Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson Top List of Highest-Grossing Actors in 2017
It looks like Vin Diesel has bested Dwayne Johnson in at least one arena, clocking in at number one on Forbes’ list of the highest-grossing actors of 2017 — and throwing a little more fuel on that Fast & Furious feud (say that five times fast). Thanks to The Fate of the Furious and xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Diesel edged out his Fast co-star / arch-nemesis, and with fewer 2017 releases under his belt.
Forbes has released their annual list of the highest-grossing actors, with Diesel taking the first place spot from last year’s top actor, Scarlett Johansson (who didn’t make the top 10 this year). To calculate the rankings, Forbes relied on the global box office for live-action films in which the actor was top-billed or appeared in the majority of scenes. Animated features were excluded. In addition to Diesel and Johnson, the list includes Star Wars faves Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, as well as DCEU superstar Gal Gadot:
- Vin Diesel – $1.6 billion (xXx: Return of Xander Cage, The Fate of the Furious)
- Dwayne Johnson – $1.5 billion (The Fate of the Furious, Baywatch, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle)
- Gal Gadot – $1.4 billion (Wonder Woman, Justice League)
- Emma Watson – $1.3 billion (Beauty and the Beast, The Circle)
- Johnny Depp – $1.1 billion (Murder on the Orient Express, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales)
- Daisy Ridley – $1.08 billion (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Murder on the Orient Express)
- Tom Holland – $888 million (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
- Chris Pratt – $864 million (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)
- Chris Hemsworth – $845 million (Thor: Ragnarok)
- John Boyega – $815 million (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Detroit, The Circle)
A few notes: Diesel clearly wins this round of the Fast feud with $1.6 billion for two films, in comparison to Johnson’s $1.5 billion for three (Baywatch didn’t help). This year’s ranking features just three women (one less than 2016), with Daisy Ridley beating out her male Star Wars colleague, and Gal Gadot as the only DCEU star to make the list.
The Forbes ranking also has bearing on the continuing battle of the Chrises. Pratt wins this round thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with Hemsworth right behind him for Thor: Ragnarok. As for Pine and Evans, their supporting roles in Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming, respectively, weren’t enough to cement them on this year’s top 10 (though Infinity War may shake things up for at least a few of these Chrises next year).
And then there’s alleged domestic abuser Johnny Depp, who somehow manages to always appear on at least one or two of Forbes’ annual actor rankings. Even though the fifth Pirates movie was critically reviled, it still performed well at the international box office; ditto for Murder on the Orient Express, which fared better with critics and audiences alike. Next year, Depp will appear in the Fantastic Beasts sequel, despite protest from the fan base.