Tinseltown is a mercurial avenue where nothing except change is constant. This is why it is never a given that the stars today will remain legends of tomorrow. However, actors who have lived Hollywood like a dream have gotten used to its slippery slopes by now, with their heels anchored with such a tightrope that onwards and upwards is the only way to go. Yet, to make it out every year as the one at the top is a dream that still makes Hollywood what it is, and Nicole Kidman may have ruffled a few industry feathers, leaving behind 2024’s highest paid actresses like Scarlett Johansson, among others.

Kidman took home a whopping $31 million in 2024, but how far were Johansson and co.?

Forbes recently rolled out the star-studded list of the highest-paid actors and actresses of 2024. Without a doubt, Nicole Kidman is leading the pack as the highest-paid actress of last year with an impressive $31 million ($41 million gross). She starred in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, Lioness for Paramount+, and Expats for Amazon, pocketing more than $1 million per episode in each. She also had two movies on her credit list, Babygirl and A Family Affair.

Next up on the list to follow Kidman is Mariska Hargitay with $25 million ($29 million gross), who has been Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU’s anchor for over 2 decades across 550 episodes. According to the outlet, she earns approximately $750,000 per episode. The last name on the star-studded list is Scarlett Johansson, who made a staggering $21 million ($25 million gross) in 2024. Johansson starred in Fly Me to the Moon with Channing Tatum and lent her voice to the animated movie Transformers One. 

‘The Perfect Couple’: Nicole Kidman’s Netflix Drama Falls Flat With Critics With Lukewarm Ratings

Though these three are the only actresses to have made it to the list, who makes up the top 3 highest paid actors of 2024?

According to Forbes’ list of the highest-paid Hollywood bigwigs of 2024, the pack of 20 people is led by Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, with a jaw-dropping $88 million ($103 million gross). He allegedly landed the largest fee-plus-buyout in streaming history with Amazon’s Red One. It was followed by Moana 2’s pivot from a TV series to a movie, and as per an agent, he made “an ungodly amount of money.” The next one to follow is Marvel Jesus, Ryan Reynolds.

Reynolds bagged $85 million ($100 million gross) in 2024 fueled his box office entry with John Krasinski IF, a new season of Welcome to Wrexham, reworking the script for It Ends With Us, and the highest-grossing R-rated flick of all time, Deadpool & Wolverine. Kevin Hart rounds out the top three list at $81 million ($108 million gross) following projects like Borderlands, Netflix’s Lift, Amazon Prime’s Die Hart 2: Die Harter, Die Hart season three, Peacock’s Fight Night, Gold Minds podcast, and 90 stand-up comedy shows.

Matthew Lawrence Said Young Ryan Reynolds Was ‘Deadpool-Ing’ Scripts Before His Oscar-Worthy Days

What do you think of Nicole Kidman outshining everyone else to become the highest-paid actress of 2024? Let us know in the comments below!