Bollywood’s Top 10 most paid stars of 2016/17 revealed
Forbes has just released its 2017 ‘Bollywood’s Highest-Paid Actors’ list, ranking the top 10 highest earners.
Shah Rukh Khan is Bollywood’s highest earner, banking $38 million pretax in our scoring period thanks to upfront fees and profit from movies such as ‘Raees’. He also earns big from endorsements.
Endorsements remain a major source of income for Bollywood stars, with most banking more than an estimated $5 million from advertisements in our time frame. Akshay Kumar, for example, shills for some 12 brands, including Eveready batteries and a deodorant maker.
Despite a giant hit at the global box office with ‘Dangal’, Aamir Khan ranks fourth due to the constraints of our June 2016 to June 2017 scoring period. His $12.5 million payday is comprised almost entirely of his cut of backend profits from the boxing drama, which is now India’s highest-grossing film. The movie continues to ticket well worldwide, meaning he’ll be earning more next year when the rest of his checks from the movie come in. Unlike most Bollywood actors, he does not endorse a plethora of products.
Two women, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, make the top 10, despite a pay gap in Bollywood that sees actresses typically earn far less than actors.
1. Shah Rukh Khan
Earnings period ending June 2017: $38,000,000
2. Salman Khan
Earnings period ending June 2017: $37,000,000
3. Akshay Kumar
Earnings period ending June 2017: $35,500,000
4. Aamir Khan
Earnings period ending June 2017: $12,500,000
5. Hrithik Roshan
Earnings period ending June 2017: $11,500,000
6. Deepika Padukone
Earnings period ending June 2017: $11,000,000
7. Ranveer Singh
Earnings period ending June 2017: $10,000,000
8. Priyanka Chopra
Earnings period ending June 2017: $10,000,000
9. Amitabh Bachchan
Earnings period ending June 2017: $9,000,000
10. Ranbir Kapoor
Earnings period ending June 2017: $8,500,000
Earnings estimates are tracked from June 2016 to June 2017 and based on data from Nielsen, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders. All figures are pretax; fees for agents, managers and lawyers are not deducted.
