $63.7m
Bradley Cooper: $56.2m
Adam Sandler: $55.6m
Tom Cruise: $54.3m
Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan: $45.4m
Akshay Kumar: $44m
Mark Wahlberg: $43.4m
Dwayne Johnson: $42.7m
Johnny Depp: $40.7m
Leonardo DiCaprio: $39.3m
Channing Tatum: $37.9m
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Craig: $36.6m
Matthew McConaughey: $35.9m
Shah Rukh Khan and Will Smith: $35.2m
Matt Damon: $33.8m
Hugh Jackman: $31.2m
Ben Affleck and Liam Neeson: $26.4m
Chow Yun-fat and Russell Crowe: $24.4m
Seth Rogen: $23m
George Clooney: $22.4m
Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill: $21.7m
Will Ferrell and Ranbir Kapoor: $20.3m
Chris Evans: $18.3m
Chris Pratt and Andy Lau: $17.6m
