Box-office magnets

Forbes' latest list of top-earning actors features Hollywood, Bollywood and Chow Yun-fat.

Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr was named the world's top-earning actor on Tuesday by Forbes, taking first place on a list that featured leading men from Hollywood and Bollywood for the first time on a global level.

Downey, 50, earned an estimated $80 million between June 2014 and June 2015, spurred by the success of this year's superhero ensemble Avengers: Age of Ultron, which grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide.

Second-place honors went to veteran Chinese actor and martial arts star Jackie Chan, 61, who Forbes said had earned $50 million in the past year from Hollywood and China joint productions such as Dragon Blade and merchandise as well.

Chan came in ahead of Hollywood stars Vin Diesel, who grabbed third place with $47 million mainly due to his stake in the Fast and Furious franchise, as well as Bradley Cooper, Adam Sandler and Tom Cruise.

Sandler, 48, whose most recent big budget film Pixels performed poorly in the global box office, still earned $41 million over the past year, in part due to his production deals with Sony studios and Netflix.

Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, all staples of Indian cinema, also featured in the top 10, with 72-year-old Bachchan and 49-year-old Khan tying at No 7 with $33.5 million each. Kumar, 47, came in at No 9 with $32.5 million.

Chinese actors Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau Tak-wah are among the newcomers on this year's list.

Chow, 60, who's globally known for his role in 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, had earned $1.8 million in the past year, thanks to movies such as From Vegas to Macau II, ranking No 24.

Lau, 53, who also appeared in From Vegas to Macau II, is 33rd on the list, with $13 million.

Forbes collated its earnings' list using figures from sources such as Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, and calculated earnings by deducting estimated taxes and management fees.

It will publish a list on the world's highest-paid actresses at a later date.

(China Daily USA 08/07/2015 page15)