
Courtesy, Puritan Backroom
New Hampshire native Adam Sandler was the single highest-paid actor of 2025, according to Forbes.
The actor, comedian, and filmmaker ranked alongside Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson, and Leonardo DiCaprio, in addition to several other A-listers, per the business and finance magazine.
Forbes said it compiled the figures through interviews with agents, lawyers, and industry executives, and by using data sources including IMDBPro and Box Office Mojo.
The totals include all income from film and television projects released in 2025, Forbes said. The estimates represent pre-tax earnings, minus actors’ representation fees.
Here’s how much Sandler earned in 2025.
Adam Sandler is No. 1 with $48 million
Sandler, who was born in New York and raised in Manchester, N.H., made $48 million in 2025, with $60 million in gross earnings, according to Forbes. He was ranked No. 1 on the list.
Last year, he produced and starred in “Happy Gilmore 2,” nearly 30 years after the first movie was released. The 59-year-old also co-starred in Netflix’s “Jay Kelly,” for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Globes and several critics’ awards, Forbes reported.
Forbes described Sandler as having found a “cushy home” at Netflix in 2014 and called him “unquestionably the biggest draw on the platform.”
He is also well known for his roles in “Grown Ups,” “Big Daddy,” “50 First Dates,” “Billy Madison,” and “Uncut Gems.”
Forbes’ list of the highest-paid actors of 2025
Here were the 20 highest-paid actors in 2025, according to Forbes:
- Adam Sandler – $48 million ($60 million gross)
- Tom Cruise – $46 million ($54 million gross)
- Mark Wahlberg – $44 million ($58 million gross)
- Scarlett Johansson – $43 million ($50 million gross)
- Brad Pitt – $41 million ($54 million gross)
- Denzel Washington – $38 million ($42 million gross)
- Jack Black – $28 million ($33 million gross)
- Jason Momoa – $28 million ($33 million gross)
- Daniel Craig – $27 million ($32 million gross)
- Millie Bobby Brown – $26 million ($35 million gross)
- John Cena – $26 million ($35 million gross)
- Reese Witherspoon – $26 million ($34 million gross)
- George Clooney – $25 million ($30 million gross)
- Leonardo DiCaprio – $25 million ($29 million gross)
- Rob Mac – $23 million ($30 million gross)
- Chris Pratt – $22 million ($29 million gross)
- Tom Hardy – $21 million ($28 million gross)
- Jennifer Aniston – $20 million ($26 million gross)
- Cameron Diaz – $20 million ($23 million gross)
- Jason Bateman – $19 million ($25 million gross)
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times. Reporting by Bailey Allen.
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