The star of the Hunger Games franchise, Jennifer Lawrence, has topped the Forbes magazine list of the world's highest-paid actress for the second straight year, earning some $US46 million (more than $60 million), followed by Melissa McCarthy.
Lawrence, 26, took the top spot largely through a slice of the profits from the final movie in the Hunger Games series, as well as a big upfront fee for her forthcoming space adventure movie Passengers, Forbes said.
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Jennifer Lawrence highest paid actress... again
The Hunger Games star has topped the Forbes magazine list of the world's highest-paid actresses for the second straight year.
Yet Lawrence's estimated payday was likely well below that for Hollywood's leading men, Forbes said, despite the actress sparking a debate about the gender pay gap last year, when she declared she was "finished being adorable" when it came to negotiating better deals for herself.
Lawrence's 2016 earnings dropped 11.5 per cent from her 2015 total of $US52 million.
![Jennifer Lawrence has topped the list for the second year in a row.](/web/20160825171815im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/3/b/h/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqzioi.png/1471985724656.jpg)
Forbes will release its list of the world's highest-paid actors on Thursday. Last year Robert Downey Jr. topped the list with an estimated $US80 million. Neither however came close to pop star Taylor Swift, who was named the top earning celebrity of 2016 earlier this year, pulling in an estimated $US170 million ($223 million) from record sales and her world tour.
McCarthy took home $US33 million ($43 million) in earnings, up $US10 million from 2015 in part from her payday for the all-women reboot of Ghostbusters. It was the biggest annual paycheck to date for the star of television comedy Mike and Molly. McCarthy, 45, also launched a clothing line for sizes 4 to 28 after becoming frustrated at the outfits available for larger women.
Scarlett Johansson, who recently starred in Captain America: Civil War was third at $US25 million ($33 million), down nearly 30 per cent from 2015.
Together, the world's 10 highest-paid actresses tallied a combined $US205 million ($269 million) between June 1, 2015 and June 1, 2016, before management fees and taxes, Forbes said.
![Melissa McCarthy, pictured at the premiere of "Ghostbusters", was ranked second.](/web/20160825171815im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/3/1/o/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqzioi.png/1471985724656.jpg)
The estimates include earnings from movies, TV and endorsements from cosmetic and other companies. Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is the only newcomer on the list. The rest of the top 10 2016 highest-paid actresses are: 4. Jennifer Aniston - $US21 million 5. Fan Bingbing - $US17 million 6. Charlize Theron - $US16.5 million 7. Amy Adams - $US13.5 million 8. Julia Roberts - $US12 million 9. Mila Kunis - $US11 million 10. Deepika Padukone - $US10 million.
Reuters