Scarlett Johansson Is The World’s Highest-Paid Actress, Surpassing Angelina Jolie And Jennifer Aniston

After quadrupling her 2017 earnings, Scarlett Johansson has snagged the spotlight from Emma Stone, who came in at the top of Forbes‘ annual ranking of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses last year. The Avengers actress came before Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, who claimed No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Johansson has been playing Black Widow in Marvel’s Avengers movies since 2010 when scheduling conflicts forced Emily Blunt to drop out of the part. Johansson will return to the screens for the fourth installment of the superhero series next year.

Emma Stone claimed the spot in 2017 with $26 million, which was easily surpassed by Johansson who brought in a whopping $40.5 million in pretax earnings between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, Forbes reported.

“The percent of budget cost have certainly skewed heavy, particularly on the Avengers movies, to cast now, whereas maybe in the early ones it was more visual effects or below the line,” said Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President and producer last year, according to Forbes. “But that’s okay because [the actors] are the best effects.”

In addition to the superhero conglomerate, Johansson was featured in two movies in 2017, Rough Night and Ghost in the Shell, for which she received backlash for portraying a Japanese character. This year, the actress starred in Isle of Dogs and Avengers: Infinity War.

Jolie came in at No. 2 earning $28 million for the year. Jolie makes the ranking thanks in large part to her upfront pay for Maleficent 2, planned for 2020.

More than 14 years after the conclusion of Friends, Aniston is still earning millions, mainly from her lucrative endorsements of Emirates airlines, Smartwater, and Aveeno, the magazine reported. She earned $19.5 million for the year, though her paycheck is likely to skyrocket next year when production begins for her forthcoming Apple series with Reese Witherspoon.

Despite her two most recent movies, Mother! and Red Sparrow, underperforming at the box office, Jennifer Lawrence comes in at No. 4 thanks to her role in the X-Men series and a high-paying Dior contract.

Witherspoon is just behind Lawrence with $16.5 million thanks to her role in producing and starring in Big Little Lies. Non-American actresses who made the list include Australia’s Cate Blanchett, who came in at No. 8 with $12.5 million, and Israel’s Gal Gadot, at No. 10 with $10 million. Gadot is the only newcomer on the ranking after Wonder Woman catapulted her to fame.

The world’s 10 highest-paid actresses together made $186 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018, before fees and taxes, a total that is up 16 percent from $172.5 million in 2017, according to Forbes.