Big gap between highest paid actors' earnings and actresses' earnings

Forbes magazine released its list of Hollywood's highest paid actors on Tuesday. What is amazing about the list is that there is a big pay gap between what Hollywood actors made compared to their female counterparts. The male combined total was $488.5 million, and the female combined total was $172.5 million. That's a huge gap between what the men made and what the women made during the scoring period of June 2016 to June 2017. The men made nearly three times more than what the women made.

Highest paid actors

Mark Wahlberg topped the list with the highest amount earned.

The 46-year-old talented actor earned an estimated $68 million. Forbes ranked him at the top of the list because he had starring roles in hit movies such as “Daddy’s Home 2” and “Transformers: The Last Knight.” Wahlberg took over the spot that was previously occupied by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who fell into second place with his estimated $65 million.

Highest paid actresses

Hollywood's highest paid actress is Emma Stone. The Oscar winner tops the list with an estimated $26 million. Anyone can clearly see the $42-million difference between the 28-year-old "La La Land" earnings and Walhberg's earnings. This pay gap is noticed across the board for the ten highest-paid actors and actresses.

Behind Stone on Forbes’ list are Jennifer Aniston, who made $25.5 million, and Jennifer Lawrence, who earned $24 million.

The Jennifers moved down the list from previous years. Lawrence was at the top of the list last year mainly for her earnings in the "Hunger Games."

Other highest-paid actresses on this year's list include Melissa McCarthy, who earned $18 million and Mila Kunis who earned $15.5 million during the period that Forbes charted.

Forbes explained that there are more action-packed roles for men than there are for women.

Actors who appear in superhero and action movies make more than actors or actresses make in other movies. That might change because women are beginning to take on more superhero roles.

Stone agrees that there are obvious reasons for the gender wage gap. She argued that women get paid only 80 cents to men's one dollar. Then she emphasized that it is difficult for everyone's pay to be the same because it depends on the type of film, the size of the role, and how much the movie makes at the box office.

Changes in the list

The list changes from year to year as was seen in Johnson's slipping to second place while Wahlberg tops the list. Johnny Depp has been among the top five-paid actors for years. However, this year he did not make the top 20. For the last two years, Forbes has named the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star the most overpaid actor.