The following are non-definitive lists of the

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

s with the highest career-film grosses. There are

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fr ...

gross revenue lists, which are not adjusted for inflation, as well as lists for the number of box-office ticket sales.

Box-office gross revenue

Because of the long-term effects of

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

on movie theater ticket prices, a list unadjusted for inflation gives far more weight to later actors. Therefore, the gross revenue lists are largely meaningless for comparing acting careers widely separated in time, as many actors from earlier eras will never appear on a modern unadjusted list, despite their films' achieving higher commercial success when adjusted for price increases.

Lead roles

This list only includes leading roles and lead ensemble roles, including voice acting. The list is updated .

All roles

This list includes cameos and

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

. The number of films is from the source '' The Numbers'' and may not correspond exactly to a linked filmography. The list is updated .

Earlier eras

Up until 2000

A survey by ''

TLA Video TLA Releasing is a US film distribution and production company owned by TLA Entertainment Group. In March 2011, a new LLC was formed for the operation. Its primary output is LGBT-related films from all over the world under the "TLA Releasing" lab ...

'' in 2000 estimated that the following actors had sold the most movie tickets at the box office.

Up until 1966

In 1966, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' calculated a list of the highest-grossing stars using their All-Time Top Grossing Films lists based on the number of films that had earned

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

s of $4 million or more in the United States and Canada by the end of 1965. As the list was based on number of films on the chart, there may have been some stars who appeared in fewer films listed but with a higher total rental. As with current lists, the list favors films and stars of the later eras as later films generally gross more. John Wayne topped the list. ''Variety'' noted that Crosby's last hit prior to 1965 was '' High Society'' in 1956, and at that date he would have led the list. They also noted that Gable was the undisputed king until he went into the Army in 1942 and that he wasn't ranked higher, as many of his earlier hits did not reach their $4 million cut-off and were therefore not included in his total.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Highest-grossing actors Film box office Film-related lists of superlatives Lists of film actors Actors