Robert Downey Jr. has been named the world's highest paid male actor for the third year in a row
by Forbes.
The "Iron Man" and "Avengers" star hauled in $80 million, while runner-up Jackie Chan took in $50 million. Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Adam Sandler round out the top five.
While the majority of the actors on the list of 35 are American, some of the highest paid actors from around the globe include Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar, household names in India’s Bollywood. All three beat out the majority of the other actors on the list, including Mark Wahlberg, Daniel Craig, Chris Hemsworth, Johnny Depp, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Downey rose to the top of the list in large part because of the universal appeal of superhero movies, which translate to non-English speaking countries far easier than traditional dramas and comedies. In China alone, for example, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" grossed $240 million.
Meanwhile, Chan also benefits by tapping into both the English and Chinese markets, and will release a new film "Dragon Blade" next month.
"I always look at the map . . . I think the world belongs to us," said Chan, referring to the two massive movie markets. "America belongs to me. China belongs to you."
Forbes reported via MSN that the U.S. and Canadian box offices actually declined 5 percent to $10.4 billion between 2013 and 2014, while the global film market continues to grow. China's movie market expanded 34 percent to $4.8 billion over the same period.
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