Angelina Jolie: even bad films can make you rich

It seems Angelina Jolie can turn cinematic water into wine: despite an abysmal showing at the US box office for last year's The Tourist, and a critical drubbing of unprecedented unanimity, she tops a new list of highest-paid Hollywood actresses.
 
In its annual ranking of the female stars based on estimated income, Forbes has Jolie in joint first place, alongside the Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker. The magazine estimates that each woman earned $30m.
 
Jolie tempted audiences to see two movies last year: the second was the equally low-brow - but better received - Salt, noted for its adrenaline-generating action sequences.
 
The latter fared rather better at the US box office ($118.3m) than The Tourist, which took a disappointing $67.6m, but both movies earned most of their bucks abroad, demonstrating that Jolie's pulling power is global.
 
Jessica Parker's presence on the list may seem anomalous, but she is still earning money from the phenomenally successful (and, again, critically reviled) Sex and the City II and enjoys huge revenue from her very popular perfume lines.

If these women seem sickeningly well-paid, there's at least one yardstick that makes them look positively impoverished: they still earn far lass than their male counterparts.
 
Forbes has yet to compile its ranking of leading men – but last year's highest-paid male star was Johnny Depp with an estimated $75m. And his role opposite Jolie in The Tourist was equally badly received.
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