LOS ANGELES - Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie has proven again how handsomely it pays to combine gun-wielding action with serious roles, as she topped the Hollywood Reporter'slist of highest-earning actresses.
But salaries are plummeting for top actresses and still lag the earnings of leading men, the trade paper said.
Jolie (33) earned $15 million (€12 million) for the action movie Wanted this year and she could make $20 million to star in a possible sequel, it said.
Jolie played dramatic roles in 2007's A Mighty Heartand in this year's Changeling.
The mother of six and partner of actor Brad Pitt last month talked about eventually fading away from acting to spend more time with her family.
Oscar winner Julia Roberts (41) claimed the number two spot after a long absence from the screen, making more than $15 million for Duplicity, which comes out next year.
Actors are also earning less, with the exception of Will Smith, star of blockbusters Hancockand I Am Legend, who is riding high with up to $25 million per movie.
"Everyone else's prices have gone down," an unidentified talent agent told the Hollywood Reporter.
Reese Witherspoon (32), who topped the female list last year after winning an Oscar for her role in the 2005 movie Walk the Line, dropped to number three. She earned $14 million for appearing in the comedy hit Four Christmasesthat opened last week.
Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl, Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Aniston rounded out the list, with 39-year-old Friends star Aniston earning more than $8 million for the comedy Marley & Me, opening on Christmas Day.
Big stars such as Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman - both Oscar winners - are no longer able to earn $10 million a movie.
Compare that with Pitt and Johnny Depp, who according to the Hollywood Reportermake between $15 million and $20 million per film.
US talk show host Oprah Winfrey was named the most powerful woman in entertainment on the Hollywood Reporter'sannual "Power 100 List". Winfrey, whose Oprahtalk show began in national syndication 22 years ago, played a role in the victory of president-elect Barack Obama. - (Reuters)