07-06-2009 Weirdest Robkast Angelina Jolie vacillates between two kinds of movies: award bait, like A Mighty Heart, and action films, like Wanted. The former earn her nominations and critical praise: She won an Oscar in 2000 for her work in Girl, Interrupted and a Best Actress nomination for last year's Changeling.
The latter earn her big bucks. On the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," where Angie met
her boyfriend, Brad Pitt, earned $480 million at the worldwide box
office. Last year's Wantedbrought in $341 million.
Jolie's cinematic butt kicking made her the highest-paid actress list. Between June 2008 and June 2009, Jolie
earned an estimated $27 million. Much of that came from her share of
the profits on Wanted, but she also scored a fat upfront check for Salt,
an action film originally slated to star Tom Cruise, in which Jolie
plays a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. Judging by
scenes filmed on the streets of New York City, the film should have
plenty of action to satisfy Jolie's fans.
Coming in second behind Jolie is Jennifer Aniston,
continuing
the never-ending tabloid battle between the two actresses. Jen earned
$25 million thanks to her work in the romantic comedy Marley & Me
and the upcoming comedy "The Baster," in which Aniston plays a woman
who tries to become pregnant on her own. Aniston still earns money from
her time on the show "Friends" and she gets a nice paycheck shilling for Glaceau's SmartWater.
Meryl Streep ranks third on our list thanks to last summer's surprise smash hit Mamma Mia.
The film took in $603 million at theaters internationally and helped
Streep earn $24 million between June 2008 and June 2009. Now instead of
being known just as the most-nominated actress in film history, she's also
known as a moneymaker. Streep should soon be able to boost her asking
price, especially if her upcoming movie Julie & Julia does well at the box office.
The rest of the top ten look like this:
4. Sarah Jessica Parker. $23 million 5. Cameron Diaz. $20 million 6. Sandra Bullock. $15 million 7. Reese Witherspoon. $15 million 8. Nicole Kidman. $ 12 million 9. Drew Barrymoore. $12 million 10. Renee Zellweger. $10 million
